A third of homeowners now more concerned about home security than pre-pandemic
- 32% of homeowners more concerned about home security than pre-pandemic
- Burglary when not at home topped concerns at 59%, followed by when at home, 43%
- 46% of homeowners admitted they did not have an alarm installed
- Carbon monoxide monitoring (45%) and sync with smart tech (43%) had added appeal to homeowners
- Modular build and ops to upgrade over time resonated with half of alarm specialists questioned
With an increase in hybrid and remote working, and many people having spent more time at home over the past few years, a recent survey by Resideo2 has highlighted that 32% of homeowners feel more concerned about home security than they did pre-pandemic.
The survey of 1,000 homeowners investigated the level of concern felt by homeowners, as well as looking into the technology and features that now held the most appeal when it came to choosing an alarm system.
Greater anxiety regarding home safety was consistent across most consumer age groups. However, it was the younger age group of 18 – 24 years that now felt the most worry as 47% said they were now more anxious about their home safety and security than before the pandemic. Interestingly, it was men who admitted they now felt more apprehensive than they did in 2019, with just under two fifths of men (39%) vs over a quarter of women (27%) stating a heightened awareness.
Location wise, the Southwest (45%), London (41%), West Midlands (38%), East of England (38%) all felt increased concern for their home security.
Interestingly for security experts, more people questioned admitted to not having a security alarm installed - 46% said no vs 44% with a yes. Particularly noteworthy when compared to the amount of people who said they worried about being broken into when not at home (59%).
Changing priorities
The survey by Resideo also delved into UK homeowner priorities and found home safety meant more than protecting against theft; providing additional selling opportunities that alarm installers can discuss with customers.
When asked what they feared most, burglary when not at home still resonated as the top concern amongst those questioned at 59%. However, this was closely followed by break-ins when they were at home, where 43% were worried about finding unwanted visitors in the property when they were there.
The term ‘safety’ went further too. The risks posed by fire and carbon monoxide leaks were not far behind theft, with 41% listing this as a worry. Here, recommendations for products with wider capabilities had real appeal and the ability to incorporate carbon monoxide monitoring as part of the alarm system featured highly in the answers across all age groups (45%).
Being able to control and check in on the alarm system also resonated. Integration with other smart home appliances influenced 43% of those surveyed, especially in the younger age groups. Just under a third felt that best-in-class accreditation had an impact when deciding on an alarm system to purchase.
Professionals Choice
To complete its review, Resideo also spoke with 100 alarm specialists3 regarding what was important to those charged with installing alarm systems.
Here, the ability to scale up over time using a modular offering featured highest – coming joint top with half of installers questioned. Remote monitoring (42%) and remote maintenance (42%) also played a part in the decision-making process to maximise efficiencies once the job was complete too.
The installers questioned confirmed that the addition of extra features was resonating with their customers base too, with somewhat important (42%) and very important (32%) topping the responses to this question. This increased to half of installers from the East of England who cited these extra features as ‘very important’ for their customers, and 43% as somewhat important.
Martin Wilson, North EMEA Regional Director at Resideo commented: “With more time now spent at home our perception of what makes us feel safe has widened. Being able to deter burglars entering your home when not there remains a priority for many, but it is interesting to find that people were also concerned about being targeted when in the property. Taking that even further, what constitutes feeling safe now draws in fire and carbon monoxide too, to create a more all-round feeling of security.
“As a professionally installed and monitored security and life safety platform for residential and small business applications, our new ProSeries platform offers the ideal solution to meet the needs raised in the survey. It is modular by design and incorporates seamless hardware and software at its core.
"Our award-winning and trusted ProSeries solution has been protecting homes and businesses across America and Canada since 2020. The introduction of a version specifically tailored for the European market is good news for security installers, homeowners and small businesses, who want to protect what matters most."
For further information on the latest range of modular alarm systems from Resideo, visit: https://www.resideo.com/gb/en/solutions/security/residential-security/proseries/
