Guide To The Best Alarm Systems For Apartments

Yes, you can. And going with the above-mentioned data, you’ll be much better off with the best alarm system for apartment. However, this is assuming you own the apartment.

What if you’re a renter?

Well, you can have an alarm system in your apartment, but since installing the alarm system in your rented apartment may need extensive work, like changing locks, or even some electrical wiring you; just so you don’t breach the lease agreement, you might have to check with your landlord/landlady.

In the case your alarm system doesn’t need extensive wiring work, or even changing locks on your apartment, you can install the alarm system without consulting your landlord/landlady.

Cost

This is the first consideration when purchasing anything. How much does the alarm system cost? Can you afford it, and is it worth that price?

However, you shouldn’t be swayed a lot by price since while you’re likely to get more value for alarm systems that cost more, you can also get great alarm systems at relatively lower prices.

Ease of use

The best alarm system for apartment should be sophisticated in design, but it should also allow for easy operation on your end.

This can mean, remotely arming your apartment’s alarm system using an application on your smartphone, or even by a touch of a button on the hub.

No contract option

You don’t want to be roped into an unnecessary contract when purchasing an alarm system for your apartment.

Other than avoiding possible penalties if you breach contractual terms, there’s always the possibility that you may need to move, or your lease could be ending soon.

Either way, get an alarm system that doesn’t require you to get into a contract.

Remote monitoring option

The best alarm system for apartment should offer the ability to monitor your alarm system remotely, preferably on your phone or computer.

Most top alarm systems for apartments have the option for remote monitoring. You can go for professional monitoring if you don’t mind the extra cost that comes with it.

If you prefer monitoring video footage and your alarm system by yourself, or you’re on a tight budget you can choose an alarm system with the self-monitoring option.

Portability

The alarm system should be easy to uninstall and carry/move to another place. As a renter, this cannot be stressed enough.

The alarm system you choose should be portable enough that you’ll be able to remove/uninstall it whenever you have to leave or move to another apartment.

Equipment

The alarm system should feature among others, a control hub/base station, access control unit (keypad, fingerprint scanner, or even RFID card), motion sensors, siren, glass cracking/breaking sensors, surveillance, carbon monoxide, and smoke detectors.

With some advanced alarm systems, you can even get doorbell camera options, surveillance cameras with night vision, and even pet-friendly motion sensors.

Encryption

There’s always the risk of your data ending up in the wrong hands.

Imagine if some unauthorized individual were to access surveillance footage of your apartment without your permission. You wouldn’t be very enthusiastic about it, and you may even choose to do away with the whole alarm system for your apartment.

For this reason, the best alarm system for your apartment should have commercial grade or even better encryption standards

This includes encrypting your data stored locally, and also your data that’s transmitted to the server using Transport Layer Security (TLS), and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

This is the ideal best security for apartment for any renter out there. It’s affordable, has customizable options, and covers basic security needs.

At a minimum, simple alarm systems feature motion detectors, access control (keypad or RFID card and card reader), a base station, and a basic siren.

They don’t require extensive wiring work done, or even any drilling for that matter. So no need for permission to install the alarm system or even a lot of work uninstalling the alarm system when you have to change apartments or move.

Additionally, most don’t come with contracts at all, while offering professional and self-monitoring options.

Some simple alarm systems for apartments are also Do It Yourself (DIY), meaning you save even more on the installation costs. An example is the SimpliSafe how to install.

With a small apartment, you probably have less ground to cover regarding surveillance.

At a minimum, the alarm system should feature a motion detector at the entrance, a sufficiently loud siren, a monitoring option, (professional or self monitoring) together with remote access and control.

Most alarm systems for small apartments are generally DIY, and less costly. For a fair price, you can expect to find a decent alarm system for a small apartment, and have it set up in 10 minutes or less.

As discussed above, cost is always a decisive factor when choosing the best alarm system for an apartment.

So what really should be the optimum cost for an alarm system for an apartment?

This boils down to what you can afford, and the kind of quality you want.

For the best quality in an alarm system for an apartment, there are some proponents who may argue that an expensive/costly alarm system for an apartment translates to the best quality alarm systems.

But this is not always the case. You can find some of the best quality alarm systems for apartments at a fraction of the cost, compared to other more costly offerings in the market.

How should you then decide on the best cost?

First, be objective. Determine which options suit your budget.

With the options you’ve listed, look out for the best features as discussed above, to determine the best alarm system for your apartment.

However, if cost isn’t an issue to you, then by all means go for the best quality product offering out there in the market, with the best features for alarm systems for an apartment.

If you’re more of a hands-on kind of person, DIY alarm systems for apartments are your ideal choice.

Other than the obvious satisfaction that comes with installing the alarm system for your apartment on your own, you’ll also save some money that could go into professional installation costs.

However, most DIY alarm systems for apartments come with easy to follow tutorials anyone can follow to install the alarm system, no drilling or hammering involved, just peel and stick.

With wireless alarm systems, you’ll have an easy time installing the alarm system as well as when you’re uninstalling the alarm system as you change apartments, or move somewhere else.

For an alarm system to be considered portable, it should be easy to install or setup, and at the same time, it should be easy to uninstall as you move to another apartment.

This means the alarm system should be compact, preferably with customizable add-ons, it shouldn’t require extensive work when installing (wiring or hammering in place), and the alarm system should be relatively small in size.

That sums it up for the best alarm system for an apartment.

To recap, we’ve discussed whether it’s possible to have an alarm system in your apartment, then we went through what to consider when choosing an alarm system, simple alarm systems for apartments, and finally DIY and wireless alarm systems for apartments.