British Gas Alarm
Important: British Gas Safe & Secure home burglar alarm system is no longer available!!OCTOBER 2013
However...
We've managed to find you a similar package which does the same as the British Gas system for a similar price (with our exclusive online discount applied).
Infact this comparable monitored alarm system also offers two-way voice communication, PIRs with in-built cameras (for visual verification) and guard response! All valuable added extras!
DO YOU LIVE IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING POSTCODE AREAS?
AL, B, BA, BB, BD, BH, BL, BN, BR, BS, BT, CA*, CB, CF, CH, CM, CO, CR, CT, CV, CW, DA, DD, DE, DG*, DL*, DN, DT, DY, E, EC, EH, EN, EX*, FK, FY, G, GL, GU, HA, HD, HG, HP, HR, HU, HX, IG, IP, KA*, KT, KY, L, LA*, LE, LD*, LL, LN, LS, LU, M, ME, MK, ML, N, NE, NG, NN, NP, NW, OL, OX, PA*, PH*, PE, PO*, PR, RG, RH, RM, S, SA*, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, SN, SO, SP, SS, ST, SW, SY*, TA, TD, TF*, TN, TS, TW, UB, W, WA, WC, WD, WF, WN, WR, WS, WV, YO
If so, Verisure (an alternative to British Gas) is offering 50% OFF their monitored alarm systems for a limited time only - Our review and offer details can be seen here.
At first glance the system looks sleek in design, minimalistic and modern. The fact it's 100% wireless will please prospective buyers as its super simple to install, no disruptive installation required and no mess.
How much does it cost?
The self-installation starter kit starts at £199. On top of this is an £8 per month monitoring charge.
Note; this is a monitoring service charge, not a response service. The main difference being what happens when the alarm activates. The Safe & Secure system notifies the owner via SMS and/or email. A response service is monitored via an alarm receiving centre (ARC) and will notify the police or key-holders on alarm activation.
What does the Safe & Secure kit contain?
For £199, you will receive the starter kit consisting of:
- Decoy external siren
- Hub
- 1 x Smart Plug (Wireless extender), not to be confused with a smart alarm system
- 2 x Key fobs
- 2 x motion sensors
- 1 x Door contact
Notice the starter kit does not contain an audible external siren. This would be an additional charge of £79.90.
Can I add more devices to it?
Yes, you can add as many devices as you want. There is no limit.
The only consideration is the range of the wireless device (physical distance from the hub/extender). This is typically 20 metres, although may be less if signal has to penetrate walls and ceilings.
If you live in a larger property, built over several floors and/or older properties with thicker walls, you may have to invest in additional smart plugs strategically placed to extend the wireless signal.
What additional devices are available and how much are they?
Ok, so we know the British Gas home alarm system can be infinitely extended - but other than additional motion sensors (PIRs) and door contacts, what other devices can be added to give a more complete home monitoring system?
Here's where we think Safe & Secure excels as the complete home monitoring system.
Smoke Detector £39.90 |
Gas Leak Detector £49.90 |
||
Smart Plug £29.90 |
Key Fob £19.90 |
||
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector £54.90 |
External Siren £79.90 |
||
Motion Sensor (PIR) £29.90 |
Control Button/Panic Button £14.90 |
||
Pet-friendly Motion Sensor (PIR) For pets weighing up to 18kg £29.90 |
Internal Siren £54.90 |
||
Water Leak Detector £29.90 |
Hub £99.00 |
||
Door/Window Contact Sensor £19.90 |
Decoy Siren £14.90 |
Common product choices have been bundled together to save costs, take a look at the bundles offered here.
How many users can control the alarm system?
You can have as many users as you like. Providing each user has a key fob to arm/disarm the system you can monitor user activity. Really useful to see when the kids get home if you're out and what time the cleaners left etc.
Where's the keypad?
As traditional burglar alarm engineers one of our first questions was - "Where's the remote keypad?"
Most traditional alarm systems have a keypad to interrogate the system's event log enabling you to see timed events such as user activity and device activation.
The British Gas Safe & Secure system simply doesn't have one, nor does it need one. The system is activated/de-activated using the remote key fobs and interrogated, controlled and monitored over the internet via a secure web application, known as the dashboard.
Online Dashboard
Once the system's installed and setup you can control and monitor your home security system via the online dashboard. The dashboard is accessed via a secure website meaning you can control your home security devices from anywhere around the world. All you need is an internet connection.
The dashboard looks like this:
From the dashboard you can activate/de-activate the alarm, monitor the temperature throughout your home, see when the kids got home from school, switch appliances on/off as well as customise who gets alerts and how they receive them (SMS, email).
What the monthly service fee gets you:
- Lifetime warranty – free replacement if any product is faulty during the life of your contract (not including installation fee if you choose professional installation).
- Free technical support.
- Customer support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- GPRS and battery backup – if there's a power cut or your broadband fails, your home is still secure.
- Email and text alerts – giving you and your family and neighbours time to act.
- Dedicated iPhone app (an Android app is coming soon).
- Regular software upgrades for your dashboard, hub and devices.
- Remote appliance control using your SmartPlug.
- 'Presence' monitoring – you can see who's at home.
What the monthly service fee DOESN'T get you:
- Police response
OK, so what do you need to get started?
- A broadband connection at home.
- A router with an Ethernet port connection (some older routers aren't compatible).
- The latest version of one of these web browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.
- A power supply close to where you want your hub to be installed.
- An active email address.
- A mobile phone (if you want to receive text alerts).
- GPRS coverage (if you want to take advantage of our GPRS backup in case there's a power cut or your broadband fails).
- You can have Safe & Secure in your home whether you own or rent the property. If you rent, you'll just need permission from your landlord to fix a decoy siren to the outside wall.
- iPhone, if you want mobile app control (an app for Android is coming soon).
How do I order the British Gas Safe & Secure Alarm System?
As mentioned above, as of October 2013, you can no longer order this product. However, we've managed to find you a similar package as the British Gas system.
Sharing is Caring!
If you found this page useful, please share with friends. Thank you :-)