My home is 9 years old, and when it was built, the builder put in a cheap NetworX NX system and prewired all the windows and doors. I’ve lived here for 5 years, and the system has never been turned on. We haven’t had any real issues until recently. There’s been some crime in the neighborhood (break-ins), and now my wife wants an alarm system with monitoring.
I’ve been looking around on this forum and a couple of others, and it feels like too much information. So, I’m coming here to ask for help.
What options do I have for an alarm system with monitoring? It would be nice if it came with cameras, but that’s not a must. It would be great if I could use the existing wiring for the windows and doors to avoid a bunch of wireless sensors everywhere.
Simplisafe does what you’re asking for. They offer fire alarms, monitoring, and cameras. Plus, they have lots of other devices you can add to the system.
Leon said:
Simplisafe does what you’re asking for. They offer fire alarms, monitoring, and cameras. Plus, they have lots of other devices you can add to the system.
Their monitoring service is okay. It also works with prewired systems. I took apart the Simplisafe sensors, soldered some wires on, and connected them to my home’s wiring. A break in the circuit would trigger the system like normal. You’ll need to be good with tools, and you would need one sensor per zone/room.
(Just a heads-up: I’ve only tested this in theory, so it might not work as expected in practice.)
If your system is already wired, find the main alarm panel. You might be able to install a new system by just swapping the circuit board, reusing the existing devices, and monitoring it yourself.
I recommend a retrofit kit or a Vista kit. The Vista kit is modular, expandable, and can be monitored by a professional company.
I personally use AlarmGrid for monitoring my Vista20p system, and it costs me about $17 a month for unlimited zones.