Alarm upgrade and panel replacement in Harrow
Keep your existing sensors and wiring. New panel and keypad from £495 plus VAT, or add control from your phone from £695 — most homes done in a day, with no chasing and no redecorating.
- Existing sensors reused
- Most done in a day
- App control on your phone
- No chasing or redecorating
- 12-month guarantee
Your alarm probably doesn't need replacing. Just the panel.
SatFocus replaces obsolete intruder alarm panels across Harrow while keeping the existing detectors, cabling and back boxes. A new panel and keypad typically costs from £495 plus VAT and takes a day — against £1,500 or more for a full rip-out that most homes do not need.
The wired sensors on your walls are simple devices. A motion detector or a door contact has no software, no battery in most cases, and nothing to go obsolete. They are rarely the reason a system stops being useful. What goes out of date is the box in the cupboard: a bell-only panel with no way to reach your phone, no spare parts still in production, and often an engineer code nobody has.
Replacing that one component is a different job to replacing a system. It costs less, takes less time, and leaves your decorating alone.
| Service | Alarm panel and keypad replacement, system takeover, upgrade to app control |
|---|---|
| Area covered | London Borough of Harrow — HA1, HA2, HA3, HA5, HA7, HA8 |
| Kept from old system | Detectors, cabling, back boxes, where sound |
| Typical price | From £495 + VAT, panel and keypad reusing existing sensors |
| Time on site | Half a day to a day for most homes |
| Brands worked on | Texecom, Pyronix, Eaton, Scantronic, Visonic, Risco, Honeywell Galaxy, Ajax, Orisec |
| Takeover of another firm's system | Yes, priced after survey |
| Guarantee | 12 months on the installation, plus manufacturer's warranty on equipment |
| Survey and quote | Free, fixed in writing, no obligation |
Recognise your panel?
These are the systems we replace most often in Harrow. All of them are bell-only designs from before smartphone control existed, and on nearly all of them the sensors are worth keeping.
- Honeywell Accenta / Accenta G4
- Honeywell Galaxy 8, 16, 18, 60
- Texecom Veritas 8, R8plus, Excel
- Scantronic 9651, 9800
- Eaton CA-22, Menvier
- ADE Optima / Optima XM
- Pyronix Matrix, Sterling
- Visonic PowerMax, PowerMax Pro
- Response / DIY bell-only kits
- ADT legacy panels
- Orisec older ranges
- Risco older wired panels
Not on the list? Send a photo of the panel and the keypad to info@satfocussecurity.co.uk and we will tell you whether it is worth upgrading or replacing, before anyone visits.
When an upgrade is worth doing
It only makes noise
A bell-only system alerts the street and nobody else. If you are at work in the City when it goes off, you find out when a neighbour calls, or when you get home. App notification is the single biggest change an upgrade makes.
It beeps and won't clear
A fault display that keeps returning usually means a failing panel battery, a tired detector or a board on its way out. Diagnosing that on a discontinued panel often costs more than the panel is worth.
Nobody has the engineer code
Common when the original installer has stopped trading or never handed it over. It leaves you unable to change zones, add devices or clear faults. Defaulting the panel on site restores control, and on an obsolete panel it is usually the moment to replace it.
Parts are no longer made
Once a keypad or expander is out of production, a small fault becomes a system-wide problem. If your panel is fifteen years old, the spares position is worth knowing before something fails rather than after.
Your insurer has asked
Policies increasingly reference systems meeting current standards. An upgraded panel with a compliant grading satisfies that without touching the rest of the installation.
You're moving in
An alarm inherited with a house is an unknown: unknown codes, unknown history, unknown who else can set it. A takeover puts it back under your control for a fraction of a new system.
What an upgrade costs in Harrow
Fitted prices including the equipment, the labour and setting up the app on your phone. Your exact price is fixed in writing after a free survey.
Panel and keypad
Working system where only the panel and keypad need replacing
- New control panel and keypad
- Existing wired sensors reused, up to 8
- Existing internal and external sounders reused
- Programming and commissioning
- 12-month parts and labour warranty
- BS EN 50131 Grade 2 compliant
Panel with app control
Full smart features with insurance compliance
- Everything in Essential, plus:
- Smartphone app with push alerts
- Wi-Fi / LAN communicator module
- 12-month warranty
- BS EN 50131 Grade 2 compliant
Full wireless conversion
Larger homes, listed buildings, or full wireless conversions
- Everything in Recommended, plus:
- New external siren with strobe
- 4 new PIR sensors
- 2 new door contacts
- 12-month warranty
- BS EN 50131 Grade 2 compliant
Prices are indicative starting points for a standard 3-bed home with existing sensors, and exclude VAT. The exact figure is confirmed in writing after the free survey. Larger properties, multi-zone systems and commercial premises are priced separately.
How the day goes
Free survey
We look at the panel, the keypad and every device on the system, and check which zones are live and which cable runs are sound.
Fixed written quote
What is being replaced, what is being kept, and what it costs. Anything we would not reuse is named, with the reason.
Swap and test
Old panel out, new panel in, every zone re-terminated and walk-tested device by device, sounders and strobe proved.
Handover
App set up on your phone, codes handed over in writing, and a completion certificate for your records and your insurer.
Why so many Harrow homes are on obsolete panels
Much of Harrow's housing stock was alarmed once, in the late nineties or early two-thousands, often as part of an insurance requirement or a remortgage. Those systems were installed properly, wired into every door and window, and then left alone. Twenty years later the cabling is still fine, the detectors still work, and the panel in the meter cupboard is a museum piece.
That is the ideal upgrade. The expensive part of alarming a house is getting cable to every opening, and somebody already paid for that. Replacing the panel recovers the whole system for a few hundred pounds.
Where it gets more involved is a house that has been extended. A rear extension or a loft conversion added after the alarm went in will have no cable to it, so those rooms need wireless devices onto the new panel — a hybrid system. We price that separately and visibly, rather than folding it into a headline figure.
Takeovers are routine here
Most of our upgrade work is on systems fitted by someone else, often years ago and sometimes by firms no longer trading. Engineering software for the main panel brands is carried as standard, so a code-locked or abandoned system is a normal day rather than a problem.
Honest about what we keep
We reuse sound cable and working detectors because it saves you money, not because it is quicker for us. Where a device is past it, we say so at the survey and price the replacement then. Nothing gets discovered on the day and added to the bill.
Related work
See our national burglar alarm upgrade page for the full technical detail, alarm servicing and repair if the system just needs attention rather than replacing, or CCTV installation in Harrow if cameras are part of the plan.
Alarm upgrades across the borough
We are based on Balmoral Road in Harrow, so a survey anywhere in the borough is a short drive rather than a scheduling problem.
- Harrow on the Hill HA1
- Greenhill HA1
- West Harrow HA1
- Roxeth HA2
- South Harrow HA2
- North Harrow HA2
- Rayners Lane HA2
- Headstone HA2
- Wealdstone HA3
- Harrow Weald HA3
- Kenton HA3
- Belmont HA3
- Northwick Park HA1
- Pinner HA5
- Hatch End HA5
- Stanmore HA7
- Edgware HA8
- Ruislip & Eastcote HA4
For the full range of security work in the borough see our Harrow security installation page.
Book a free survey
Tell us where you are and what you need. We reply the same working day, and the survey is free with no obligation.
Request received
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Need it sooner? Call 020 8422 7918.
from 201 Google reviews
- Over 13 years installing, 3,000+ jobs completed
- Free survey, then a fixed price in writing
- All makes taken over, including systems we did not install
- 12-month guarantee on the installation
Alarm upgrades in Harrow: your questions answered
Can I keep my existing alarm sensors when the panel is replaced?
In most cases, yes. Wired motion detectors, door contacts and shock sensors are simple devices and rarely the part that fails. If the cabling is sound, a new panel and keypad connect straight onto the existing wiring, which is why an upgrade costs a fraction of a full replacement. We check every zone on the survey and tell you which devices, if any, need changing.
How much does it cost to replace an alarm panel in Harrow?
From £495 plus VAT for a new panel and keypad reusing your existing wired sensors. From £695 plus VAT with smartphone app control and a Wi-Fi or LAN communicator. A premium upgrade adding a new external siren, four PIRs and two door contacts starts at £1,195 plus VAT. Every price is fixed in writing after a free survey.
My alarm panel is a Veritas, Accenta or Scantronic. Can it be upgraded?
Yes. Honeywell Accenta and Galaxy, Texecom Veritas, Scantronic 9651, Eaton CA-22, ADE and Optima panels are all systems we regularly replace. These are bell-only designs from before smartphone control existed, and the sensors wired to them are usually still perfectly serviceable. The panel and keypad are swapped, the existing zones are re-terminated and tested, and the system comes back with app control.
Can you take over an alarm someone else installed?
Yes. Most of our service and upgrade work is on systems fitted by other companies, often years ago and sometimes by firms no longer trading. We carry engineering software for Texecom, Pyronix, Eaton, Scantronic, Visonic, Risco, Honeywell Galaxy, Ajax and Orisec. A takeover of an abandoned or code-locked system is priced after survey.
Nobody knows the engineer code. Is that a problem?
It is common and it is solvable. When an installer has gone out of business or the code was never handed over, the panel can usually be defaulted on site and reprogrammed, which restores full control. On some panels defaulting requires physical access to the board and a power cycle. We deal with this on the day and you leave with codes you own.
How long does an alarm upgrade take?
Most panel replacements are done in a single day, and many in half a day. The work is swapping the panel and keypad, re-terminating the existing zones, testing every device, setting up the app and walking you through it. Because the cabling and detectors stay in place, there is no chasing, no redecorating and no mess.
What are the signs my alarm needs replacing?
It only sounds a siren with no alert to your phone. It beeps or displays a fault you cannot clear. The keypad display is fading or unreadable. Nobody has the engineer code. Parts are no longer made for it. Or your insurer has asked for a system meeting current standards. Any one of those is worth a survey, and none of them requires a full new system.
Will a new panel work with my phone?
Yes. Modern panels arm, disarm and report to an app on your phone, so you can check the system from anywhere and see who set it and when. Adding app control to an older wired system usually means a new panel and a communication module, which is exactly what the upgrade covers.
Do I need alarm monitoring?
It is optional. An upgraded system alerts you and anyone else you choose directly through the app, which is enough for most homes. Where you want a third party to respond, we can connect the system to an alarm receiving centre with keyholder response. We will explain what that does and does not cover before you commit to it.
Which areas of Harrow do you cover for alarm upgrades?
The whole borough — Harrow on the Hill, Wealdstone, North Harrow, South Harrow, West Harrow, Harrow Weald, Rayners Lane, Headstone, Kenton, Belmont, Pinner, Hatch End, Stanmore and Edgware, covering HA1, HA2, HA3, HA5, HA7 and HA8. We are based on Balmoral Road in Harrow, so a survey is a short drive.
What guarantee comes with an alarm upgrade?
Twelve months on the installation work, plus the manufacturer's warranty on the equipment supplied. The guarantee covers what we supply and what we do. It does not cover the existing detectors and cabling retained from the old system, and we state that plainly in the quote rather than in the small print.