With UK burglaries on the rise there’s never been a better time to get your property’s security beefed up.
Modern technology can definitely give you the edge if you’re looking to invest in a new system, and it’s pretty cheap compared to regular house alarms. In this guide we’re looking at intelligent devices available in the UK, in 2024. We’ll get you up to speed and find the best smart alarm system for your home.
The #1 smart home alarm for 2024 is the Yale Sync IA-320 – Available on Amazon . It’s a high quality alarm which is easy to DIY install. It has top-notch smart home integration and works well with voice assistants such as Alexa. It’s simple to expand and offers good value for money.
What’s the best smart alarm system for UK users?
It’s great to see smart technology having some serious uses in the security market. There are some excellent alarm products available online in 2024 if you’re looking to do it yourself and save some money.
The next part of this guide will go over some of the most popular smart WiFi alarms and why we think you’ll like them. Below that you’ll find a quick buyer’s guide with more info on picking the perfect security system for your property.
If there’s anything that’s not covered here, please email or post in the comments!
The top recommended best smart alarm system kits we recommend are:
- Yale Sync Smart Home Alarm (IA-320)
- Veho Cave Smart Home Security
- Somfy 2401497A Home Plug and Play Alarm
- JC Wireless GSM & WiFi Security Alarm System
- Vlio Wireless GSM & WIFI Burglar Alarm System
Lets go over each alarm system in more detail:
#1 – Yale Sync Smart Home Alarm
A really good home alarm kit to get your started is this one from security experts Yale. The Yale Sync comes with a huge yellow bell box which will deter intruders and would-be burglars. The alarm comes with two motion sensors, a smart hub, 2 motion sensors and 1 door and window contact sensor and the keypad.
The SMART side of things start when you download the free app. This lets you arm, disarm and will even remind you on your phone if you have left the house but forgot to set the alarm. If you want a robust alarm, and aren’t looking to mess around setting up cameras, this is the probably the best best smart alarm system to go for.
You can read our full Yale Sync Alarm Review here.
Smart Alarm Features
- Works with Alexa
- Full app control
- Receive real-time alerts to your device
- Geo-location reminds you to set alarm
- Secure encryption
See more at Amazon
#2 – Veho Cave Smart Home Security Alarm System
Another really good smart home security starter kit is Cave’s system. This starter kit has everything you’ll need to get going (you can add cameras to the package if you want to) and is one of the easier kits to setup. Like all the security systems in this guide, it’s easy to use and can be expanded with unlimited accessories in time.
Smart Alarm Features
- Set and disarm your alarm from anywhere in the world
- Simple to expand
- Easy to set up and use
- Unlimited accessories
- Solid robust construction
See more at Amazon
#3 – Somfy 2401497A Home Plug and Play Alarm
Apart from looking all sleek and sexy, the Somfy is a great starter Smart Alarm kit because it’s easy to set up and works well. There’s not much to set up here. Just plug the hub unit into the mains (comes with EU and UK plugs), download and install the app and you’re ready to go. Choose where to put the motion detector and also the 3 door / window sensors.
The siren is ear-splittingly loud and the app us very straight forward to use. A really good system that can be expanded as much as you need.
Smart Alarm Features
- Includes: Hub, 1 x indoor siren, 1 x motion sensor, 3 x intelliTag, 2 x key fobs
- Detect vibration as well as motion
- 110 dB siren to scare off intruders
- Wireless indoor motion sensors
- Can be expanded with cameras and more sensors
See more at Amazon
#4 – JC Wireless GSM & WIFI Security Alarm System
When you look at this alarm system you might think it’s going to cost an arm and a leg. It’s actually one of the more affordable smart alarms for sale.
It’s also one of the more popular with customers and definitely one of the best smart alarm systems available. It’s very easy to use, comes with a fantastic control panel and every aspect can be easily controlled and viewed with your smart phone.
This kit contains everything you need to get started and protect your home. You can get all kinds of superb expansions too – like smoke alarms and CCTV cameras.
Smart Alarm Features
- Motion sensor, alarm unit, 2 door / window sensors, 2 key-fobs, two controllers
- 99 intelligent functions
- Control the alarm anywhere from your smart phone
- Low budget price smart alarm
- Can be expanded with smoke alarms and much more
See more at Amazon
#5 – Vlio Wireless GSM & WIFI Burglar Alarm System
Another smart alarm kit that’s packed with an insane amount of components in it’s box is the Vlio Wireless smart alarm. There’s 7 PIR motion sensors, 7 door and window sensors, a siren and a control box. They’ve also included 2 key fobs and 4 remote controls.
This kit can be purchased cheaply and has pretty much everything you’ll need to protect your home.
The free app is easy to use and lets you control and monitor your home wherever you are in the world. It will even send your text messages to let you know what’s going on in your property.
Smart Alarm Features
- Huge amount of sensors and gadgets in the box
- Easy to setup without professional help
- Can be controlled easily with the app
- Colour screen on the main unit
- Includes 4 handy remote controls
See more at Amazon
What is smart home security?
One of the big new things at the minute is smart technology for your home – gadgets and gizmos that all connect and work together to make life easier, and do things that weren’t possible before.
If you thought smart tech was all to do with using your voice to turn on your lights (well, you can do that I guess!) there’s a lot more to it! One of the best uses of smart technology is keeping your home safer.
Using your smart phone
One of the best things about going with a smart security system is that you’ll be able to integrate your smart phone. Downloading the manufacturers free app will let you do all kinds of handy stuff right from your smart phone.
- Add new users
- Arm / disarm
- See real-time video from smart security cameras
- Check if doors are open
- Double-check if you’ve locked your front door
- Answer the door when you’re not home
- Get instant alerts about anything suspicious
Components of the best smart alarm system
Smart security systems bring together a number of bits of tech to help protect your home. They are
Sensors – there’s a number of sensors you can add to your smart home security network. The main ones are door and window sensors and vibration sensors.
Cameras – Whereas you had to buy an expensive security system at one time to get decent cameras, you can get smart systems with really nice quality 1080p video cameras as standard pretty cheaply these days.
Siren or ‘bell box’ – As well as getting alerts to your tablet, phone or computer you’ll still need a good, loud siren in your smart security system. This can be set to go off under any number of events.
Keypads – The best smart alarm systems will also give you an old-school way of arming and disarming your alarm, even if you end up using your phone more for this job. A numeric keypad lets you enter a secret code to engage your alarm.
Fobs & Stickers – Another way you can turn off your alarm on entry is with either a key fob or a handy little sticker that can go in your mobile phone case or on the rear.
Devices and apps – At the heart of your home smart system will be your smart phone or similar device like an Apple ipad. You’ll need to install a free app and you’re good to go. Control exactly how you want your alarm to work, as well as monitor your property.
Your WiFi router – Smart tech uses your home’s WiFi connection to the Internet, as well as mobile internet when you’re out and about to control and monitor your home. The great thing about smart alarm systems is that you can quickly check your home is OK wherever you are.
You can also install a camera doorbell, for extra security. This replacement for your existing bell has a camera that can help protect against parcel theft and do many other things to keep your property safe.
What’s the point in a smart wireless alarm system?
A quick look at the benefits of smart alarm systems
It’s not likely anyone will be installing an alarm that doesn’t have smart features in 2024, whether they buy it themselves or hire someone to replace their alarm. So what benefits can you look forwards to with this kind of home security system?
- You’ll save money – Both initially and then on the little things. It’s easy to do simple tasks like change sensor batteries on smart alarms, or fix simple faults. You won’t need to call the alarm guy out, having the inconvenience of a callout and the expense.
- It’s cheap to expand your home system – One of the best things about getting a smart home security kit is it’s relatively easy to buy and install new sensors, cameras and grow your big brother security empire as you like.
- You can go on holiday and not worry about your alarm going off – No more leaving a key with a relative or the neighbour. One of the selling points of smart alarms is the ability to get updates on what’s going on at home, or even a live feed to put your mind at rest. Monitoring your house from afar is worth the ticket price alone.
- Completely wireless – We had loads of problems with one of our house alarms as it used the phone line (archaic I know!) Smart alarms cut the wires out, making for less things that can go wrong.
- You can give access to people, even if you’re not home – Most good smart alarms will allow you to give out some kind of access code to allow family or even trusted tradesmen to get access while you’re not at your property. This is incredibly useful as at one time you’d have to leave the alarm off.
- You don’t have to be tech savvy to install or use smart alarms – One massive shift in home alarms over the past 5 years has been how easy they are to setup and use now. While there are a few exceptions, any of the big brands have designed their systems to be easy for anyone to set up, even if you hate things like WiFi passwords.
- Run your own CCTV empire from your mobile phone – It used to be a big, expensive cable-ridden nightmare of a job to get a proper set of security cameras in your home. Now sticking a few Wifi cameras into your smart alarm setup is all it takes. Check your garage, check your lounge, check your office all from your phone.
Buying a smart security starter kit is the way to go…
If you’re wondering what the ideal way to get the best smart alarm system is, then we’d have to say picking out a good kit from a proper brand is definitely the way to go.
A DIY alarm kit will contain everything you need to add smart security to your property, including sensors, the central control unit, cameras and any required fittings.
That’s not to say you can’t expand your smart security system.
One of the great things about smart technology is that you can start as small as you like and add components to it as you need to. Need an extra camera to cover an outside garage? No problem. Have some doors that could use their own sensors? That’s super-easy to do.
Smart Alarm System UK Buyer’s Guide
Does it work with Alexa?
One of the coolest things about a smart home can be using Alexa to control different components. Many modern smart alarms will be compatible with the Amazon Alexa devices. If you’ve got one, we recommend opting for an WiFi burglar alarm that works with Alexa as this will give your a lot more control over your system.
Cameras or no cameras?
While smart home alarms work great with cameras, you don’t have to opt for them in order to get a ‘smart alarm’.
Systems like Yales alarm don’t need to have cameras at all. You can still benefit from using your smart home to get alerts, or reminders to set the alarm, even if you don’t like the idea of having cameras around your property.
How easy is it to expand?
One thing you’ll definitely want to look out for is how easy (and costly) it is to buy extra bit’s to add to your alarm system.
If you’re buying a kit, it’s likely you’ll want to expand your smart alarm as you go by adding maybe a camera, or extra sensor. This is pretty easy to do with smart technology and most systems are expandable. But it’s worth checking.
Pet friendly and part arming
If you’ve got a dog, it’s not a lot of fun to race downstairs at 3am and have to turn the alarm off in a hurry.
Thankfully most smart alarms are pet-friendly and will allow you to part arm them – meaning you can select areas of your home that will be designated pet zones, which won’t trigger the alarm.
Another benefit if you opt for cameras along with your alarm is you can keep a watchful eye on pets while you’re at work (or just get a good laugh watching real-life cartoons as the dog is constantly outsmarted by your cat).
What do you get in the box?
If you don’t want to splurge on loads of extras for your home smart alarm then one of the best smart alarm system kits to go for is one that has all the motion sensors and open door / window sensors included in the package.
As you can see above, some kits have a lot more sensors and extras than others so it’s worth hunting around if you want an all-in-one deal.
Let me know in the comments down below how your smart home is coming along. Did you use any of these security products? Which UK pet monitoring camera are you using that you think our readers will love?
