Author: Craig Lloyd / Source: howtogeek.com
There are plenty of security systems out on the market that come with professional installation and support, but what about DIY setups that offer many of the same features and are often much cheaper? Here are the pros and cons of doing it yourself.
Many companies are getting in on the home security system market, especially smarthome brands like Nest, SmartThings, and Wink. For example, Nest has a DIY security system bundle that lets you install everything yourself and do your own self-monitoring from the Nest app, but you can also hook up professional monitoring if you want for a monthly fee.
The big question, however, is what the pros and cons are when deciding to go the DIY route, and how it compares to professional systems from the likes of ADT. Here are some things you should know about that.
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You’ll Pay More Up Front for DIY, but It’s Cheaper In the Long Run
It may be tempting to go with ADT, since you only have to pay a $99 installation fee to have everything installed in your house—sensors, alarms, and keypads. With a DIY setup, though, you have to pay for all the equipment yourself, and that can cost hundreds of dollars.
However, when you get someone like ADT to hook everything up, you’re still paying for the equipment. You’re just doing it over time while they’ve got you locked into a three-year contract paying for the monitoring service, as well.
Let’s gather up some examples that we can compare. For this we’ll compare SimpliSafe, Abode, and ADT, the first two of which are security systems that you purchase up front and install yourself. Let’s start with ADT
ADT
ADT’s base package comes with a keypad, the siren, three door/window sensors, a motion detector, and a keychain remote.
All you have to pay is the $99 installation fee up front, and then you’ll pay $36.99 per month for the 24/7 professional monitoring.There’s a big caveat, though. This plan requires that you connect the system to a landline as its only means of communication, which you may not even have. If you want or need a cellular connection, you’ll have to get CellGuard ($48.99/month) or ADT Pulse ($52.99/month). The latter option allows you to arm/disarm your system remotely and receive alerts on your phone.
Keep in mind that ADT often runs specials where they’ll waive the $99 installation fee or give you a $100 gift card as a sign-up bonus of sorts (essentially waiving the installation fee), but for comparison’s sake, we’ll leave the installation fee in there.
When all is said and done, the total…
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