When selecting a fire alarm system for your home or business, you can choose between a standard (non-monitored) or a monitored fire alarm. In this blog, we’ll outline what the difference is and explain the benefits of both.
Firstly, what is a monitored fire alarm system?
With a monitored system, when the alarm is activated, an alert is sent to a dedicated 24/7 receiving centre, triggering an immediate response. The alarm receiving centre will assess the situation and call on the emergency services if necessary. However, if the fire alarm is a standard or unmonitored system, nothing will happen until someone hears and responds to the alarm.
Benefits of a monitored fire alarm
Peace of mind
A monitored alarm is watched 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So you’ll always know there will be an immediate response regardless of whether anyone is in or near the building when the fire alarm activates.
Damage limitation
If there is a fire, a quick response from the monitoring centre in alerting the emergency services will minimise the potential damage to the building and danger to life.
Lower insurance premiums
Your commercial buildings insurance premium may be lower if you have a monitored fire alarm as the risk of fire damage is lower.
Reduce false alarms
The monitoring company will verify the alarm before calling on the emergency services to respond. This verification process can reduce unnecessary call-outs for false alarms.
Benefits of a standard (non-monitored) fire alarm
Cost
While a standard alarm system will cost approximately the same as a monitored alarm to install and maintain, its running costs will be cheaper. This difference is because maintained fire alarm systems have an ongoing fee to cover the cost of the services provided by the alarm receiving centre.
A monitored and standard fire alarm system will do the same job. Both systems will detect a fire and trigger an alarm. However, as you can see from above, what happens after the alarm goes off is important, and this is where monitored alarms have the advantage. The economical advantage of the standard alarm system is far outweighed by the benefits and potential financial savings (following a fire) of a monitored alarm.
If you need a new fire alarm system, we can advise you on the best options and recommend an appropriate system. To receive a no-obligation assessment and quote, please call us on 01392 368830 or email us.