How to choose a safe

Is it time you invested in a security safe – either for your home or office, to protect cash, documents, electronics, or something else?

Whilst we’re confident that you’ll find the perfect safe for your security needs here at eSafes, we understand that narrowing your options down can be tricky. After all, there are so many different options to choose from.

That’s why, to help you, we’ve compiled a list of factors to consider when shopping for safes and suggest using the handy ‘Safe Chooser’ guide on our website.

6 key considerations when choosing a safe

  1. What do you need the safe for?

From cash and valuables to jewellery and heirlooms, documents, medical supplies, firearms and keys, you can stow pretty much anything in a safe. But before you start exploring the vast range of options available, you need to be clear on what you’ll store inside to help you determine which size is best.

If you need to deposit cash notes or cheques quickly and discreetly, a deposit safe is ideal. Instead of opening the safe door every time, deposits are made via the chute or front-loading drum.

  • How big are the items you’ll store inside the safe?

When picking a safe, you want to be sure that there is enough room to store everything without it being squashed or damaged. But at the same time, you don’t want to splash out on a larger safe and risk it not fitting.

Our best advice is to think carefully. If you have the luxury of an abundance of space and you can afford to buy a bigger safe, then go for it. Otherwise, if you only have a few small valuables, search by size.

  • Where will the safe be installed?

The next thing to think about is what type of safe you need and, more importantly, where the safe will be kept.

Here at eSafes, we stock a comprehensive range of freestanding safes for homes and offices, as well as wall safes, underfloor safes, and hotel safes. Whether you’d like your safe to be installed discreetly (out of sight of prying eyes) or easily accessible for authorised personnel to access, our team will be more than happy to assist.

  • Does it need to be fireproof?

If you’re storing important papers – like passports, wills, insurance certificates, and documents containing clients’ private and confidential information – we highly recommend buying a fire resistant safe.

We provide safes that offer 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes of fire resistance, so no matter how much fire protection you require, you can relax knowing that your belongings are safe in the unfortunate event of a fire.

  • What type of lock would you prefer?

Most safes are fitted with a high-security key lock – tried and trusted by many – but you can upgrade to an electronic, combination, fingerprint, or dual lock if you like.

Electronic locks are easy to use and need batteries to operate.

Combination locks allow you to open the safe using a numerical code that can be changed as often as you like. Not only does this save you the hassle of remembering to pick up your key, but the majority have a low battery warning too.

A fingerprint locking safe will only open when a pre-scanned fingerprint is swiped over the reader – meaning no keys or combinations are necessary.

Dual locks have either two key locks or a keypad and key which enables two people to open the safe.

  • Is the safe AiS approved?

Ideally, when buying a safe, you want one that is tested to the official EN 1143-1 standard and quality approved by the British Association of Insurance Surveyors (AiS).

Fortunately, we stock an extensive collection of AiS insurance approved safes and Eurograde safes and can assure you that they are all manufactured to an exceptional standard.

Need an expert opinion?

After considering the above factors, if you’re still not sure which safe is best for your security needs, our specialists would love to hear from you.

Always on hand, we can guide you through the selection process and advise you on the most suitable safe for your home or business. After all, we’ve been advising customers for more than 30 years and have an unrivalled knowledge of the products within our online inventory.

Why not give us a call on 0800 783 2328 or send an email to info@esafes.co.uk, and we’ll be in touch shortly?