With home burglaries on the rise, ensuring the safety and security of our homes is more important than ever. Burglaries can happen at any point during the day or night, with 60% of happening in the evenings (6pm to midnight is apparently the peak period). But adding a bit of extra security to our homes doesn’t need to be an expensive or challenging task. Starting with the basics, make sure that all doors and windows and locked and secured so that the opportunistic thief can’t gain easy entry and never leave a spare key under the mat or plant pot. But that is not enough, consider adding a reliable home security system as it can be a visible deterrent to any potential intruders, provide peace of mind and protect your loved ones and valuables. Make it a smart system and it provides you with advanced features that allows you to monitor and control your home security from anywhere. One such system is the ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm Kit.
ERA Protect have different options for their DIY alarm systems, for smaller to bigger homes and all can be customised by adding extra accessories such as more sensors and cameras. I have been using the ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm Kit (8 Piece Bundle).
In the kit:
- Hub
- PIR Motion Sensor (x2)
- Door/Window Sensor (x2)
- Remote Controls (x2)
- Battery Operated Live Siren
- Cables
- Quick Start Guide and Fixing Kit
The ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm Kit (8 Piece Bundle) is a comprehensive, easy to install and user-friendly smart home security alarm, designed to keep your home safe and secure with visual and audio deterrents.
All security alarms are made up of sensors, a control hub and sometimes even an outdoor siren. The ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm 8-piece Kit comes with a hub, 2 PIR motion sensors, 2 door/window sensors, 2 remotes to turn the alarm on or off and a siren. Quite standard really, but the standout feature has to be the simple DIY wireless installation. If you move house, it is also simple to take with you. It is even customisable so that you can easily add other accessories such as more sensors and cameras.
Installing the alarm is very easy and it comes with detailed instructions. Firstly, download the free Era Protect app from Google Play (Android) or the App Store (iOS) – you can scan the QR codes in the instruction manual to take you to the app to download. Secondly, sign up and create an account. Once the account is created, select your product you are installing from the list (e.g. Era Protect Alarm). Then just follow the instructions on the screen to install the Era Protect hub – although this is where I had my one and only problem. The instructions tell you to plug the power adapter into the hub, then connect it to your router with the supplied ethernet cable and wait for the red LED to turn green – well I waited and waited and it didn’t turn green. So I unplugged it all and restarted by plugging in the ethernet cable to the hub first and then plugging in the power and the LED changed from red to green quite quickly.
Once the LED in the centre of the hub had changed to a large green ring, it was just a case of following the instructions in the app – scan the unique ID (QR code) or enter it in manually, then add sensors, siren etc. by scanning the QR codes on each component.
With the hub installed (which can be screwed to the wall) and any components that you want to add to system added, you just need to site the components where needed. The motion sensors screw into the wall or wood, so depending on what material you are fixing to you may need to drill a small hole (rawl plug is supplied). The outdoor siren will also need holes drilling in the wall to affix it to the wall (screws, rawl plugs and a very handy template sticker that you can stick to the wall to get the holes in the correct position are supplied). Door/Window sensors can be attached to the door or window frame using the double-sided stickers supplied or can be screwed in place for a stronger more permanent fixture. With the components fixed into place you can enable the alarm from the app on your phone or by adding remote control fobs to the system (again just quickly scan the QR code to pair with the system) – once the hub is connected to your router, installation is a breeze, so quick and easy. No professional assistance required. The wireless design means there are no complicated wiring requirements.
With the app, you can also sign up the one of the covers plans (the cost for these is £8 per month / £80 per year for the Premium plan or £15 per month / £150 per year for the Premium plus). When you buy an alarm it does come with a 3 month subscription so that you can try it out. The cover plan allows professional monitoring, sends notifications to your phone, makes use of the inbuilt 4G sim card to call an specified number if the alarm goes off and when internet is down) and lots more. You can find more detailed information about the cover plans by visiting eraprotect.com/collections/cover-plans.
Overall, this is a fantastic, easy to install home alarm system and it really does only take a few minutes to install (unless you bought a kit with an outdoor siren, then it takes a bit longer as you need a ladder and need to drill holes). With the outside siren it is an excellent visual and audible deterrent – the siren is battery operated (no wires) and it emits a loud 104dB sound and strobe light. The internal alarm hub also emits a loud siren when activated by motion or door/window sensors.
The best part of this system, for me has to be the modular design. It is so quick and simple to add and remove components with ease. Once the hub is installed and running you can add more sensors, cameras and key fobs just by scanning a QR code into the app, no complicated setup or technical knowledge required.
The ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm Kit includes a range of components to provide comprehensive security coverage. The standard kit typically includes a hub, motion sensors, door/window sensors, and remotes. Some bundles also come with additional features like live and replica sirens for extra layers of visual deterrence. These components work together to detect any suspicious activity and alert you immediately.
Using the system is also easy. You can control it from the app on your phone or tablet, enabling, disabling or setting to home mode. Just press the lock or unlock button in the app or on the remote control fob to turn on / off the alarm. Press the Home button to put the alarm in Home mode – the app allows you to customise what sensors are enabled or disabled in Home mode (e.g. you might want the PIR motion sensors disabled while at home and moving about but still want the door sensors on).
When the sensors are triggered, the hub emits and audible alarm (as does the external siren if you have one). If the alarm is activated it can be turned off by pressing and holding the unlock button on the app / keyfob. When the alarm is enabled or disabled, it gives audible voice prompts to let you know what is happening.
The ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm Kit is a versatile and effective solution for enhancing your home security. Its easy installation, comprehensive features, and smart technology integration make it a standout choice for homeowners looking to protect their property. The performance and reliability of the system make it a valuable investment for your home security measures. If you’re in search of a smart home alarm system that offers peace of mind and advanced security features, the ERA Protect Smart Home Alarm Kit is definitely worth considering.
If you are looking for a home security system that is feature-packed, easy to install and very customisable, then I can highly recommend the ERA Protect Alarm Kit. I have been using the 8-piece kit and it works extremely well. The sensors and external siren all connected easily to the hub with no problems and their reaction time when triggered is fast. The PIR motion sensor works well and is pet-friendly so it won’t be triggered by pets wandering around when the alarm is fully enabled (it works with pets up to 25kg).
I love how easy this system was to install and add the components I needed. Apart from my initial problem with the hub which was easily rectified it was a breeze to install and only took a few minutes to have all the sensors up and running, and better still, working properly.
I do love the modular system as it is so easy to customise it by purchasing extra sensors, cameras, touch panels, sirens (real and dummy ones) etc. and adding them just by scanning a QR code (or entering the number manually). And I do like the fobs, as it means I don’t have to open the app and hope that my internet is working to enable/disable the alarm – having the different options is great.
If you are looking to add a bit more security to your home, whether for your own peace of mind or as a visual/audio deterrent, then you can’t go wrong with the ERA Protect alarm system. From small flats to larger houses the 5, 7 or 8 piece bundles will suit most peoples needs and you can always purchase extra components to add the system if and when necessary – and add them with ease.
Despite my one and only problem with setting up the hub, I think that the ERA Protect alarm system is definitely a 5 star system for its ease of install, easy usage and protection with the monitored protection (you don’t need the cover it you just want a basic audio/visual security alarm).
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £129 to £199
For more information or to buy direct, visit eraprotect.com.