Yorkshire's Premier domestic alarms installer

Domestic Alarms

Protecting your home and family is probably the most important role in your life. Having a burglar alarm is the most influential factor of deterring thieves. Research carried out by the British Security Industry (BSIA) found that the majority of residential burglars avoided properties with burglar alarms entirely. Installing an alarm could seriously reduce the threat of a break-in. On average a break-in costs £1,040 on a residential premises according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) 2004.

Many insurance companies will offer you a discount when an approved maintained intruder alarm is installed in your house.

All our alarms are installed to the latest European Standards and a certificate of conformity is issued after each installation.

For domestic alarms our:

Prices start at £600 Inc VAT for a 3 PIR system Grade 2

Domestic alarms Maintenance pricing

Scheme Silver(A) Service start from £65 inc VAT

Scheme Gold(B) Service start from £110 inc VAT

Our domestic alarms are mainly wire free causing minimum disturbance to you on day of installation.

All our domestic alarms can be monitored by our monitoring station with police response.See below for Grading

Risk Assessment

One of the most significant issues within the new EN standards will be evaluating the risk associated with the premises and determining a grade of system. This is because once the grade of a system is determined it will define the extent of the system, its signalling and tamper security.

Security Grades

Alarm Grade	Level of Risk	Type of Premises	Insurance Approval	Notification Options
1	Low	DIY Type Installation	NO	NO
2	Low to Medium	Residential	YES	YES
3	Medium to High	Residential & Commercial	YES	YES
4	Very High	Banks etc	YES	YES

One of the most important aspects of the EN 50131 requirements is the concept of a security grade. For each installation the grade of system has to be chosen according to various factors. In the EN the grade is described in terms of the type of intruder and how much effort they put into the burglary.

What are the Grades?

Grade 1 is for an installation with a low risk of theft. The property is not likely to attract intruders. It is assumed that a thief is likely to be opportunistic rather that bothering to plan things in advance. In the application guide (DC CLC/TS 50131-7) it assumes that an intruder is simply going to break open a door.

Grade 2 is for a slightly higher risk of theft. The property is likely to have something of interest to an experienced thief. In this case the intruder is expected to have some knowledge of how alarm systems work and possibly carry some tools to allow him to overcome a simple alarm system. The thief is likely to check the building for ease of access through doors, windows and other openings.

Grade 3 is for a reasonably substantial risk property. There is good reason to assume it may be broken into and might well contain objects of high value. An intruder is likely to gain access by penetrating doors, windows or other openings. The thief could be very experienced with intruder alarm systems and possess a number of tools and equipment to overcome the system.

Grade 4 is for very high-risk properties. Intruders could be expected to plan a burglary in advance and have the knowledge and equipment to alter parts of the intruder alarm system to prevent detection. It is assumed that the intruder could gain access by penetration of floors, walls and ceilings. The intruder is unlikely to be working alone.

What Grade of System does my installation need?

This is difficult to say at the moment and opinion on this matter varies from country to country. The view in the UK tends to require grades that are higher than other countries (e.g. a shop in Belgium at grade 2 could be grade 3 in the UK). To a large degree the choice of grade would be guided by insurance companies. A typical view thought could be:

Grade 1 would only be of interest in domestic properties (without an insurance replacement for an alarm system)

Grade 2 would be most domestic properties and low risk commercial (e.g. florists)

Grade 3 would be for high-risk domestic and most commercial properties (e.g. a Newsagent with cigarette sales)

Grade 4 would be for extremely high-risk domestic and higher risk commercial properties (e.g. bullion stores)

Mixing Components of Different Grades

The EN standard says that it is not necessary to use the same grade of component throughout an intruder system.

If the installation is a grade 2 then there is no problem using, for example, a grade 3 power supply.

If however an installer fits a grade 2 component (such as a detector) in a system then that system is limited to grade 2 at best.

It is possible to have a defined part of a system at a higher grade so long as all associated parts are at the same (or higher) grade. For example a system combining intruder and hold-up (PA) functionality could have a grade 4 hold-up system whilst the intruder parts were limited to a grade 3. But this example is only valid if the power supply, alarm transmission system and warning devices used by hold-up (PA) parts are all grade 4. This would still allow intruder parts such as PIR’s to be grade 3. The system as a whole is, of course, only grade 3.