Monitored house alarm: how to choose Verisure vs Pyronix, Texecom, Risco etc? How are they different? (not DIY)

VforViennetta

I’m in the market for a residential house alarm system.
I’m ruling out ADT because of some bad experiences in the past (with the customer service, not with the hardware).
I will have a separate keyholding and alarm response contract with a keyholding company.

Other than on price, how do I choose an alarm system? What sets alarms apart? I don’t even have pets so don’t care about pet-friendly detectors.

Are some more or less resistant to jamming? Not that the odds of someone using MI5-level equipment to jam my alarms are very high…

Are there certifications I should look out for? It seems most alarms are grade 2, which should be adequate for a residential property.

I wouldn’t be installing it myself so don’t care about ease of DYI; maybe the smartphone apps can be a differentiating factor? Many apps get horrible reviews on Google Play, so maybe an app that does its job and doesn’t freeze can be a differentiating factor?

I have found lots of comments of people saying they prefer X over Y, but not much in terms of actual comparisons.


Pyronix, Texecom and Risco: if I choose them, I’d get a local installer to install the alarm and then monitor it (my contract would be with the local company, but they outsource the actual monitoring to a third-party centre). Most installers use Pyronix and Texecom.

Texecom uses a mesh system so that units can be connected to each other – they don’t all have to be connected to the base. I don’t know if the other systems do it, too, but it shouldn’t matter in my property.

Risco is used by fewer installers. Like Verisure, it has detectors which can take still photos. It’s not clear if these photos go only to you or, like with Verisure, also to the monitoring centre.



Banham, AFAIK, put their brand on Pyronix kit (their app is made by Pyronix) but have their own monitoring centre.



Verisure charges less than the others upfront but more every month, so can be more expensive after 4 years or so. The fact that the monitoring centre can take photos is cool in theory but probably doesn’t make a huge difference: I remember an ex-policeman saying that most burglars leave 2 to 4 minutes after an alarm goes off (ie they rarely leave straight away just because the alarm went off, even if there’s CCTV, which I won’t have). Since I will have a keyholding company I won’t count on Verisure’s guard response (for all I know they could have only a few people covering thousands of clients).

I also wonder if potential burglars might be more deterred seeing the shield of a well-known company (eg Banham, ADT etc) than that of a local installer - maybe they might think that the shield with the name of Baker Bros security or whatever is a fake?



Any thoughts? Thanks!

mushii

As an ex Police Officer I can tell you, most burglars are opportunists. Alarms are seldom a deterrent, but then a gram of Amphetamine or some Cocaine gives you a lot of bravado. They will do a risk / reward assessment and decide on the spot whether putting a paving slab through the french windows is worth the potential rewards. They will often work in teams and will spend a little time casing the area (quick drive around) and look for easy or lucrative targets. They don't look for monitored alarms or anything like that. They want ease of access / egress. They know that an alarm going off is unlikely to get a response from anyone within 5 minutes so that is their window of opportunity. A nice car on the drive is worth much more than nicking an ipad and a few smart phones.

A good security consultant will talk to you about layers of defence if that is your concern. An alarm will be one of the last things as that is the final thing to happen. Lights, locks, gates, dogs, shrubbery even cameras are the things that build up those layers. once you have got to the alarm bit, generally its too late, they have got in. A bell box maybe the determining factor between two similar properties, but that is all.

Burglars often want unoccupied premises, so random (automatic) lights on at night, perimeter lighting all help to keep them guessing. Neighbours parking their car on your drive when you are away, somebody coming in to draw curtains (or automatic curtains / blinds) all give the illusion of occupancy.

Unless they are professional burglars after some specific high value items that you may have, they wont be 'casing the joint' for weeks to watch your occupancy patterns. They maybe brazen and come and actually knock on your door to see if you are in. If you answer, it will be lost dog, wrong house, wrong street etc.. They will move on to somewhere else. This is why smart doorbells are so useful, they cant tell where you are, if you answer.

Sorry for the lecture and maybe you have all of the above, but this is where I would focus my energy to start with.

VforViennetta

Thank you for all your feedback!

To be honest, if we were never away for extended periods we would maybe not even bother with an alarm.

Would you agree that too much security may be counterproductive? Eg you probably don't want to be the only house in the neighbourhood with CCTV and metal bars at the windows, otherwise people might wonder what valuables you have which you're so keen on protecting?

I must say I am always shocked when I see thin front doors with so much glass - they'd be very easy to break into. But then again it's not worth spending thousands on a steel door if the back garden and your ground floor windows are weak spots.

I must say I hadn't thought of video doorbells as a way to deter those who check if you're home - that's a very good point, thanks.

Fabien

I have a tendency to look the more extreme levels of security (often used in commercial applications) and bring them into my residence.

@mushii is correct in that a drug fuelled perpetrator will stop at nothing to get in, and monetise whatever they can carry for their next fix.

As sirens are ignored most of the time and depending on house type, the residence may not be that visible from others, I have integrated Fogger systems into my layered security.

These (such as Smoke Cloak) basically inhibit the burglars ability to see home contents (or their own hands) by excreting a glycol based vapour. It also has the side effect of scaring the wits out of them.
The ‘smoke’ is none damaging and residue free

I caveat the above with being a somewhat extreme solution, however if you can’t see it then you cannot steal it.

Fabien

mushii

My house does not look like Fort Knox, it has a wide open drive shared with another house just off a main road. It does have 'layers' of protection that are not always visible but are cognitive. Perimeter lighting which is dusk till dawn (we have no street lights outside our houses) makes it hard to approach without been easily seen, nowhere to skulk around. Internal lighting which is random dusk till dawn, the house always looks occupied. Visible and less visible CCTV cameras, that alert me if certain lines are crossed or areas entered into. Restricted access to the side and rear of the house (gates and fences). Illuminated bell box on the alarm. Front door camera, small but obvious when you are at the front door. When we travel (and our neighbours travel) we park our cars on one anothers drive. Bins - we always put out one-anothers bins (regular routine patterns) and put them back afterwards. We also have some other activities that occur when other external triggers are activated. Oh and finally, if my alarm does go off, when its dark, EVERY smart light in the house comes on 100% - (it can also be triggered by saying 'Alexa Emergency') that will intimidate any burglar more than the siren, it also makes the house very visible externally.

Smart lighting is also a very positive layer of defence.

Just some food for thought.

VforViennetta

Fabien, what alarm have you installed? And how have you linked the Smoke Cloak to it?

Verisure has something similar ZeroVision
and I know a small business which has something similar from ADT, but I thought those are sold only to businesses.

Fabien

I have a Cytech which is somewhat bespoke.

Foggers require ‘confirmed activation’ which translates to the system ‘arming’ when the siren goes off and triggering when its own sensing system (pir) confirms intrusion. You can link to a ‘fog level detector’ to re-trigger if the fog levels drop.

In essence they are fairly self contained and only need a simple analogue link to an alarm system (Plus it’s own power)

Fabien

mushii

I used to install Cytech Comfort Panels

Bl4ckGryph0n

@mushii Great first response in this thread!

You are totally describing the burglary we had. There was a time window of about 12 minutes between my wife and children leaving, me waving in my car to them on the road when we crossed our paths. Yet when I got home, in daylight, I noticed our front window smashed in. I even called my wife to ask whether the children had an accident. It then sunk in that there was or is a burglary. I remained outside of our home, and called 112. Within 6 minutes I had 4 police officers, then shortly there after 2 more. They went into the property in a very coordinated way, and I witnessed that nobody left. But as you say, the deed was already done...

The soca officer then took me alone through our home with him, and I saw it direct from his eyes the path they took, the efficiency they applied etc...

totally agree that multiple layers are required and since then we stepped it up without going overboard. Make everything work in harmony.

mushii

My parents were burgled twice. Once at night, where they forced wooden french doors, whilst we were asleep and repeatedly kicked or beat our Labrador (vet confirmed his injuries) they stole Royal Doulton and Meisson figurines - it was a targeted burglary. We found out some time later our window cleaner was casing property for a local gang, hence they knew what and where and how to get in. ZERO security measures on the house.

Second time they walked down the drive in broad daylight, repeatedly kicked the solid wood front door (2 mortice locks) shattering the door frame. They drove an astra estate down the drive and 2 blokes in coveralls proceeded to load up TVs, jewellery, electronics, cameras etc. The next door neighbour saw them loading the TVs, they waved and said they were collecting for repair, she couldn't see the door frame and went back inside.

The astra was traced to Liverpool (50 miles away) this was an active motorway gang. They did 10 houses within a mile of our house that day. All pretty much the same MO.

I have attended many many burglaries, even caught some burglars in the act. They were nearly all local idiots and all of them were using some form of stimulant (mainly Cocaine or Amphetamine) all very agitated and all very aggressive. I cannot stress how dangerous a cornered burglar old on speed is, who wants to get away and you stand between him and his exit and he has a screwdriver in his hand - this was one of the drivers for Police being issued stab vests.

As I have said in a previous thread, I have also worked (as a consultant) with Building and Infrastructure Security Consultants on National Infrastructure, Government Buildings, Military and 'other' facilities. I am not a Security Consultant myself but I have certain 'skill sets' that brought me into their world and onto their teams. I learned a lot on how layers of defence and security work together and how some are visible and how some are almost invisible or woven into the fabric of the building and sometimes the surrounding infrastructure. Its all about identifying potential weaknesses in your building / property / facility etc and reinforcing or hardening those points or making them less accessible whilst still maintaining the daily ebb and flow. Nobody wants to live in a fortress (unless they are 11 years old).