Clearly, some DIY home security systems are as varied as the actual alarm system options. You can pick up the phone and have a system shipped right to your front door, you don't even have to leave your home. You can also stop at most big box stores and grab a home security package off the shelf, about as difficult as ordering Chinese for dinner. The ease of access to DIY alarm systems creates the aura that the solution to your concerns about your family's safety has a fast and simple solution. Too good to be true?
Advertisers make it look so simple: Purchase your equipment, install it in a spare half-hour then marvel over how cool home security has become. You are then the official hero for years to come.
Commercials and websites for DIY Home Security make Home Security Systems look as easy to install as it is to purchase. For some, this is not miles away from reality. In the same way that a commercial showing someone to plug in a VCR and view it a minute later isn't ions away from reality. People program their VCR's/BluRay players every day, but it's not quite plug and play. Home Security isn't quite a peel a sticker back and shove a sensor on the wall, then wave a magical wand and POOF!, State of the art alarm system.
Make sure you have the best possible experience. Read this list of things consumers like you didn't realize upfront and avoid these problems yourself. Whether you decide to do a do-it-yourself install or a professional install, base your decision on great research and you'll probably get what you are looking for.
Question #1: Are You a Do-It-Yourself Person?
Now, I personally am married to a man that used to install security systems, designs business infrastructures and now owns a home automation dealership. ( I know, I scored big time!) Put a big fat check beside the qualified box. We also have 4 kids, 2 dogs, 6 chickens, his business and he does custom sports tuning on muscle cars for fun. His DIY list is pretty full, no room for more.
Does that sound familiar? There is a reality in which some people level their back yard, install an outdoor kitchen, gas lines for the BBQ and then create a backyard oasis to surround it. Those people live in my sister's house, not in mine.
If that is you, DIY Home Security might be a great option. You will no doubt ignore the commercials of people randomly sticking sensors to dirty walls that are supposed to stay in place and you will do your research, read the instructions and it will click in your perfectly DIY brain. You will not procrastinate the project into oblivion and you will have earned your hero status. Probably for the 5th or 6th time this year.
On a more serious note, for some reason that only you know, your sense of security has been interrupted. You are looking for a way to restore peace of mind and protect your loved ones from all danger, and the home security system you choose and your ability to install it perfectly and without error needs to confidently restore a more secure reality.
DIY or Professional Installation? Keep These Things in Mind
As an ADT dealer that offers only professional install (at this point anyhow) people continually tell us why they choose professional install over do-it-yourself and we're more than happy to share the following things to think about as you contemplate doing it yourself:
#1 Proper placement:
This might seem obvious, door sensors go on doors, window sensors on windows, right? But what kind of break-ins happen in your area? Are doped up 15 year olds bashing windows and crawling through? That won't actually set off a window sensor. What type of smoke detectors are used? Is it the type that can't be near the kitchen? The type that doesn''t catch smoldering fires while you sleep. These questions and more are obvious to a trained installer but might not occur to you when a box comes in the mail.
#2 warranties and guarantees.
Your trained installer is just that... trained. Trained on each piece of equipment, its best use and best placement. How to best protect the home for the best price and required to do it right or make it right for free. Then there's a warranty. Equipment should come with a warranty, if it has an issue, you call your DIY tech support, (for companies that offer that, not all do) un-install your product, mail it back and wait for a replacement to install it again. If you are past the limited warranty period, make sure you know what the price is per device outside of the introductory package. If technicians are offered, remember the average tech costs $65 to $120 to knock on your door and diagnose, then an additional amount for parts and labor. A company that does professional installation should offer a no cost limited warranty period and after that, a good company will include an extended warranty for the life of the product as part of the monitoring. The average alarm service call without a warranty is over $300.
#3 The install is a bit more than you can handle or Murphy's Law happens (again) and a sudden business trip whisks you away.
Luckily, most DIY companies do take this into account and offer you anywhere from 30 to 90 days to change your mind, realize you are not going to get to it or throw in the towel in confusion. Either way, you can change your mind when it doesn't work out. With a longer trial period, you can use the equipment for a while and make sure it works, you understand it completely and it meets your family's needs. That is super important since the equipment wasn't suggested by someone who understood security well, looked at your actual home's layout and understood how your family will use the system.
#4 Delivery Time
If you choose a company that mails equipment, most companies quote a 7-10 business day delivery. An unfortunate fact with alarms is that most of us decide to get an alarm because something happened. It's what you call an "event" industry. The vast majority of you are getting an alarm because your house got broken into, a break-in or home invasion happened physically close to you or to a person close to you, or you are purchasing a new home / business. Sometimes a new baby heightens ones sensitivity to safety concerns as well. Waiting two weeks to regain your peace of mind after a break-in is not a reality.
#5 Customer Service:
We all know customer service is a huge deal. Your dream purchase can become a night mare real fast if you have to make a phone call and can't get an answer or you are sent to a foreign country for support and neither of you understand each other to communicate. Frontier Security, for example is on the east coast and offers support on east coast time only. Vivant has settled legal disputes with 7 states and a federal government suit over various sales tactics and service disputes. When looking into a company and it's equipment save yourself a headache and check reviews on Yelp and the companies standings with the Better Business Bureau.
#6 Easy install might not equal best install.
Many DIY installs rely on 2 sided tape for every component of your system. Keep in mind that adhesive is adhesive, it's not miracle adhesive because it's for your home security. Clean the walls before applying and bumpy textured walls might not adhere as well. Then if you find that the kids slamming the back door and hitting the sensor has knocked it off, there is still the option to use screws there. DIY companies don't mention the screws but if you are a DIY'er, it's not too difficult to figure out. You might want to permanently install the sensors if there are sticking issues or rough child issues.
Same goes for the panel. You will be informed to set it on a table top or put it in a hidden location. Hmmmm, have you ever walked into an establishment and seen a companies security panel sitting beside the door on the counter? A professionally installed panel is put in a place where the cellular communication is assured, and then attached to the wall permanently and hardwired to back up electricity. Usually with a trip wire to assure pulling it off the wall signifies a distress signal. Let's face it, batteries die and there goes the system if it does. Not to mention that while a crook is stealing your electronics, they can just power down the panel and take it too. Again, if you are a DIY'er regularly, you will do your research, drill a hole to connect it to your electricity and be ahead of the game. Not too difficult to decide ahead of time if you want to do the job the right way.
#7 Finally, know your system
If you install your own system, you will not have an installer train you on the use of your system and honestly, most companies are not going to advertise the things that are not so great about the equipment. Security systems today go way beyond the basics, which means there can be a lot to learn. Many alarms have home automation built in or are able to be used with it. For example, an ADT Pulse system has it's own automation and can work with a Nest Thermostat and learn your habits. You don't even have to program it, but you would need to read a bit on it to learn how it works.
Read the reviews, especially the ones that show what people are disappointed in, some will be trivial, some will be people that might be playing with a few cards short of a full deck, but some will be viable issues that people didn't realize when they made their purchase. Canary for example seems to be known to just stop working, then resumes functions later. It is powered by a cord that simply unplugs to disconnect it. It also must be set in plain view to work properly. Oh, and if you want a siren, you have to lean over and press the siren button when someone breaks in. On a SimpliSafe system some major notifications don't happen, for example, if you leave a door or window open and arm the system by the app or key chain remote, you will receive no notification that there is an opening that is not armed and standing open.
To sum it all up, some of you are perfectly qualified to install your own system. But beware of the lures to believe that a 20 minute investment in home security will safely secure your home and loved ones. If your are willing to do some research, look into crime trends in the area, brush up on what each piece of security equipment does and does not do, DIY might be a worth while investment. For all others we suggest a professional install. The main advantage of DIY is not paying an install fee. While that is true, installations are sometimes free, or customarily run from $99 for many systems, and $99 to $299 when you start adding video surveillance and home uatomation.
