House alarm system costs - guide for private households

How much does the alarm system for your house or apartment cost?

Unfortunately, the decision-making process often begins with the selection of the brand/manufacturer. How is a layperson supposed to be able to judge which alarm system brand is actually good and, above all, suitable for their property? In our experience, however, you should focus on other factors first and then decide on a brand/manufacturer.

Most people base their decisions on publications on the Internet by self-proclaimed experts, who often only aim to promote sales with the article and not on the qualitative information value for the customer. Alarm system brands are often compared with one another, which does not help the customer in terms of technology or price. We consider expert statements such as "an alarm system for a medium-sized house costs this and that much" to be completely dubious for several reasons:

a) The figure usually refers to a starter package, which is not consciously communicated to the customer. On the contrary, such statements simulate to the end customer that they can completely secure their house for a certain fixed price, which often seems cheap. But the disillusionment comes when the field service comes by and countless components are suddenly added, or in the worst case at the latest when a break-in occurs.

b) In order to be able to reliably quantify the costs of an alarm system, important factors such as the site plan and building plan of the house, risk points and the type of security, which are often not apparent to the layperson, must be analyzed.

The range of alarm systems from various retailers on the Internet, who offer alarm system brands that you have never heard of at "cheap prices", does not make the decision any easier for the layperson. On the contrary, alarm systems are often bought on the Internet where you cannot be sure whether they really offer the protection and reliability that the seller promises.

We at AESAG, as a professional installer of alarm systems and security technology, would like to use this article to give house and apartment owners a reliable overview of the costs of an alarm system.

Below we describe six important points that you should consider before purchasing an alarm system:

1. Installation requirements before purchasing an alarm system
2. Costs of an alarm system according to requirements and purpose
3. Costs for the components that a good alarm system should contain
4. Installation costs of the alarm system by a specialist company
5. Follow-up costs due to maintenance and connection of an alarm system
6. Saving costs through subsidies

1. Installation requirements before purchasing an alarm system

The first step in making the right decision about a home alarm system is to analyze your own situation carefully. Are you currently building a new house, are you planning to renovate your apartment or are there currently no construction work planned and you just want to ensure more security?

If you are planning to build or renovate, you can always think about installing a wired alarm system. The necessary cables can be planned and laid without much additional cost. This way you can enjoy the advantages of a wired alarm system, as we describe later in this article. However, if you are not planning any construction work, it is important to know whether your property already has network cables, for example, or whether it is an older building and no cables have been laid. In this case, a wireless alarm system is usually the best option for installing an alarm system without major work.

Be aware of these points, as they have a direct impact on the available manufacturer selection for the alarm system and the associated costs. If you are planning to seek advice, this is information that is very important for the expert in the discussion. Here, too, you can save costs if you are better prepared for the discussion.

2. Costs of an alarm system according to requirements and purpose.

It makes the most sense to calculate the costs for an alarm system based on the number of alarm components required for the desired level of security. For this purpose, we distinguish between several security levels:

Security level 1:

Basic security of the ground floor with security of the entrance door using a locking or opening contact and the interior/hallway and living room using two motion detectors.

The cost of a wireless alarm system from a reputable manufacturer, including installation and setup, should not exceed around CHF 1200.

The cost of a wired alarm system is higher due to the greater installation effort, but should not exceed CHF 1700. Depending on the alarm system manufacturer, a control unit for arming/disarming may also be necessary, which can result in additional costs of between CHF 300 and 600.

Security level 2:

Security on the ground floor - example a house with 10 windows and 2 doors as well as two motion detectors, a control unit and an external siren.

The costs for a wireless alarm system from a reputable manufacturer including installation and setup are approximately between CHF 1700.-- and CHF 2500.--.

The costs for a wired alarm system from a reputable manufacturer including installation and setup are approximately between CHF 3700.-- and CHF 4200.--.

Security level 3:

Complete security for a medium-sized house/200 square meters - 8 rooms (including kitchen and basement), 20 windows and 4 doors/basement, ground floor and first floor.

For security using a wireless alarm system from a reputable manufacturer including installation and setup, you should expect to pay between CHF 2800.-- and CHF 3800.--.

The cost of a wired alarm system from a reputable manufacturer, including installation and setup, is approximately between CHF 7,000 and CHF 10,000.

Security level 4:

Additional security for the outdoor area for a medium-sized house/200 square meters.

The cost of security using a wireless alarm system for the outdoor area is approximately between EUR 1,400 and EUR 1,700.

Advantage: The alarm is raised before the perpetrator reaches the house.

Security level 5:

Additional security with a smoke detector for a medium-sized house/200 square meters - 8 rooms (including kitchen and basement) / basement, ground floor and first floor.

For security with a smoke detector using a wireless alarm system from a reputable manufacturer, including installation and setup, you should expect to pay between CHF 600 and CHF 800.

Advantage: the individual smoke detectors are integrated into the alarm control center, which creates a fire warning system and allows the fire to be reported to the fire department in real time by connecting the alarm system to an NSL emergency call service control center.