Do You Actually Need a Monitored Security System?

The short answer: if you are home most of the time, live in a building with neighbours nearby, and mainly want to deter and detect — self-installed products are enough. If you travel often, live somewhere isolated, have a second property, or want someone to actually respond rather than just alert you — monitoring does something DIY cannot.

We sell the self-installed kind. Here is where it stops being the right answer.

What self-installed security does well

• Deterrence. Visible hardware moves you down the list of easy targets. Most break-ins are opportunistic.
• Delay. A door bar or barricade adds seconds and forces noise. Most attempts end when either happens.
• Detection. A 120dB alarm wakes you and tells the intruder they have been noticed.
• Cost. A meaningful setup runs $60 to $150 once, with no monthly fee.
• Control. No account, no contract, no third party with access to your home.

What it fundamentally cannot do

Everything above depends on you being there to hear it.

An alarm going off in an empty house is heard by whoever happens to be nearby. In an apartment building that may be several people. On a rural property it may be nobody at all.

The FBI recorded 216,601 daytime residential burglaries in 2024 against 174,053 at night — most break-ins happen while people are at work. That is precisely the window in which a self-installed alarm has the least effect.

Self-installed security also does nothing about fire and carbon monoxide when the house is empty. A smoke alarm sounding in an unoccupied home does not bring the fire service.

When monitoring is genuinely worth it

• You travel regularly or the house is empty for long stretches.
• You live somewhere isolated where noise brings nobody.
• You have a second property — a cabin, a rental, a place you visit twice a year. Nobody hears a burst pipe or a smoke alarm in an empty house.
• Somebody vulnerable lives there — an elderly parent, a family member who could not respond alone.
• You want fire and CO covered, not just intrusion. This is the argument people underrate. A monitored smoke detector summons the fire service whether or not anyone is home, and that includes when pets are inside.
• Insurance. Many carriers discount premiums for monitored systems, which can offset a meaningful part of the monthly cost.

When it is not worth it

• You rent short-term and will move within a year.
• You are home almost all the time.
• Your realistic concern is package theft or an unlocked door, not forced entry.
• The monthly cost would stretch you. Security you cannot afford to keep is not security.

The two are not alternatives

This is the part that gets framed as a choice and should not be.

A monitored system alerts a response centre. It does not physically stop a door opening. A door bar physically stops the door and does not alert anyone. They cover different halves of the problem, and a monitored home with an unreinforced sliding door is still an easy entry.

If you have monitoring, the physical hardware still matters. If you have hardware, monitoring adds the response you cannot provide yourself.

Our offer

We offer a free HD smart doorbell camera and professional installation with a monitored home security plan — 24/7 monitoring, HD video, two-way audio, motion alerts, and integration with equipment you already own.

We are telling you plainly that we benefit if you take it. We are also telling you plainly that if you are home most of the time and mainly want to feel safer tonight, a $30 door bar and a couple of alarms will do more for you than a contract will.

See the monitored plan offer →

Frequently asked

Is a monitored alarm worth the monthly cost?
It depends on how often the house is empty and how isolated it is. If noise alone would bring help, self-installed may be enough. If it would not, monitoring is what fills the gap.

Does a monitored system lower home insurance?
Many insurers offer a discount for professionally monitored systems. Ask your carrier what they require — some specify central-station monitoring specifically.

Can I use both self-installed products and a monitored system?
Yes, and it is the stronger setup. Physical hardware provides delay, monitoring provides response.

What happens if the power or internet goes out?
Reputable monitored systems have battery backup and cellular failover. Self-installed battery alarms are unaffected by either, which is one of their genuine advantages.