Stay Secure: the best security systems for your home

Two years ago, we moved into a 200-year-old cottage that hadn’t been modernised since 1962 – apart from one thing. Early in the 1990s, the lady who’d lived there for 60 years became concerned about a spate of local burglaries and had a complex intruder alarm system fitted.

We inherited skeins of ugly wires nailed and burrowed into doorframes, window frames and skirting boards. She apparently spent £3,000 on having it installed.

The sad thing is that today, thanks to the internet and Wi-Fi, you can get a much less intrusive system for far less outlay and, if you’re handy, even install it yourself. And as well as ringing alarm bells (which neighbours never take seriously anyway) modern systems can inform you of exactly what’s happening in your home even if you’re away. 

Sensors in today’s home security alarms can ‘talk’ to a central hub using Wi-Fi, hence the end of wires. One supplier that excels in this field is Ukrainian company Ajax, which makes superb self-installable home protection that isn’t a ridiculous price even if you have it installed. The quote we got, and still plan to take up, is £1,200 all done. 

If you’re serious about home security, you may also want some outside cameras. Dozens of makes use AI to distinguish between, say, cats or foxes and people, but most cameras require mains power, and that means expensive and disruptive outside wiring. 

Australian company Swann has a brilliant solution to that problem with its MaxRanger4K Solar 2 system (Swann, £499.99). The cameras are solar-powered, so no need for wiring, and have an exceptional range of up to 250 metres to communicate with their powered hub inside. So if you have a big garden, you can place cameras right out on the edge. A two-camera kit costs £500 and you can use up to eight. 

At the other end of the cost scale, it’s amazing how cheap good quality indoor video security cameras have become. Chinese brand Ezviz has many types, but for just £30 you can get its CP1 3MP model (Amazon, £34.99). It has automatic tracking of moving objects or people, pan and tilt with your phone from afar, two-way audio, so you can speak to your pet (or burglar) from anywhere, and more. There’s no subscription either – often the downside of tech bargains. 

If you have a frail friend or parent who lives alone – or if that’s you and you worry about falls – secure home tech can also bring peace of mind. Canary Care, based in Bournemouth's up-and-coming technology hub, has a flexible package of gadgetry to watch over vulnerable, but still independent, people. 

Canary sensors will monitor anything from sleep and movement around the house to opening the fridge or putting on the kettle, so loved ones can be informed if there’s a concerning change in a person’s routine; £459 will buy a bundle with ten different types of sensor.