How to get started with DIY home alarm and security systems

• By David Cardinal on August 5, 2016 at 9:10 am

While cybercrime is growing, and grabbing most of the headlines recently, physical crime hasn’t gone away. Over 2 million homes and apartments in the USA are broken into each year. The price isn’t just whatever is stolen, but is also the emotional cost of both sentimental items and the sense of violation. With the growth of credit card fraud and identity theft, burglary can also lead to cybercrime. In one recent case, a homeowner’s credit card was used by the thieves within minutes after the break-in.

A security system is one of the best lines of defense in protecting your home. There are many well-known options for turn-key, monitored alarm systems that come with a professional installer and a monthly fee. Being ExtremeTech, we’ll skip past those and talk about some options for rolling your own.

Security systems you can install yourself

DIY security systems either start with a focus on security itself, like iSmartAlarm and SimpliSafe, or start as home automation products and add on security functionality, like Samsung’s SmartThings. Each company tends to have a unique pitch, so scrolling through their product listing will help give you a sense of which one will be best for you. For example, iSmartAlarm has really focused on internet-connected cameras. I’ve been a customer since they were a KickStarter project, and their iCamera KEEP and Spot are both clever ways of keeping an eye on your home without monthly fees. However, they are far behind on delivering many of their promised product line extensions, so for now you’re limited to motion and contact sensors to complement cameras.

SimpliSafe has taken a nearly opposite approach. It has a broad line up of sensors — including freeze, water, smoke, and carbon monoxide — and security features, but no cameras (and have put their first promised camera on indefinite hold). Being able to “look in” via a camera when a sensor is triggered is incredibly useful, as otherwise if you are traveling, it is hard to know how panicked to be about an alert. I also like that SimpliSafe uses Lithium Ion batteries for its sensors, giving them an estimated five-year lifespan. The button batteries used in my iSmartAlarm contact sensors seem to go out at least once a year.

Both iSmartAlarm and SimpliSafe provide mostly closed systems. They are purpose-built for security and are not general purpose home automation systems — although we have been able to teach our Amazon Echo to let us control iSmartAlarm using voice activation. If instead you really want a full home automation system with security features, Samsung’s SmartThings may be right for you. It takes more work to set up, but Samsung’s hub supports both Zigbee and Z-Wave in addition to the more typical IP interface. Samsung has also built a large collection of compatible products sold by partners, so you’ll have the most flexibility over time.

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