Electric gates
Gate automation, intercoms and access control are commonly one scheme.
Security and access
Most security systems are sold on the hardware. The accreditation is what decides whether it works.
Intruder alarms, CCTV, fire alarm installation and servicing, access control, door entry and intercoms, fire extinguishers, and maintenance for a system you already have. Tell us what you need protecting and we will introduce you to installers whose accreditation and insurance we have already checked.
What we cover
Typical security systems projects
- Intruder alarms: wired or wireless, audible only or monitored, for homes and commercial premises.
- CCTV installation and upgrades: new systems, replacing analogue with IP, and adding remote viewing to an existing one.
- Fire alarm installation and servicing: domestic systems and the periodic servicing commercial premises are required to have.
- Access control systems: fobs, cards, keypads and readers, for single doors or a whole building.
- Door entry and intercoms: audio and video entry, including multi-occupancy and integration with a gate.
- Fire extinguishers and maintenance: supply, commissioning and the annual service that keeps them valid.
What we will ask you
So we can match you accurately, the enquiry asks whether this is a home or a commercial property; what you are protecting and from what; whether there is an existing system and who installed it; whether you want monitoring or an audible system; and whether cabling is practical or it needs to be wireless.
Whether you want a police response changes the specification from the first decision onwards, because that route only exists through an inspected installer. It is worth settling early rather than discovering it after the system is in.
Why choose Kalvaro
Two things nobody tells you until it is too late
First, the police will not respond to an alarm unless it has a unique reference number, and that is only issued for a system installed and maintained by a company inspected by NSI or SSAIB to the relevant British Standard. An uninspected installer cannot get you one, whatever the alarm costs. Second, if your CCTV captures anything beyond your own boundary, including a pavement or a neighbour’s garden, you take on duties under data protection law. Both are ordinary to handle when they are designed in, and awkward to retrofit.
Verified before introduction
Trading history, public liability insurance and identity, verified before a partner sees your enquiry.
Accreditation checked
Where an installer claims NSI, SSAIB or BAFE approval, we verify it against the issuing register.
Established businesses only
Companies with a trading history and a real identity, not a number on a leaflet.
How it works
Four steps, one conversation
1Tell us what needs protecting
A few guided questions about the property, the risk and any existing system.
2We review your requirements
A member of our team reads it personally.
3We introduce security specialists
A small number of suitable, vetted partners.
4You choose with confidence
Compare, decide and start on your terms.
Security systems questions
Frequently asked
Only if the system holds a unique reference number, and forces issue those only for systems installed and maintained by a company inspected by NSI or SSAIB to the relevant British Standard. Response is also conditional on false alarms staying within a limit, and the number can be withdrawn if they do not. A perfectly good alarm from an uninspected installer is an audible deterrent, which may be all you want, but be clear which one you are buying.
If the cameras only cover your own property, no. The moment they capture a pavement, a shared drive or a neighbour’s garden, you are handling other people’s personal data and the Information Commissioner’s domestic CCTV guidance applies to you. In practice it means signage, keeping recordings no longer than you need, and responding if someone asks for footage of themselves. A doorbell camera counts. Positioning the cameras thoughtfully at the design stage avoids most of it, and most neighbour disputes with it.
An audible system makes noise and relies on somebody acting. A monitored system sends the signal to an alarm receiving centre, which verifies it and escalates, and that is the route to a police response. Monitoring carries an ongoing cost. Which is right depends on what is at risk, whether the property is often empty and whether anyone nearby would actually respond to a siren.
For intruder alarms and CCTV, NSI or SSAIB, which are the two UKAS-accredited inspectorates in this field. For fire alarm work, BAFE registration. All of them publish searchable registers, so a claim can be checked in under a minute. We check them before making an introduction, and you can check them again yourself.
For commercial premises, fire alarm systems are routinely serviced every six months under the relevant British Standard, and extinguishers have an annual service with longer-interval tests beyond that. Domestic systems are simpler but still need testing. If you are responsible for a business premises this is not optional, and the records are what a fire officer asks to see.
The professional you choose does, directly with you. Pricing is agreed directly between you and the professional you choose. Kalvaro makes the introduction and takes no part in pricing, so we neither set nor guarantee what the work will cost.
Related services
Often planned together
Windows and doors
Locking, glazing and door specification are part of the same security picture.
Fencing
The perimeter is the first layer, long before anything is powered.
Tell us what needs protecting
A few minutes now, and an accredited installer specifying it properly. Free to property owners, with no obligation.