We could easily switch from one monitoring plan to another within the billing section of our app. The best Abode monitoring deal we found required one year of prepaid service. Advanced Equipment Freeze sensor: Frozen pipes can burst, leading to floods (see above). But if you regular your pipes’ temperatures, you can prevent them from freezing and the flooding that comes with that.

Many also support IFTTT applets, thus letting you configure a floodlight to turn on if your garage door opens (or similar).

ProSeries At-A-Glance Brochure (English)

Smoke/ CO alarm: Did you know that about half of all fires start from cooking, while the other half start from a combination of heating, electrical systems, and more? 5 Another deadly killer is carbon monoxide, a tasteless, colorless, and odorless gas that can be lethal if ingested in large quantities. If your home doesn’t already have smoke and CO detectors, we recommend buying a smart one so that you can be alerted of dangerous levels of smoke or CO even when you’re not home. Many of the wireless devices have long battery lives and can even alert you when their batteries are getting low, leaving your home protected 24/7. On test, the 93db siren built into the hub went off without a delay when anything triggered the window, door or motion sensors – as alerts are beamed to your smartphone. Like most of the kits on our list, installation is easy and mostly wireless, although the hub pairs via the ethernet port on your home wifi router to enable a secure connection.

Are you looking to store camera logs: there may be a subscription fee to store camera logs for 30 days or moreMost systems had two options for monitoring: self-monitoring, meaning we looked after our own system via live streaming, notifications, and remote control, or 24/7 professional monitoring. With the latter, not only did we have access to our system, we also had a team of people available at all hours to respond to any alarm going off. If we weren’t able to respond for whatever reason, be it work or a vacation, the monitoring team was able to verify the emergency and call the police for us, if needed. We always recommended getting professional monitoring, although it usually required a monthly fee. Glass break sensors: Glass break sensors, as the name implies, can detect the sounds of glass breaking, as intruders will often break through windows as opposed to opening them up and risking waking the window sensors. However, if you have a motion sensor within the window’s range, then glass break sensors are unnecessary. Only use them on ground floor windows where the motion sensor is out of range.

Vivint’s equipment is also superior in quality. The best case to prove that point is the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro. Equipped with on-board artificial intelligence, the camera can detect lurkers and trespassers even if they don’t actually try to break into your home. Moreover, it has sirens and warning lights that can preemptively ward off potential intruders. The first thing you should know about Alder is that it requires a three-year agreement. That’s an awfully long time, especially for renters such as ourselves. It’s also a huge risk even for homeowners to sign a contract without knowing if the system works for their needs.

If you decide to use Verisure, you will have a choice of self-monitored and professionally monitored systems, although the professionally monitored option can be expensive. Prices aren’t openly advertised, which means you will have to request a quote if you want to know how much it will cost you. However, reports suggest that it is slightly more pricey than some competitors. Video doorbells: Video doorbells are essentially cameras that are meant to go next to your doorbell. The benefit of wireless video doorbells in particular is that they don’t require existing doorbell setups. Depending on the camera’s artificial intelligence capabilities, you’ll either get alerted when the camera detects movement, when the camera detects a person, or when your doorbell is rung. Most video doorbells have two-way audio and either color or infrared night vision so you can speak to and see your guest, day or night.