There are pros and cons for both and a few years ago wired burglar alarms were more popular with consumers by far, but due to the advances in the wireless technology these days wireless alarms are becoming just as popular, if not more so, than traditional wired alarms.

In the past wireless alarms were like the cheap cousin to their more sophisticated wired relatives. Wired alarms had more features and capabilities that wireless could only dream of. But wireless has more than caught up and can now do every function a wired model can perform.

The best advantage that wireless burglar alarms have over the wired version is the fact that you don’t need a professional alarm technician to come out to your house and install it, you can do install the alarm yourself with little fuss and no technical knowledge.

You can place to alarm sensors anywhere you like, they only need batteries to run. The control panel just needs to be near a power socket and the dialler needs a telephone line or if you get a GSM model it can run off a cell phone SIM card so you never have to worry about your telephone lines being cut by an intruder.

It is a given that house owners should always check and double check their doors and windows. Door alarms will make you better prepared in case of any robbery and criminal attacks.  But most likely, a door alarm will scare would-be burglars away once it goes off. Even if you feel secure in your current neighborhood, it helps to be 100% sure about the security of your home. Getting a wireless door alarm is a worthwhile investment because you could never compromise the safety of your family.

A wireless alarm for your door comes in two parts – one will be attached to the door frame and the other to the door itself. When an unexpected visitor tries to open the door, the device can be programmed to let out alarm sounds, such as a loud noise, or a silent signal that automatically alerts the police and the house owner. Wireless alarms for your door can be activated at night or when you are away. Wireless alarms can be installed to all entry points leading inside your house and in windows as well. They are usually battery-operated and use sensors to detect movement.

Door alarms come in different decibels. Commonly, 90-decibel alarms emit extremely loud sounds. As mentioned earlier, you could either get a bells-only alarm or a monitored alarm system for your home. The bell-only alarm is the one that emits alarm sounds when triggered while monitored alarm systems set off “silent” alarms, that automatically dials the police number when someone intrudes your house. Monitored alarms can also be programmed to dial a list of preset numbers that could either be your mobile or the home phone of a trusted friend or relative. They need to be connected to your phone line.

photo credit: gongus

A wireless door alarm is not as expensive as you may think. They are quite affordable as more manufacturers are offering the most advanced and economical models. Alarm units are quite easy to install. There are some models that only require you to peel off the adhesive at the back then stick the device to any door or window. Once you have successfully installed your door alarm, remember to test it to make sure it works properly.

Most burglars who target residential properties have admitted they avoid properties where they can see home burglar alarm systems installed. Why would they bother with the hassle of trying to deactivate a home security system when the neighbour’s house doesn’t have one? It’s much easier to rob that house.

This is the reason that most insurance companies will offer you a discount on your insurance premium of you have a burglar alarm installed in your home.

Up until the last couple of years, alarm installers preferred to use hard wired security systems because they were more reliable so offered a greater sense of security. Hard wired alarms are generally much more expensive to buy, install and maintain.

Fast forward to today and home wireless burglar alarms are much more affordable and provide the same level of security that a wired alarm does, with much less of a financial investment.

You are still able to fully monitor a wireless alarm. You have the option of hooking it into your phone line, or buying a GSM wireless alarm which means it is completely a wireless system.

Burglars will always choose the easy road. If your house is protected by an alarm it will deter petty thieves and opportunists.

photo credit: mcoughlin

Usually when you buy an alarm you are provided with stickers to put on your windows and doors. This acts as another kind of deterrent and reiterates the fact that your home is protected by an alarm system.

The cost of a wireless alarm is around $600 and this includes the alarm control panel, PIR sensors and a GSM dialler. The dialler can be programmed with a list of numbers to call if the alarm is activated. If it doesn’t get a response from the first number called it will move down the list and try the next person until it gets an answer.

You can have it call a professional alarm monitoring company, but this will of course incur a monthly monitoring fee.

Sure the alarm comes with instructions, but they might be written by a foreign technician that doesn’t speak English!

So to make things just that little bit easier on you, I’ve listed my top eight tips for installing your home wireless burglar alarm.

1. Before you go mounting any devices in place, check the signal strength and background noise levels from each of the locations you’re thinking of putting anything. If you can’t do a signal strength test, try doing a few tests manually with the alarm just to make sure the control panel is receiving the signal before you fix anything into place.
2. Try to keep your transmitting and receiving devices away from anything metallic. This includes metal window frames, doors and metal lintels. The metal could interfere with your signal.
3. Make sure you mount all transmitting and receiving devices so their aerials are vertical. You will get the best range with the aerials pointing straight up in the air.
4. If you have to run any wiring, then keep in away from the aerials. The metal in the wiring will adversely affect the aerials performance.
5. Don’t cut or change the aerials on any of your devices in any way. If an aerial needs to be replaced, make sure you replace it with a manufacturer approved aerial. Aerials are tuned to certain frequencies by altering their length, so if you cut your aerial down you may not be able to transmit or receive with the other alarm devices.
6. Try not to mount the alarm receiver next to electronic equipment such as televisions or computers as these can generate background noise which interferes with the alarm signal. You should also steer clear of large metal objects like water tanks and radiators.
   
   photo credit: akeg
7. The higher you mount your receiver aerial the better your signal will be, especially if you have thick walls as the signal will have trouble passing through them. So if you have an attic space it may be a good idea to mount the receiver in there.
8. Make sure your detection sensors are placed correctly so they will pick up movement from the area they are covering. Test this by walking around the area. If the sensor is not picking you up, you may need to adjust the position.

Sometimes installing an alarm at home might be impractical. You don’t want wires tacked around the place, from sensor to sensor then to the main alarm control panel. A wired alarm would be fine if it was installed when you were building or renovating the house, but to install afterwards is a bit of a rigmarole.

That’s why wireless burglar alarms are so great. You don’t have to worry about unsightly cables hanging around the place. All you need are some batteries and a power point to hook the main control panel up to. The alarm sensors can be placed anywhere around the property to give you the best possible security coverage.

You can buy wireless burglar alarm systems that include smoke detectors so that if there is a fire your alarm will be activated and action can be taken immediately.

If you choose to buy a wireless alarm with a dialler then you can program the alarm to call a list of numbers if the alarm is activated.

A true wireless alarm will work by GSM, which means you have a cell phone Sim card plugged into the dialler so you don’t even have to attach the alarm to a wired phone line! All you need to do is pay your monthly cell phone bill, or buy a block of prepaid minutes from your cell phone network – whatever works for you.

Another great thing about wireless burglar alarms is they’re completely portable, so if you move homes you can take it with you. You don’t need to worry about buying a whole new alarm system and having an alarm installer come out and put it in for you. Just unplug your control panel, pack it up and plug it back in wherever you need at your new home!

There are so many great wireless alarm products available, do your research and happy shopping!