House Alarms, commonly also know as burglar alarms, security alarms or intrusion alarms, are electronic devices that are designed to alert of danger. They work in by having sensors placed around your house, these can be motion sensors or connections ie on a window or door that when broken or detecting movement send a signal to your house alarm unit. If the unit is in armed status it will sounds a warning bell to inform people that intrusion has been detected by the house alarm system.
Most modern properties are already fitted with a house alarm system when you move in, however some older properties do not have burglar alarms so require a retrofit. This is easily done using a wireless house alarm, however most competent DIYers would be able to fit a wired house alarm themselves.
Do I Need an Alarm?
This really is a personal choice as there is no law or legal requirement to have a house alarm fitted. The types of questions you should be asking are: Are you away from the property often and for long periods or time (ie several hours per day), are there areas of your propery that you dont use that often, are your posessions valuable could you or would you want to have to replace them, do you live in a safe area (although break ins can happen anywhere).
At the end of the day a house alarm will not stop your house from a determined burglar, however it may put them off, or scare them once they are in. It will also alert neighbours who could provide witness statements etc.
Are Alarms Expensive?
Like most products it entirely depends on what spec that you go for. For example you can get a bell only house alarm which will sound a bell when intrusion is detected. Alternatively you could get a monitored house alarm similar to the bell only however when the bell is triggered the house alarm system will send a message to a call centre or review centre who will then be alerted.
You also need to factor in the size of your house and the number of rooms or areas that you want to place sensors and detectors as these will all add to the cost of the alarm.
Typically house alarm systems are available on our site from £30.
Other Benefits?
Apart from piece of mind, you can also according to Which? magazine expect to recieve between a 2% and 15% reduction in your annual house insurance policy, indicating that insurance companies do view house alarms as a valuable deterrant.