British Gas "Safe and Secure" Alarm - recommendati

[rb126]

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience of using the British Gas "Safe & Secure" intruder/burglar alarm system that they are promoting heavily at the moment?

I like the sound of it, mostly. Here are some pros and cons I've found:

Pros -

- Dual system for alerting me via text/email via my broadband or built-in GPRS
- Fairly low monthly charge (£8, vs £25+ for fully-monitored system), which covers the costs of mobile data SIM usage, etc., as well as replacements of faulty parts
- Wireless, flexible system with lots of sensor types plus remote
- Basic home automation built in (control system and appliances across the Internet or via SMS)
- Potentially supports a camera with offsite recording (not yet available)

Cons -

- No keypad, so all family members need keyfobs
- No speech dialler, so there could be delays in texts and alert emails arriving over the Internet or being received if abroad
- It's still £8 a month rather than free for systems with speech diallers

Does anyone have any feedback on this system or helpful comments for a potential purchaser? Other pros and cons? Advice?

Thanks!

 

[bernardgreen]

I like the sound of it, mostly. Here are some pros and cons I've found:

Pros -
~~~~~~~~~~
- Wireless, flexible system with lots of sensor types plus remote
~~~~~~~~~~

If it is one way communication on a licence exempt frequency then that type of wireless is better listed as a Con.

Advice?

Read the small technical print carefully. Ask what happens if a sensor dies suddenly ?. Some systems do not ( cannot ) check sensors are still working and a dead sensor goes un-noticed leaving a room or door un-protected when the alarm is set.

 

[RF Lighting]

How much are they wanting to charge to install it?

You could chuck a wireless system in your house with texting etc yourself within a couple of hours.

 

[Europlex]

£199 inst. + £8 monthly service fee - £96pa

Total cost for 5yrs = £679

 

[rb126]

How much are they wanting to charge to install it?

You could chuck a wireless system in your house with texting etc yourself within a couple of hours.

Their starter system (one contact switch, two PIRs - pet friendly or not, you choose) is £199, as Europlex stated. For £269 you can bump it up to three switches and three PIRs. They charge £70 to install if you are British Gas customer, but it's apparently quite easy to do DIY in a couple hours so I'd do it myself (and I'm not with British Gas). Additional sensors are mostly £20-£30 and include panic buttons, PIRs, contact switches, etc., but they also have water leak sensors, CO detectors, smoke detectors, gas leak detectors, etc., and also offer a "smart plug" that extends the wireless range and lets you control an appliance remotely.

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/safe-and-secure/devices.html

If it is one way communication on a licence exempt frequency then that type of wireless is better listed as a Con.

Thanks, Bernard. It runs on 2.4GHz using the ZigBee mesh network protocol, apparently, so I'd assume it's "two-way" in general. Would you say that is a con, and if so, why? 2.4GHz is licence exempt, I would assume, because it's the standard WiFi frequency that almost all routers use (apart from the newer 5GHz ones). Most other wireless intruder alarm systems seem to work on 868MHz, although I'm not sure if they are "one-way" or not. I've read that the Yale one is one-way but has anti-jamming features that trigger the alarm.

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/product...ure/home-monitoring-explained/technology.html

One major worry I have at the moment, however, it that it doesn't have a speech/voice dialler. It emails and sends texts when triggered. However, just this weekend I had a problem with a text taking half an hour to arrive after it was sent, phone-to-phone, so I really would prefer a real-time phone call over a potentially delayed text and/or email, even though the built-in redundancy of GPRS *and* home broadband is nice in case your broadband fails or the phone line is cut. Also there's no entrance keypad so all users need their own remote keyfob clicker.

Anyone got any experience of using or fitting one?

 

[bernardgreen]

If it is to the Zigbee spec then it almost certainly is two way, but whether it has all the necessary functions such as checking sensors are still in touch is another matter.

I would be a bit concerned about it having a direct connection to the internet. Lets hope it has a good anti hacking system.

 

[rb126]

If it is to the Zigbee spec then it almost certainly is two way, but whether it has all the necessary functions such as checking sensors are still in touch is another matter.

I think the web "dashboard" thing is supposed to let you know battery levels in all the sensors, etc., so I think there must be two-way communication to some extent. Quite what is communicated is hard to say because it is a closed (unpublished) spec.

I would be a bit concerned about it having a direct connection to the internet. Lets hope it has a good anti hacking system.

Quite right! They say all communication is to/from the British Gas servers and uses SSL/TLS so data in transit should be secure, in theory. Plus there's a good chance a burglar wouldn't know your IP address. But a single flaw in their web interface and your alarm system could be hacked, that's true. And once a flaw is found it could be automated, circulated and then mass attacks could be made on anyone with such a system. Let's hope they have a good firewall built in and have closed off everything but a very simple interface that they can then try to ensure is bug-free!

------------

Has no-one on DIYnot got any experience of the British Gas Safe & Secure alarm system?

 

[Maxsys]

No experience of the system, but it is made by Visonic and Israeli based manufacturer now owned by Tyco corporation. Nothing wrong with any of that, all of the devices can be found on their website, with the exception of the hub, so that may be a BG only product. Whether it stays that way or not will depend on how many units they shift. This is the third or forth incarnation of a BG alarm system.

 

[rb126]

No experience of the system, but it is made by Visonic and Israeli based manufacturer now owned by Tyco corporation. Nothing wrong with any of that, all of the devices can be found on their website, with the exception of the hub, so that may be a BG only product. Whether it stays that way or not will depend on how many units they shift. This is the third or forth incarnation of a BG alarm system.

Ah, interesting. Thanks for the info, Maxsys. A market BG have been trying to crack for a while, then, I assume.

Seems to be a decent system for a home-install, but shame about no remote keypad entry and no speech dialler.

 

[mattice]

Try here:

http://forum.alertme.org.uk

Essentially the BG system infrastructure is licensed by Alertme. BG has developed a whole range of new sensors presumably with visionic. I have an alertme system, largely a failing community as alertme seem to have ditched further development and handed over to BG and various other EU US companies... guess business is business.

Some of the kit is cross compatible, the above forum gives an insight.

 

[mattice]

oh, alertme has a speech dialler over the web as well. You can snap up systems on ebay quite frequently... may sell mine soon