Poll About House/Apt Entry Alarm Systems

In My Humble Opinion
1

  1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment?

  2. If not, do you ever plan to get one?

  3. If yes, are you happy with yours?

  4. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.?

  5. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on?
    My answers:

  6. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment?
    Yes, since the day we moved into this house.

  7. If not, do you ever plan to get one?
    N/A (Although I would imagine a few people with dogs might not feel the need to get one - just guessing.)

  8. If yes, are you happy with yours?
    Yes - and it is loud enough for neighbors on both sides of the house to hear.

  9. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.?
    Depends. We both work odd hours, so it is pretty much always on while one of us is sleeping and the other is at work. However, we usually don’t turn it on if we are both up during the daytime.

  10. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on?
    About 3 or 4 times a year…usually causing the other person who is asleep to yell a few choice swear words.

2

(1) Yes - the house we bought last summer had one already installed; we just had to start paying the monthly monitoring fee.

(2) N/A

(3) Pretty happy - but I’ve never had one before, so I don’t really have anything to compare it with. We like that the alarm system incorporates the smoke detectors as well as a dampness detector in the basement.

(4) Only when we both are going out, or at night. We both telecommute from home, so it doesn’t seem necessary to turn it on when we’re both in the house.

(5) 3 times so far - every time first thing in the morning when I’ve opened the front door to retrieve the newspaper. That alarm will get your heart going better than any caffine ever will.

3

  1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment?
    God no. What I do have is:
    -insurance,
    -the kind of window treatments that allow nobody to look inside and see what fancy equipment I have;
    -the roof over the garden entrance is too weak to walk on, and will come crashing down in sharp splinters if anyone tries to climb it.

  2. If not, do you ever plan to get one?
    No. It will only make me nervous if it goes off at bad moments, and I don’t have the discipline to use it consistently.

  3. If yes, are you happy with yours?
    N/A. I do use stickers" This car has an alarm" on my car windows though. That gives me all the advantages of an car-alarm without the numerous disadvantages.

  4. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.?
    N/A

  5. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on?
    I’d HATE that. I hate sudden loud noises, or even the risk of sudden loud noises.

4

  1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment?
    Yes - my parents were uncomfortable with me actually moving into my house until I got one, in fact. It does make me feel safer.

  2. If yes, are you happy with yours?
    Yeah - I mean, it’s a pain in the ass that I have to maintain a land line for it, which essentially doubles the cost, but I like having it.

  3. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.?
    When I leave the house or go to bed.

  4. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on?
    Rarely - I’ve trained myself into a routine where I wake up in the morning, turn the alarm off, let the dog out, etc. On strange days, like when I’m sick or something and turn it back on when Himself leaves, then I’ve occaisionally set it off. It’s no big deal - I’ve never actually set it OFF off, to where the real siren was going off, just opened a door and set the countdown running. It’s generally a non-issue for us.

5
  1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment? Yes.
  2. If not, do you ever plan to get one?
  3. If yes, are you happy with yours? Yes.
  4. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.? It’s only on if we’re not home, or if I’m home alone.
  5. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on? Never, anymore, because if I’m home alone, the one door that doesn’t have a delay (the sliding patio door) gets something draped over the handle (like a scarf or hat) as a visual reminder that the alarm is on.
6

  1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment?
    Yes. Was installed by the original owner of my condo/villa.

  2. If not, do you ever plan to get one?
    n/a

  3. If yes, are you happy with yours?
    I’m still paying the fee for the alarm company, so… yes.

  4. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.?
    Only turn it on when I’m going out of town. Since I live alone, if I’m gone there’s no one else in the house if I’m leaving town. I don’t turn it on while I’m home, or while at work, or even for day-trips.

The main reason for keeping up the alarm system is that the alarm company would contact me if something happened – fire, burglary, whatever – while I’m out of town.

  1. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on?
    Never.
7
  1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house/apartment?

Installed (left behind by previous tenants) but not activated due to conflicts with our digital phone service

  1. If not, do you ever plan to get one?

I’d love to activate it, but we haven’t made the effort to see what company/service would be available

  1. If yes, are you happy with yours?

N/A

  1. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.?

N/A

  1. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on?

N/A

8

**1. Do you have an alarm system hooked up in your house? ** Yes

2. If not, do you ever plan to get one? Never again

**3. If yes, are you happy with yours? ** Hate hate HATE it

4. Do you only turn it on when you go out, or when you go to sleep - or do you have it on when you are awake in the house and just watching television, or working on the computer, etc.? Only when we leave. Hubby arms it if I’m still sleeping when he leaves.

5. How often do you forget it is on and open a door and window and quickly discover it is on? Every damn time.

9
  1. Yes-I installed it this spring-I have two more devices to hook up this week.
  2. N/A
  3. Very happy-it covers the areas where someone would most likely break in, and incorporates heat detection in the attic and basement along with smoke/heat on the main floor. I sometimes travel for days at a time, and home is out in the boonies.
  4. Burglary protection is only on when I’m away. Anyone breaking in while I’m home will get shot. Fire is 24 hour (natch) and reports to the central station.
  5. Never.