The cost of home security systems is made up of three components: the purchase price of the equipment, installation costs, and any ongoing monitoring contract you choose. Wireless home security systems are usually more expensive to buy than wired alarms but have no installation costs. The number of components such as sensors and cameras you need depends on the size of your home as larger properties require more of these. Basic home security kits start at about £120.

A ‘lite’ option for smart home surveillance is to use an old smartphone as a security camera by installing an app like Manything which live streams over your house wifi (no sim necessary). The video footage can also be stored in the cloud.