Hit 2,000 residential alarm panels installed and it got me thinking about cheap vs quality

I just crossed 2,000 panels last week on a job in a new subdivision outside Phoenix. Started noticing that about 300 of those were service callbacks for the same budget brand equipment that homeowners insisted on. The other 1,700 on name brand stuff barely had issues. Has anyone else tracked this kind of split between their cheap installs and the ones where you use better gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_phoenix1mo ago

I read that Consumer Reports did a survey a few years back on home security systems and the cheap ones had something like a 40% higher failure rate in the first year. Your numbers sound about right for what I've seen too.

jade_grant951mo ago

Got 2 years into this job and honestly thought cheap vs expensive was all marketing hype and install skill. Watched a homeowner save 200 bucks on a budget panel only to have the motion sensor die in 4 months during a Phoenix summer. The replacement cost plus my labor basically wiped out any savings they thought they got. Ngl that changed my whole view on cutting corners with hardware.