Whether you have moved to a new neighborhood or staying in your current neighborhood, it is important to keep yourself and your family members safe and secure. When you leave your home for your office each morning, there is a fear buried deep in the heart that whether the family members that you are leaving behind will be safe or not. With the advancement in technology, ensuring the security of your family members is not a big challenge. This is because now you can turn your home into a smart home. To remove the fear of security from your heart and mind and for ensuring the safety of your family, you must install a security system or an alarm system at your residence.
The alarm system of a smart home is way different from the standard digital security system. The alarm system of a smart home uses the Wifi installed at your home and with the help of that Wifi it monitors your home. Some security systems also can control remotely the locks and doors of your home. There are sensors installed which will send a notification in case there is an intruder in the home.
There are two types of alarm systems that can be installed at your residence. The first one is the self-monitored alarm system which is a do it yourself project and you can install them on your own. The second option is to install a professionally-managed alarm system wherein you hire professionals to install and monitor the alarm system.
Now, comes the main question: Is it safe to have a do it yourself alarm system? Before giving an answer to it, let me first explain to you what is a self-monitored alarm system and what are the pros and cons of it.
What is a self-monitored or DIY alarm system?
In an alarm system, if the sensor detects anything then it sends a notification or an alert. The major difference between a professionally monitored alarm system and a self-monitored alarm system is the person who receives those notifications.
In case of a do-it-yourself security system, if the camera or the motion detector or any other sensor detects something, then it sends an alert or notification on the mobile application installed on the homeowner’s phone. The homeowner who is away from his home can check through that alert who has entered into his home. Then he decides what step should he take next. In several DIY alarm systems, the homeowners can talk through the cameras. On the contrary, in case of a professionally monitored alarm system, if the camera or the motion detector detects something, then it sends an alert or notification to the monitoring agency who has been appointed by the homeowner. These agencies have highly qualified and experienced professionals with them. They check the intensity and degree of the notification or alert sent by the sensor and then they intimate the homeowner. These professional agencies instruct or assist the homeowners in deciding what steps must be taken next.
Moving on to the installation part, a do-it-yourself alarm system is something which you can install it yourself. You just need to search for good equipment or a package online or you may purchase it even from a well-known store and it will be delivered at your doorsteps. On the other hand, in case of a professionally monitored alarm system, the company whom you have appointed to install the security system, visits your home to evaluate your house and then they recommend you the best equipment that you should install and provide you assistance with it.
If you want to install a do it yourself alarm system then you do not require many tools to install it. Small tools like screwdrivers, batteries etc. which are easily available at everyone’s homes are required. Sometimes, one may face some problems while installing the door locks and other similar equipment, but there are many tutorials available online, with the help of them one can install such types of equipment.
Now, that we have known what is self-monitored or DIY alarm systems, let us now understand the pros and cons of installing a DIY home security system.
Benefits of a do it yourself alarm system
Installing a do-it-yourself alarm system may have certain perks over installing a professionally monitored security system. Some of the pros of installing it are elucidated below:
- Cost-effective- The first advantage of installing a do it yourself alarm system is that it is cost-effective. There are no costs associated with it. You don’t have to pay anyone any monthly or yearly charges for monitoring the system. Also, as you install it yourself, you don’t have to pay anything for its installation. You only have to pay the cost or the purchase price of the types of equipment purchased but the cost of installation is zero. Per contra, if you hire any professional agency for installing a home security system, then you will have to pay them the cost of the types of equipment purchased plus a charge for installation. Also, if you install a professionally monitored alarm system then you will have to pay them some monthly charges for monitoring your home security system. Therefore, a DIY security system is cost-effective and affordable and you can save a lot of money by installing the alarm system yourself.
- Elimination of middleman- The second pro of installing a do it yourself alarm system is that there is no middleman involved. In case of a professionally monitored alarm system, the sensor or detector sends a notification or update to the professional agency which is monitoring it and then if they think that it is a real alarm and not a false alarm then they intimate you and tell you what to do. But in the case of a self-monitored alarm system, the sensor or detector sends a notification or update on your mobile phone directly and you can take quick action on it. You don’t have to wait for a middleman to intimate you and tell you what to do.
- Portable- A self-monitored alarm system or a do it yourself security system is a very good option for people who stay at rented apartments. When they shift their homes they can easily uninstall the equipment from their previous homes and reinstall them in their new home. They don’t have to intimate anyone about their shifting. But where a professional agency is installed to monitor your home security systems, you need to intimate them about your shifting and also clear all their dues before shifting. If you want to continue availing their services then you will have to check whether they render services in the area where you are going to shift and provide them with your new address. If they don’t render services at the location of your new home then you will have to find a new service provider. This becomes a cumbersome and time-consuming process.
Drawbacks of a do it yourself alarm system
A self-monitored alarm system is a good option but it also has many drawbacks. Sometimes, choosing a professionally monitored alarm system becomes a more recommended option than choosing a self-monitored alarm system. Before choosing to install a do it yourself alarm system, you must know about the limitations of that technology so that you can make a wise choice. The cons of a self-monitored alarm system are as follows:
- No assistance while installation- In a do it yourself alarm system, you have to do the installation part yourself. There is no experienced person who can assist you with it. The maximum assistance you can get is by reading or watching the tutorials which come along with the equipment. If you are a beginner and you are going to install it for the first time then it may be a difficult and time-consuming job for you. You may not install it properly and the worst part is that you don’t realize this until a problem has come and the system fails to work. Professional agencies have experienced staff who can install your security systems way quickly. In case of a professionally monitored alarm system, well-trained technicians install them at your home and they also assist you when the system stops working or there is some problem in it.
- Instant Police support might be a problem- In case of a DIY alarm system receiving help from police always maybe a problem. Imagine a situation wherein you are inside your home and an intruder has broken in. Your phone is not near you but you know that the intruder is there. You are stuck and there is no way by which you can expect help from outside. But in case of a professionally monitored alarm system, in the same situation, the sensors or detectors send a notification to the agency monitoring it and they, in turn, understand the intensity of the situation and bring the police to your home. Also, in such a situation you do not get terrified because you know that you will get help from outside.
- Increases stress and burden- A self-monitored alarm system causes a burden and increases the stress of the resident. In case there is an emergency, then the resident doesn’t have any help besides him. He has to manage everything all by himself. But in case of a professionally managed security system, the professionals intimate you about the problems in your home and then they take decisions regarding what is to be done. In this case, you don’t have to run here and there for it and at the back of your mind, you have this relief that there are some help and assistance besides you.
[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h2″ question-0=”What are the Drawbacks of a do it yourself alarm system?” answer-0=”A self-monitored alarm system is a good option but it also has many drawbacks. Sometimes, choosing a professionally monitored alarm system becomes a more recommended option than choosing a self-monitored alarm system. Before choosing to install a do it yourself alarm system, you must know about the limitations of that technology so that you can make a wise choice.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h2″ question-1=”Are do it yourself or self-monitored alarm systems safe?” answer-1=”By now we all know what a do it yourself or self-monitored alarm system is and what are the pros and cons of it. So, now we come back to the main question that whether DIY security systems are safe or not. To answer this question, we need to evaluate the aforesaid pros and cons of the self-monitored alarm systems. When we evaluate it, we observe that though a self-monitored alarm system has many pros, the cons are more in number.” image-1=”” count=”2″ html=”true” css_class=””]
Talking about security, we observe that one of the major con of a self-monitored alarm system is that it doesn’t provide instant police support in maximum cases. As the example taken above, a professionally monitored alarm system sends a notification to the professional agency and they might arrange for police support. Taking another example, if you have gone out of the country for some work, and the DIY alarm system sends you a notification that someone has entered your home. But as you are out of the country you can’t do anything about it and can just get tensed. But imagine if you are in this situation and your security system is a professionally managed security system, then the notification is sent to the agency and the agency intimates the police and safeguards your property even if you are out of the country. This removes the pressure and burden from the shoulders of the homeowners.
Being a homeowner, you might be busy somewhere and may miss the alarm but the professional monitoring agencies always have someone to look after your home and they can never miss the alarm. Appointing a professional agency also saves a lot of time of the homeowners as they filter the real alarms from the false ones and intimate the homeowner in case there is actually any problem in their home. But in case of a self-monitored home security system, the homeowner has to check every alarm and after some false alarm, if there is actually an emergency, they may skip that. Professional monitoring agencies may be expensive as compared to the DIY alarm systems because they charge some monthly fees from you for providing their services but it is worth it because they are safer than a do it yourself alarm system.
