Busting the Myths of Burglar Alarms

Although burglar alarm systems have become very common these days, not a lot of people know much about these systems. Therefore, like with almost anything and everything around us, there are also quite a few myths associated with burglar alarm systems. In this article, we will discuss some of them and help you to dismiss these myths as just well… myths!

1. Wireless burglar alarms are unimaginably expensive: Well, if you still believe this, check your information source. It is most likely that the source is extremely dated. While wireless burglar alarm systems were indeed very expensive when they were first introduced, changing market conditions, developments in the field of technology, and the increased number of players in the surveillance market have all worked in the consumers’ favor, and today, these alarm systems are affordable by just about anybody.

2. Compulsory service contract: Many people believe that when you buy a burglar alarm from a company, it becomes mandatory or you to sign a service contract with the company. The cause of this belief is the fact that when you buy an alarm system from a company and have personnel from the same company come and install it for you, the installation guys program the system such that all the emergency calls from the system get routed to the company. Well, this is just a program, you can always reprogram the system to suit your needs.

3. Installation of an alarm system needs a person with an engineering degree: This is absolutely false. You do not have to be an electrical or an electronics engineer to install a burglar alarm system. There is a wide range of do-it-yourself alarm system kits available in the market. You can always buy one of these, read the instruction manual carefully, and then religious follow the instructions to set up your own burglar alarm system. It is in fact quite easy to install an alarm system provided you follow the instructions carefully.

4. Monitoring companies charge a bomb: You do not have to accept the first offer that you come across. Shop round and ask multiple monitoring companies for a quote. Play one monitoring company against the other and negotiate a price that fits your budget. Remember all that is required to beat this myth is a little time and research and good negotiation. And, if you are not good at negotiating, ask a friend or a family member who is good at cracking deals to go along with you to these companies and negotiate on your behalf.

5. My pet will trip the alarm: Well, you do not have to keep your pet out of your house just because you are scared that it will give rise to a false alarm and create unnecessary trouble. The alarm systems of today are smart; the motion detectors in these systems can detect the size of the moving object and can be programmed to ignore moving objects of a certain size.