In this article, I’ll look at the best home DIY security system you can buy for your home in the UK, without the need for contractors or specialist help. If your home doesn’t have a home security system in place, and you’ve been put off by expensive quotes from security companies, then a home DIY security system tht you can install, set up and maintain yourself may be the way to go.
As well as looking at the best home DIY security system you can install in your home, I’ll also look at the pros and cons of such systems, how a home security system can improve the security of your home and the skills needed to install your very own security system in your home.
Below is a handy table of contents. Clicking on any of the article headers below will jump you straight to the place on this page you are interested in. I am an Amazon Associate, and earn commissions on qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
Best Home Security DIY Security System
For YOUR convenience, I’ve listed the Top 3 Best Home DIY Security Systems in the table below, as well as a brief outline of key features. I’ll go through each system in detail further on down the page.
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What Is A Home DIY Security System?
Put simply, a modern home DIY security system is like a traditional home burglar alarm, only you can fit it yourself and won’t cost you thousands of pounds.
The best home security systems for your home is a home DIY security system that alerts you or others when certain predefined conditions are met, like when a sensor picks up movement inside your home when you have your security system armed (i.e when you are out).
Features of a home security system should include:
- A visible deterrent, such as an alarm box on an outer wall of your home. This tells everyone your home is guarded by alarms and an alarm system. At the very minimum, signs and stickers should be in a prominent place to advertise the fact you have an alarm system.
- A detection system, such as motion sensors or contact sensors. When motion inside your home is detected, it should set off an audible alarm outside your home as minimum. Some home DIY systems will also trigger an alarm inside your home as well as sending you notifications on your smartphone device.
- DIY friendly, meaning you don’t need to hard wire alarms or items into electric supplies, or do anything other than basic DIY tasks (such as installing something on a wall using a drill).
All of the products below tick all of these boxes.
Buying The Right Kit – Home Audit
Before you go ahead and purchase a home security system, it’s important to take time to audit your home and come up with a list of exactly what you want and where you want it. Without this audit, you run the risk of purchasing a system that comes up short, or a system that has more than you need.
This will dictate which system variation you will buy (example: 5 piece system, 10 piece system).
So do make sure you do an audit (or at least a walk around your home) to assess access points and doors that you wish to cover with your Home DIY Security System.
1. Ring Alarm 11 Piece Kit by Amazon
Hands down, the Ring Alarm system is the best home security DIY system money can buy.
Developed and made by a trusted brand worldwide (Amazon), the Ring Alarm Kit is a great example of a DIY home security system that you can install yourself, and then add to over time due to it’s modular design and ability to add further products and functionality as and when you need it.
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I have chosen the 11 piece kit because for me, it provides the best coverage and enough functionality to cover the average sized house in the UK. It also represents the best value compared to looking at some of the smaller kits, and comparing the prices when buying single pieces of kit (at the time of writing).
However, these kits also come in kit sizes of 7, 8, 10, 11, and 13, so you do have the choice of going bigger or smaller, dependant on the size of your home and your budget. Do note though, that some kits won’t come with all of the products (see the below table to see what you get in each kit).
For example, the Ring Siren is not included in the 5 piece kit, but of course, all of these items can be purchased seperately at a later time, and then added on to your system when needed.
The eagle eyes amongst you will also notice that the ‘5 Piece Kit’ actually has 6 pieces in it. And the ‘8 Piece Kit’ has 9 pieces in it. In fact every one of them has an ‘extra’ piece in them, and I can only think it’s because the base station in each kit is counted as ‘standard’.
That confusion aside, let’s now look at what you get in each kit.
The Kit You Get & What It Does
Here’s a brief description of this Ring home DIY security system, and what piece of equipment does what.
Please note, the kit you get depends on the variation you buy. Choose the kit that is best suited to your home.
The functionality of the Ring Alarm Kit comes as four basic security measures. They are:
- A motion sensor detector. A motion sensor detector can be placed in a room or hallway. Once the detector is ‘armed’, it will alert you via your phone that movement has been detected.
- A contact sensor. A contact sensor is placed on a door or window. A motion sensor comes in two parts that ‘talk’ to each other. The two parts are placed on a door frame or window frame, and the other on the part of the door or window that moves. When the door or window is opened, the sensors are moved apart, alerting you to the fact a door or window has been opened.
- An indoor camera. The camera monitors an area of your home, and can be viewed on your smart phone.
- A Siren. (with applicable kits). If a sensor has been activated whilst ‘armed’, the siren (which is usually placed on an outside wall of your home) will sound an alarm (like a burglar alarm). This is a huge deterrent.
These are the main cogs in a home DIY security system, and they are designed to detect movement and then alarm (either on your phone or through the siren or both), just like a traditional burglar alarm would do. If you go for the monthly plan, which costs £8 a month and called the ‘Assisted Monitoring’ plan, you also get recordings saved from alarm activations, a cellular backup (if your wifi goes down), and an automated call to three contacts of your choosing on activation of an alarm.
These pieces of equipment also need to talk to each other, and they need to be controlled. These kits also comes with:
- A base station. This is the piece of kit that allows all pieces of kit to talk to each other.
- A range extender. To extend the range of communication if devices are a long way apart in your home.
- A keypad. Just like a traditional burglar alarm, the keypad allows you to arm or disarm your home security system on entering or exiting your home. (although you can also do this through your app even if you are away from home, or using voice control with your Alexa equipment).
Installation
Of course, the best thing about the Ring Security System, is ease of installation and ease of operation.
This is insanely simple to set up – even if you are terrible at DIY, there’s very little that can go wrong.
The packaging of the system is probably the best packaging I’ve ever seen, with a box full of layers of kit that are clearly marked out with what they are and what they do.
Setting up the system is as easy as downloading the app (either on iOS or Android), linking the kit to your WIFI, plugging it in and scanning QR codes with your phone.
Everything is laid out in laymans terms, and everything is done in a step by step process through the smartphone app.
All pieces of kit (like the motion sensors, keypad) come with the ability to either screw into position, have it freestanding (like the keypad), or stick on using strong mounting tape.
If you really want to, you don’t have to drill into anything, and simply use the mounting tape adhesive pads and strips supplied to mount the indivdual pieces of kit to walls or door frames (apart from the outdoor siren, which will need to be fixed to the wall using screws). If you do want to screw the baseplates in, that’s also fine, as everything that needs to be fixed in position also comes with screws and rawl plugs or adhesive strips.
All items can be easily slid on and off the basplates that are provided for charging purposes, and all apart from the range extender and base station are rechargeable via the supplied USB cables.
Pricing Table – Ring Alarm System Kit Comparison
Below is a table showing you the prices and what is included in each kit, to help you make the best purchasing decision.
Please scroll across if you can’t see the full table.
TABLE KEY: 1 Tick = 1 item. 2 ticks = 2 of that item and so on.
Item | 5 Kit | 7 Kit | 8 Kit | 10 Kit | 11 Kit | 13 Kit |
Base Station | ||||||
Keypad | ||||||
Range Extender | ||||||
Indoor Camera | ||||||
Contact Sensor | ||||||
Motion Sensor | ||||||
Siren | ||||||
Check Price |
Below is an example of some additional pieces of kit, with the prices displayed underneath to give you an idea of how much it would cost if adding items on at a later date. All these can be added on to your system at any time.
Additional Ring Alarm System Products | ||
Ring Alarm System Pros
Here’s the pros of the Ring Home Security System.
- Huge functionality – better functionality than a traditional alarm system.
- Easy to install with no electrical work needed.
- Alarm activation leads to alarms on your phone, the outdoor siren (if you have the siren) and the base station.
- Cheap compared to traditional alarm systems.
- Trusted brand.
- Ability to add pieces of kit at a later date.
- Ability to maintain and look after the system yourself.
- Fantastic support available.
- Monitor and configure alarm system anywhere, from your phone.
Ring Alarm System Cons
- Some may not like the upsell of another monthly subscription of £8 a month.
Ring Alarm System FAQs
Question: What if someone enters your home, and says to Alexa ‘Alexa, turn off Ringalarm system’?
Answer: To disarm the alarm system, you’ll need the pin number that you used when setting the alarm system up, avoiding the obvious workaround of someone simply telling Alexa to turn the alarm system off.
Question: Do I need the siren?
Answer: You don’t need the siren. However, from a deterrent perspective, the siren that should be visible on the front of your home is an excellent deterrent and tells people you have security measures in place protecting your home.
Question: Does the Ring Alarm System need to be plugged into the mains electricity?
Answer: The base station, range extender and camera need to be plugged into a normal socket, everything else can be recharged via USB as and when (a full recharge will last months).
Ring Alarm System – Summary
If you want a solid, easy to use, easy to install home DIY security system that is reasonably priced, that you can add to when the need arises, and backed by a company that is known and trusted globally, then the Ring offering ticks all the boxes and more, and comes with high praise and is highly recommended.
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2. Yale Sync Home Security System
Make no mistake about it, the Yale Home Security System is an incredible peice of kit, of which I had the joy of checking out and helping to install a couple of months ago.
It comes in second place due to one thing and one thing only; this is considerably more expensive than the Ring Security System.
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Once again, this comes from a trusted brand name synonymous with home security, and they offer a complete selection of smart home security products, including smart locks, smart cameras and home DIY security systems.
Like the Ring offering above, the Yale Security System comes in different shapes and sizes, with the smallest kit coming in as a 4 piece kit, an the biggest kit coming in with 14 pieces.
However, unlike Ring, it does have an extra items in the kits, and additional functionality and cross compatibility. However, this does bring a couple of it’s own problems to the table, which i will discuss later.
For this article, I have chosen a comparable kit, the 11 piece kit which I believe offers the best value for money and the best all round functionality.
The good news however, is that this kit is again modular, and is designed with expansion in mind – you can add different functionality and additional pieces of kit as and when needed, so you could technically start with the smallest, 4 piece kit, and then add to it over time when budget allows.
The Kit You Get
Here’s a brief description of this Yale home DIY security system, and what piece of equipment does what.
Please note, the kit you get depends on the variation you buy. Choose the kit that is best suited to your home.
The functionality of the Yale Alarm Kit comes as five basic security measures. They are:
- A motion sensor detector. A motion sensor detector can be placed in a room or hallway. Once the detector is ‘armed’, it will alert you via your phone that movement has been detected.
- A contact sensor. A contact sensor is placed on a door or window. A motion sensor comes in two parts that ‘talk’ to each other. The two parts are placed on a door frame or window frame, and the other on the part of the door or window that moves. When the door or window is opened, the sensors are moved apart, alerting you to the fact a door or window has been opened.
- An indoor camera. The camera monitors an area of your home, and can be viewed on your smart phone.
- A doorbell camera. With the light, this is an excellent front door deterrent.
- A Siren. (with applicable kits). If a sensor has been activated whilst ‘armed’, the siren (which is usually placed on an outside wall of your home) will sound an alarm (like a burglar alarm). This is a huge deterrent.
Installation
Yale Home Security System Pros
- Comprehensive home DIY security system.
- Modular design with ability to add extra functionality.
- Easy to install with no electrical work required.
- No monthly fees.
- External camera and light (on selected kits).
- Good support available.
Yale Home Security Cons
- Expensive in comparison to the Ring offering.
- More DIY needed for door camera and sirens.
- Dummy siren not really needed within a live system.
Yale Alarm System FAQs
Question: Is the keypad mains powered, does it need to be plugged in?
Answer: No, it is battery powered, can be placed anywhere and is portable if needed.
Question: Can the system be ‘part’ armed?
Answer: Yes. If you are in your home for example, you could just armthe door sensors, for example.
Yale Alarm System – Summary
This is a great bit of kit, that does come in more expensive than the Ring offering, yet offers a little bit more with certain kits (like the doorbell camera and light).
And this is really where personal choice and budget comes into play, as well as consideration of the eco system you already have in your home.
This is a solid home DIY security system that won’t let you down, and comes highly recommended.
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3. Yale Essentials Home Security System
In 3rd place, is another Yale product – the Yale Essentials Home Security System.
But this time, as the name suggests, this is the budget end of the home security system market. And let’s be clear here; ‘budget’end doesn’t always mean bad, and this is far from a bad system.
Yet, it packs many great features, and despite it not being the all singing, all dancing home security system that the other two are above, this does a good solid job from a deterrent point of view, and will give you peace of mind without breaking the bank.
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The Yale essentials home security system is what I would call a bare bones system, and a step back 10 years. But again, I will go back to the price – it is considerably cheaper than the two systems above by a good 75%.
There’s 4 different offerings available here, with the basic system the one I will be looking at here. Again, like the others, you can add aditional functionality to the system, but you are somewhat limited for choice as it is not as expandable as the others above.
The Kit You Get & What It Does
Here’s a brief description of this Yale Essentials home DIY security system, and what piece of equipment does what.
The functionality of the Essentials Alarm Kit comes as three basic security measures. They are:
- A motion sensor detector. A motion sensor detector can be placed in a room or hallway. Once the detector is ‘armed’ via the keypad, any movement will set off the outdoor siren.
- A contact sensor. A contact sensor is placed on a door or window. A motion sensor comes in two parts that ‘talk’ to each other. The two parts are placed on a door frame or window frame, and the other on the part of the door or window that moves. When the door or window is opened, the sensors are moved apart, which in turn will set off the outdoor siren if your system is armed.
- A Siren. If a sensor has been activated whilst ‘armed’, the siren (which is usually placed on an outside wall of your home) will sound an alarm (like a burglar alarm). This is a huge deterrent and will alert anyone around your home that something is wrong, and will hopefully force any intruder into retreat.
These features also need to be controlled, so included in this kit is a way to control the system, such as arming or disarming the security system. To control the system, the following is included:
- A keypad. Just like a traditional burglar alarm, the keypad allows you to arm or disarm your home security system on entering or exiting your home.
Installation
The installation of the Yale Essentials Home Alarm Kit is the most difficult out of the three systems in this article to install and get up and running.
Most components of this security system need to be screwed into walls, using a drill and the supplied screws and fittings. A lot of the base plates have push outs which can be quite fiddly in some instances, and the only item that can be fixed wth adhesive pads are the contact alarms – everything else will require a drill and some basic DIY skills.
As this is not smart phone compatible, I do suggest you read the instructions carefully before fitting and setting up this system, as it’s not as easy and intuitive as following along on an app.
The PDF installation instruction booklet is here: Yale Essentials instructions
Yale Essentials Security System Pros
- Designed as a very basic system.
- Will meet most budgets.
- Ability to expand and add extra functionality.
- No monthly fees.
- 2 year warranty.
- Runs on batteries which can be replaced.
Yale Essentails Home Security Cons
- No smart functionality.
- No control via smartphone and no app.
- No zoning.
- Very basic.
Yale Essentials Alarm System FAQs
Question: Can I ‘Part’ arm this home security system?
Answer: No, this feature is not available.
Question: Can I increase the 20 second arm time of this system?
Answer: No, 20 seconds is the default time and cannot be changed.
Yale Essentials Alarm System – Summary
The Yale Essentials home security system will do a job in your home, and will provide you with a good level of deterrent, as well as peace of mind for a low price.
If your budget doesn’t strecth to the above offerings, and you are not bothered about smartphone integration or integration with eco systems like Alexa or Google, then this is a good choice at a cost effective price.
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Summary
I do hope this article has given you a good overview of the best home security systems that you can fit yourself in your home, and it has given you a more rounded, informed purchasing decision. For your convenience, once again, here’s the top 3 best home DIY security systems for your home in the UK.
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There’s no doubt that a security system installed within your home will greatly improve your home security.
It will also give you a lot of peace of mind, which counts for more than you think.
A home DIY security system also acts as a three strong security measure for your home, as it helps deter criminal activity, it detects criminal activity and it prevents criminal activity. There are not many security measures that you can introduce into your home which contains all three security layers, but a home DIY security system does exactly this.
DETER: Seeing an alarm box on the wall outside of a home, or signs/stickers stating that the home has a security system is a huge deterrent. A criminal will nearly always choose the path of least resistance, so the odds are in your favour if you have visible signage and visible proof of an alarm system on your home.
DETECT: A home alarm system can detect unauthorised access, alerting you in the first instance and giving you time to act accordingly.
PREVENT: If your home is broken into when you are away, the sirens coming from the base station and siren if you have one, is normally enough to prevent the burglarly continuing. Only the most foolhardy of criminals will stay in situ when faced with audible alarms and the prospect of getting caught in the act.
My final words are quite clear.
If you are looking for a home DIY security system that you can fit yourself, without any expert knowledge, then I highly recommend you look strongly at the top 3 best home security systems featured in this article.
Other Articles You May Like
Here’s a small selection of articles you may also like from this site:
- – 75 Ways To Improve Home Security
- – 25 Ways To Improve Garage & Shed Security
- – Top Tips On How To Improve The Security Of Patio Doors
- – Layered Security Priciples
- – Best Home Safe (UK Top 5)
Here’s the complete list of products and links mentioned on this page.
- – Ring Alarm System By Amazon (Amazon.co.uk)
- – Yale Home Security Kit (Amazon.co.uk)
- – Yale Essentials Home Security System (Amazon.co.uk)
Here’s the sources used for this article:
- – Yale UK
Questions & Comments
If you have a question or a comment on this article on the best home security systems and Best Home DIY Security System to use in your and around your home, please use the comments box below.
I’ll try my best to reply to each and every one of your questions, comments and suggestions.
Stay Safe. Stay Secure.
