Home Security: DIY Versus Pro

Posted on : April 20, 2012

It’s no secret the United States is still in the midst of economic doldrums. With unemployment still hovering around 9%, the housing crisis in no position to end soon, and constantly rising consumer prices it’s getting more and more difficult to make ends meet. Unfortunately, this reality ends up being the catalyst for another: a rise in home burglaries.

Protecting yourself and your family with a home security system is always a good option. But you may be questioning whether or not you have the money to purchase a professional installation along with home a monitoring service. In fact, if you are suffering from the economic downturn yourself, a DIY alarm system may be extremely attractive. Like many other people, you may feel it is better to have a DIY system that makes a lot of noise than have nothing at all.

Being able to afford a professional installation along with home monitoring is a legitimate concern before you sign on the dotted line. So here are some things to consider:

– Can you pay for your system and monitoring with your current financial resources?
– Do you have valuable assets you’re willing to trust to a DIY system?
– Are you interested in just burglar protection or are you looking for more things including fire and carbon monoxide monitoring?

Paying for Your System

It doesn’t make any sense to sign up for a professional installation if you cannot afford the monthly payments out of your current resources. Doing so means you’ll be using credit cards and other sorts of borrowed money just to keep your security system up and running. This is obviously no way to live. You might be better off spending $200 or so for a DIY system until you can afford something better. If you make your purchase wisely, you may even be able to find a good system that can be hooked up to a monitoring company later on.

Assessing Your Circumstances

Oftentimes what prompts homeowners to purchase a security system is the realization they have valuable assets that need to be protected. For example, a retired couple may decide to liquidate some of their stocks and use that money to purchase gold. Suddenly they realize their home is vulnerable to thieves if word ever got out that they had gold. In their case, a DIY system probably is going to be inadequate.

Another good example might be a collection of musical instruments or vintage guns. Both of these things are easy to pawn and have high street value. If you have these types of assets you should strongly consider a professional installation with a home monitoring program.

Determining What Protection You Want

The reality of DIY systems is that all you get is burglary protection. Without a doubt such systems can be effective in deterring burglars by making lots of noise. But if you’re trying to guard against things like fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, and medical emergencies, a DIY system simply isn’t going to cut it. In that case you’ll definitely need a professional installation and home monitoring.

After assessing all of your needs and desires, you may find a DIY system is more suitable for you. If that’s the case you can find good quality systems for just a couple of hundred dollars. For ease of use you might consider a wireless system so that you don’t have to tear apart your house to run the electrical. Wireless systems don’t cost all that much more than hardwired systems, however, keep in mind you’ll have the added expense of batteries throughout the life of the alarm.