We’ve been burglarized twice in recent years, and both times my small motion-triggered cameras succeeded in getting photos that identified the thief.
But since the latest break-in early this year, I’ve been considering installing a burglar alarm system of some kind that might scare off a burglar or quickly bring police to the scene.
The last time I considered an alarm system, about the only choice was a professionally installed system that would cost several thousand dollars to purchase and install, along with a relatively hefty monthly fee (about $50) to monitor the system and call the police in the event of a break-in.
It’s a different world today. This time around, I have considered a small professional system, that would cost a little under $2,000, with a monthly fee of about $45. It’s hard-wired into the house. I also was impressed by the Intelligent Home system being marketed by Oceanic Cable. A relatively small system was about $800, with a somewhat smaller monthly fee of around $35. It’s a wireless system. Both types are installed by the dealer, and any changes–moving a sensor or adding another–require getting the installer back to made the changes.
Then I saw a news article about a relatively new company in the business called SimpliSafe. Their pitch? Lower cost, no contracts, and simplicity. I read more about their wireless system, and browsed their forum of user questions and comments.
They also offer a 60-day testing period. You can return the system anytime in the 60 days if it doesn’t work for you.
And their prices are very reasonable. They offer several “packages,” from a minimal one that would work for a small apartment, to their “ultimate package” that includes 17 sensors of various sorts. The most popular is their economy package that includes the base station and keypad controller, four door or window sensors and a motion sensor. The economy package costs $260, and you can add additional sensors ala carte.
I think Oceanic quoted a price of $70 for each window or door sensor, and twice that for a motion detector. SimpliSafe’s door and window sensors are just $14.99 each and motion sensors are $29.99. You can add additional keypad controllers, but I opted to go with the iPhone app instead.
So I’m now a couple of weeks into the 60 days trial period, and I have to say that the system appears to work as advertised.
We have set alarm sensors on several doors and windows, and put motion detectors in several spots throughout the house. The company says its motion sensors won’t be triggered by cats or small dogs, but they also suggest a trick or two to avoid false alarms.
Although for $15/month you can sign up for basic monitoring by a central alarm bureau that will call police if a break-in is detected, I opted for the $25 plan that includes basic control of the system via a smartphone app or a web interface.
One thing SimpliSafe doesn’t currently offer is a camera. They are reportedly working on such a beast, but there’s no sign of when it might be available. In the meantime, I’m thinking of coupling it was a Dropcam monitoring system, which seems to get very good reviews.
So…the system was delivered promptly within just a few days. The components were already set up to work together. There’s a base station that needs to be plugged in (it has a battery backup in case of power outages). Then you choose where to put each sensor. Take it out of the box, pull off the paper strip to expose the sticky tape, and stick it in place. That’s it. The base station is already programmed to find all the sensors that you order. Each of the battery-powered sensors communicates wirelessly with the base station. They say batteries will last several years, but that sounds optimistic. You can change the batteries yourself. If you want to move a sensor, you just pry the tape loose from the wall and move it. No need to call the dealer and set aside time for a professional installer.
When first turned on, the system is in a test mode. Sensors will do their job, an alarm will sound, but an alarm won’t trigger a call to the police during the first 72 hours. This gives you a chance to find out if you’ve put sensors in places that are prone to false alarms, and to get used to living with the system in place.
During our test period, we triggered the alarm twice. Once I had it set for “home,” which sets the door and window alarms but doesn’t turn on the motion detectors. If someone tries to come into the house while we’re down the hall in our bedroom, the alarm will sound. But if you set the alarm and later decide to go out on the deck to watch the stars, there goes the alarm!
It took us more than 72 hours to train ourselves to turn off the alarm system. I triggered it one morning when we came back from our walk and I forgot to “disarm” before coming back into the house. First there were a few beeps, then after 30 seconds or so an alarm started, and almost immediately the phone rang and the alarm monitoring company was on the phone checking on the potential emergency. That’s how I know that the monitoring works. The call came in almost instantly.
SimpliSafe advised us that the Honolulu Police Department requires that you register your alarm system, and the company even provided the form that had to be filed. There’s a $15 registration fee.
In any case, we’re going to keep the system. Hopefully it will deter the next burglar. And if not, they say it typically earns a discount on your home insurance, and they provide a certificate to submit to your insurer. I still have to check that out.
If you’re interested, let me know. I can submit your email address, and they’ll send you a 5%-off coupon in case you decide to try it out.
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Have you considered a simple trip wire that triggers a 12 gauge shotgun?
Wouldn’t be practical. Cats like to play with anything that looks like string….not to mention people forgetting that the system was armed.
Or perhaps a MUCH bigger cat…..
My experience with home alarm systems have been they are largely a waste of money and HPD and or any other monitor usually ignores them. Simple signage ” Thius property under video survelience seems much more effective-backed up by the tiger…
You sit back from the ocean while my mom, just down the road from you in Kaaawa, has had terrible luck with anything wired. Corrosion inside her telephones and tv, dvd player, etc have been a problem. I guess avoiding open windows out in your neck of the woods is the best bet for electronics but I’d check out that kind of thing with a dealer.
And as with last time you wrote about it there are various ads for home security systems on the right rail right beside your post. These guys don’t miss a trick.
A dog remains one of the best deterrents. Burglars usually skip houses with dogs. Their barking serves as an alarm and even an ankle biter may be a physical threat. And burglars are unlikely to want to argue the toss with anything larger.
Of course for a cat person this solution may not be practical.
Good watchdogs are at best a complement, but not a substitute, for a modern electronic security system….unless you can show me a watchdog trained to call the homeowner on the phone the moment an intruder is detected.
Not to mention over time, the kind of system that Ian describes is a whole lot *cheaper* to own than caring for a dog.
My uncle’s 2 german shepherds in his back yard were poisoned, then the house burglarized.
Simplisafe is a good solution. I had a hard wired system through a local company, but they charged $37 per month, required a 3 year contract, and the system always remained vulnerable to the telephone line being cut. They wanted more for the wireless option. The so-called local company also uses a mainland company for the monitoring, so what’s the difference? In testing the system, we noticed Simplisafe called back faster than the “local” company did, so the decision seems like a no-brainer. Remember to get your alarm permit too or HPD can charge you for responding to a false alarm.
Yup. SimpliSafe provides the forms to submit to HPD for the alarm permit. Good service.
Since I need a new security system I’m wondering how the Simplisafe is working out for you now that you have had it for 3 months?
I just saw your query about Simplisafe.
Actually, I couldn’t be happier.
I found the system very easy to set up, and it has worked very well so far.
We got a Verizon module, which gets a good signal almost everywhere in Hawaii.
I had been concerned about the size of the door/window sensors, which sounded largish. But they aren’t. Turned out to be very discrete.
And you can get an extra magnet for those, just $5 each, so that you can set a slider window totally closed, or cracked open, and movement from either position will set off the alarm. It means you Hawaii windows dont have to be closed for the alarm to work.
I just ordered a second keypad. We set off the alarm a couple of times when we came home and immediately dropped off groceries in a downstairs storeroom. THe original keypad is at our entry door, so by the time we got up there, the alarm was going off.
To install the new keypad, I just went online to my Simplisafe account page, entered the new keypad’s serial number, gave it a name, and then pulled out the strip of paper to make the battery connection. Then I chose its location, used the supplied tape to stick it to the wall, and it worked from the very first.
I’ve moved a couple of motion detector sensors, again, no issues.
So far, I haven’t had a problem of cats setting off the motion sensors. I was worried about that.
And since we’ve accidently set off a couple of alarms, I can tell you that the monitoring service responds quickly and professionally.
We have the $25 per month monitoring, which lets you use an iPhone or other smartphone to arm or disarm the system, and check on its status from anywhere.
So far, very pleased with the way it’s worked.
I haven’t had to deal with customer service, so I can’t evaluate that.
You do have to remember to file for a permit with HPD. Simplisafe sends you a copy of the form, and you just have to file it.
Let me know if there’s other questions that you have.
How’s your home security alarm system working? I’ve been researching for a while now as I’ve been reluctant to sign a contract for home installation of equipment and monitoring for $60/month. Came across your write up and now really considering getting a Simplisafe system going.