Why replace your old wired alarm with a wireless one?

Wired alarms are what we know.  They feel like a comfortable old cardigan.  They feel reliable, professional, always there. There is something about a wired system that makes you feel naturally more comfortable and the added benefit of a wired alarm connecting to a control desk so someone can alert you, or the police (if you pay for that contract) is great.

Like everything else though, you can get top of the range wired alarms and the bottom of the pit range where you are plagued by problems and each time, it involves a call out fee because it is electrical and there is very little you can do to the alarm yourself when something goes wrong.  With a wireless alarm, particularly some of the newer smartphone app alarms, they are built to be much more user friendly.  They are intended for you to be able to install them yourself and therefore, they are also intended for you to be able to manage them yourselves, making a wireless alarm much cheaper to maintain.   Most wireless alarm brands do not offer an installation service, they offer a great telephone, email or webchat help desk to support you if you have any questions or need help.

 A wired alarm is consistently on and you never have the worry someone may unplug it, but on the flip side, the control panel is wired in and therefore if you every change your mind and want to move it to suit your new room design, you can’t easily do this.  With a wireless system, just unplug and move wherever you want, it has absolutely no impact on your existing set up.  All wireless alarms also have a back-up battery so if they ripped off the wall in a burglary, they continue to operate as normal, whereas it’s not necessarily the same story for a wired system.

With a wired system, it can also be expensive replacing sensors or changing the outdoor siren, because again, it is a wired system and most people are more comfortable commissioning an expert to do this for them, where as a wireless alarm, you have ultimate flexibility to do what you want, especially with the HomeGuard Pro or the miGuard G5. They are very plug and play and you can simply add more sensors, move them, rename them, add additional sirens…. Whenever you choose and in seconds, up to 40 additional accessories can be added. Even better, you can affix the sensors with screws if you have DIY skills, but alternatively, you can use the 3m tape on the back to fix them so if you are DIY phobic, you can simply plug in your alarm, tape on your sensors around the room and then begin the easy set up process.

The last major benefit to a wireless system is that a lot of them will work with your smartphone which means you have brilliant control and immediate notifications if there is an alert.  Rather than a control centre calling you, your alarm is now in your own hands and your trusted family or neighbours as you can add up to 5 contact numbers and they will all be alerted simultaneously.  The HomeGuard Pro for example will send you push notifications realtime!

So why replace your wired system if it is working ok as it is? I think the reason for most is in control and longer-term maintenance and management.  People today like to take more and more control of their own security, put sensors where they choose, add and remove them,  as well as being able to turn their own alarm on and off from wherever they are and ultimately, it is becoming an attractive idea to remove older wired systems that rely on maintenance/management contracts and replace with agile, self-monitoring systems.