INSTALLING a quality alarm system to protect your home and your possessions just has to make sense. With TV sets and video recorders, home computer systems, jewellery, credit cards, family heirlooms and cash all offering rich pickings to the light-fingered, there can be no argument for not being protected.

But while installing an alarm has always made sense, for some the downside has been a misplaced fear of unsightly cables and big, chunky sensors in the corner of the living room.

While that may have been partly true some years ago, it is certainly not the case now, with modern alarm systems sleeker, slimmer, smarter and easier to install than ever before.

Wire-free alarm systems are increasingly common these days and, like most things, technology is making PIR sensors smaller and smaller. Modern PIRs like the Visonic Clip are no taller than a clothes peg and not much wider.

These advances mean that even timber-framed period homes can benefit from the highest level of intruder protection with the minimum amount of disturbance to the fabric of the building and with no unsightly cables or sensors.

Simple, fuss-free, easy to use and unobtrusive alarm systems are here to stay - and probably cost much less than you would expect. So, if you are looking for your dream home, thinking of selling your house or preparing to move to a new property, think about protecting your investment by installing a quality alarm system.

* This feature on home security was written by Clive Gawler of Red Alert, NACOSS-approved security technology specialists from Monument Way, Orbital Park, Ashford. Call 01233 501999 or e-mail clive@red-alert.ltd.uk