How can I pay less for my home alarm

[cnodie1]

Since I know we have a few home alarm gurus on the board here, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to bring my bill down. I am currently paying 36$ a month for monitoring but I also have to pay my home phone as well which is about 35 or so (the alarm monitoring is the only reason I have the phone really). 70 or so a month is a lot of cash at the end of the year. I understand I am getting the peace of mind by having the alarm but I was seeing if there were any other options available to me that I have no knowledge of.

 

[usmc-nav]

I would cancel the home line and have the alarm report via a cellular communicator. I am in Baton Rouge so you are out of our market but if I can answer any questions let me know.

 

[JadeRaven]

USA fire & burglar is, I want to say, $25/mo with cellular service.

You will have to pay for the equipment but the drop in monthly costs should pay for itself over time.

 

[cnodie1]

What is the cost of the cellular communicator?

 

[Bearco]

What is the cost of the cellular communicator?

I think I paid around $200 for mine a few years back. They did not charge me to install.

 

[c10seven]

I pay $122 quarterly for mine with the cell box, I am using alarm center.

 

[Jack]

USA fire & burglar is, I want to say, $25/mo with cellular service.

You will have to pay for the equipment but the drop in monthly costs should pay for itself over time.

They were recently purchased by another company, so I don't know if this is still the case. A cellular communicator is he way to go, the monitoring is 12 dollars or less for almost every company. They are really reliable and remove the vulnerability of someone cutting your phone line/cable. Make sure they are installing a 3 or 4 g unit. Like a DSC 3070 or a TG4.

Depending on who you are with you might want to look at signing a contract extension/new contract in exchange for a reduced install/monitoring price.

 

[cnodie1]

Thanks for all of the help fellas.

 

[Jack]

Thanks for all of the help fellas.

One other thing, if you are with a larger company they will sometimes add a trip fee, if you want to avoid this have a sales rep come out, they quote book price w/o trip fee.

 

[Hitman]

I think you could invest in a Heavy Home Cruiser
and it would be cheaper and likely much more efficient than what you have.

 

[Commander 007]

You can add a cellular back up. It will not give a specific zone but will report general burgulary or general fire. You home owners insurance usually give you a discount that is around $35 a month if you have burgulary and fire monitoring. So basicaly its free once you have paid the installation off.

 

[f350drvr]

You should look into a 2Gig alarm system. It has the cellular card built in so you do not need a phone line.You can use the phone app to control it offsite. You also have a ton of control options for automating lights, door locks, and thermostats. Using the app I can turn my driveway lights on, unlock the door and turn the thermostat down with the push of a button. For about the same money as a standard alarm system, and way less than a standard system with cell backup you can get a really cool unit. http://www.2gig.com/

There are a few companies around New Orleans that sell them. Monitoring ranges from $15-30 depending on how many home automation features you want. But you should be able to get local monitoring, cellular service, the app, lock and thermostat control for $25month. If you want to know more, PM me and I can let you know which company I used.

 

[king4456]

You should look into a 2Gig alarm system. It has the cellular card built in so you do not need a phone line.You can use the phone app to control it offsite. You also have a ton of control options for automating lights, door locks, and thermostats. Using the app I can turn my driveway lights on, unlock the door and turn the thermostat down with the push of a button. For about the same money as a standard alarm system, and way less than a standard system with cell backup you can get a really cool unit. http://www.2gig.com/

There are a few companies around New Orleans that sell them. Monitoring ranges from $15-30 depending on how many home automation features you want. But you should be able to get local monitoring, cellular service, the app, lock and thermostat control for $25month. If you want to know more, PM me and I can let you know which company I used.

I did the research and got one of these systems this week I am loving it

 

[Unclee1]

King446, who did you get your system from, was is difficult/expensive to install? What's the monthly monitoring fee?

Thanks,

 

[king4456]

King446, who did you get your system from, was is difficult/expensive to install? What's the monthly monitoring fee?

Thanks,

Emergency alert systems on O'Neal was the best price by a long shot. $39.99 a month with unlimited controls from my phone. Install with a lock and lamp module was $166. They tied into my existing system no home phone.

 

[king4456]

The touchscreen is nice and interface is very simple to use

 

[LACamper]

I've used Eton Electronics out of Kenner for years. Monitoring is I think $18 a month.

 

[gooch1234]

TOCA Alarm out of Kenner. He just moved his office from metaire. Been using for years, dumped the house phone and did well with just cell call in. Uses the same alarms most government offices use. Not sure what I pay for monitering b/c wife handles that, but a good option.

http://www.tocaalarm.com/

 

[lachef]

TOCA Alarm out of Kenner. He just moved his office from metaire. Been using for years, dumped the house phone and did well with just cell call in. Uses the same alarms most government offices use. Not sure what I pay for monitering b/c wife handles that, but a good option.

http://www.tocaalarm.com/

+1
I have toca alarms monitor my business alarm. They are great customer service and their monitoring is top notch. I should know I have had 15+ break ins. They monitor loss of signal and power outages to. I think it is in the 20s low 30s a month. I pay by the year so I really can't remember the price off hand.