How Much Does Commercial Burglar Alarm Monitoring Cost?

Mammoth Takeaways

• Hardware Components: The type and number of hardware components, such as cameras, motion detectors, and window sensors, significantly impact the cost and effectiveness of a commercial burglar alarm system.
• Installation and Connection Methods: The choice between wired and wireless systems and the size of the property are crucial factors that influence the installation costs of a burglar alarm system.
• Benefits of Monitoring: Having a monitored burglar alarm system deters criminals, protects valuable assets, and minimizes downtime and financial losses due to theft or vandalism.

Are you worried about the security of your business?

Imagine arriving one morning to find your property vandalized or important assets stolen. The cost of such incidents can be staggering, not just financially but in terms of your business’s reputation and operational downtime.

But there’s a solution: commercial burglar alarms with monitoring. Below, we’ll go into what factors influence the costs and what types of coverage you can expect.

Factors That Contribute to the Cost of Commercial Burglar Alarm Monitoring

A burglar alarm can be as simple or complex as desired. When it comes to your company and protecting your business, you can add as many sensors and cameras as you believe necessary. However, it’s important to remember that the more involved your system is, the higher the costs will be. Not just for installation or equipment, but also maintenance and monitoring. Here are a few of the aspects that often affect the cost of commercial burglar alarm monitoring.

Hardware Components

New technology is always coming to market and there’s a wide variety of different components that offer different protection.

Surveillance Cameras

• Bullet: Bullet cameras are cylindrical and are often used in outdoor environments. Their design makes them easy to mount on walls or ceilings, and they typically come with a protective casing to shield them from the elements. Bullet cameras are known for their long-range viewing capabilities and are ideal for covering extensive areas such as parking lots and building perimeters. Their visibility often serves as a deterrent to potential intruders.
• Dome: Dome cameras are named for their dome-shaped housing. They are more discreet than bullet cameras and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Dome cameras are often mounted on ceilings, making them ideal for monitoring wide indoor spaces like lobbies and retail stores. An added layer of protection is provided by the vandal-resistant casing on certain dome cameras. They offer a wide field of view and are often equipped with features like infrared for night vision and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) capabilities.
• CCTV: Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras refer to a video surveillance system that transmits a signal to a specific set of monitors. With network connectivity for remote viewing and management, modern CCTV systems can be analog or digital. They are essential for deterring crime, monitoring activities, and providing valuable evidence when needed.

Motion Detectors

Using a variety of different technologies, motion detectors sense movement in its range of view. The most common method of detection is passive infrared (PIR). This type maps and registers the heat waves generated by living beings. The fact that it only registers heat means that movements, such as tree branches, leaves, and bugs, will not trigger the alarm. Certain models can detect animals and prevent false alarms by not activating the alarm in their presence.

Other methods that exist employ microwaves or ultrasonic waves to detect motion. These sensors can cover extensive areas like warehouses but may be subject to frequent false alarms due to their sensitivity.

To prevent false triggers, one option is to use a sensor setup with two different sensor types that can verify a threat before setting off an alarm.

Window Sensors

• Contact Sensors: Contact sensors are devices that are composed of two parts. These different parts are placed on the window and the window frame. When the magnetic connection is broken by the window being opened, the alarm is activated.
• Glass Break Frequency Sensor: This sensor can identify the specific frequency (3.5kHz) produced by breaking glass. When this frequency is recognized, the alarm is triggered. These sensors typically only search for the peak frequency so that other activities and sounds don’t elicit a response.
• Vibration Sensor: The most common form is a piezoelectric sensor which uses a small crystal that is subject to the piezoelectric effect. When the sensor is subjected to a large enough vibration or motion, the crystal within produces a small electric pulse, signaling the alarm that there is a movement on the window. The other variety is seismic sensors, which translate internal motion into a signal that activates the alarm.

Alarms

• Siren: This is the most common type of alarm. Featuring a loud blaring horn at 100-120 decibels for commercial applications, this noise is enough to garner attention and scare away intruders.
• Bell: This works similarly to a siren, but uses the ringing of a bell to generate the alarm noise.        
• Silent - Common in industries that don’t want to instill a panic, such as banks or jewelry stores. Silent alarms automatically inform the police of a disturbance without noise. The goal is for the criminal to be unaware and caught in the act.

Lights

• Strobe: Working as a visual deterrent and notification, strobe lights function by pulsing an intense flash of light in rapid succession. These types of lights are common in a variety of alarm systems, from burglar to fire. These lights also help bring awareness to an event in places with high noise levels or where there are individuals who are hard of hearing.
• Spotlight: It’s a concentrated light beam that effectively lights up the designated space. The purpose of a spotlight is to illuminate the area and expose any threat that sets off the alarm. Spotlights usually work in tandem with motion sensors.

Control Panels

• Classic: A burglar alarm control panel is the interface for any commercial burglar alarm system. This is how the user arms, disarms, and troubleshoots the equipment.
• Integrated: An integrated control panel is one that handles more than one type of monitoring system. Hybrid systems can come in the form of fire/security or have access control. This way, all monitoring and control is processed in one system.
• Smart: A smart panel can be calibrated to send out remote notifications and allow other remote capabilities, such as monitoring. Smart panels are able to communicate and work with other smart devices programmed into the system.

Installation Costs

The extent of installation can impact the overall cost of a burglar alarm monitoring system. Below are just a few of the potential factors that can influence the overall price.

Connection Methods

• Wired: A wired system uses physical cabling to attach all the peripherals to the control panel. The benefit of this setup is the reliability of the data transmission and the reduction of possible tampering. The downside is the cost of installing, especially in large spaces.
• Wireless: The other option is wireless, which uses components that communicate via radio waves. This configuration can be a more affordable option and offers a lot of flexibility. The downsides are that the signals can incur interference, and complicated layouts may have a harder time keeping a powerful signal.

Size of Property

Obviously, the size of the property matters when it comes to any cost. The bigger the area that needs to be covered and monitored, the more devices are needed. If going with a wired connection, that also means more feet of cabling. Due to their expansive size, larger areas may require additional surveillance beyond basic methods like patrols.

Monitoring Company and Monthly Fees

Deciding which monitoring company to go with will also increase costs. Different companies offer different levels of monitoring and protection for varying amounts of money. It’s important to find a monitoring company that is able to work with your system and provide you with the coverage you are looking for at a reasonable price.  

Cost of Not Having Burglar Alarm Monitoring

The list of aspects that factor into the cost of your monitored commercial burglar alarm system can seem intimidating. But the investment you make in protecting your company and property is worth it.

Businesses without protection are vulnerable to vandalism, theft, and more. The lack of any alarm system lets potential ne’er-do-wells know you don’t have a way to stop them. Thieves reported that even seeing an alarm system deterred them and prompted them to look for an easier target. The benefit of having a monitoring system is that your business is protected from these threats, even when no one is around.

If your business is vandalized or burgled, you are not only incurring those physical losses; you’re also losing money through downtime. Time where you can’t run your business and bring in income and downtime fighting with insurance since you have no proof of the incident.

So although the costs of a comprehensive system can seem steep at first, it’s important to remember that you are protecting your business against bigger losses. You are also protecting your employees and customers as well.

Determining the Specific Needs of Your Business

Every business will have unique needs. Depending upon location, industry, and building layout, the system that works for you may not work for someone else.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to work with a professional commercial security system installer. These technicians are knowledgeable about all the different products and services on the market. They can help you look at your business and find the best setup in your budget.

Considering the Level of Security Required

As mentioned above, no two businesses are the same. You may need a higher or lower level of security than your neighboring businesses. It can depend on where you are located (higher-crime urban areas require more coverage), what type of product you have on-site (jewelry, copper, tools), or if there is protected information. All of these come into play when trying to determine proper coverage.

Mammoth Conclusion

Want to protect your business with a top-notch commercial burglar alarm system with monitoring?

Contact our friendly team for a free consultation and explore how we can create a customized security solution just for you.