Home security system monitoring is more popular now than ever. Technology has advanced enough that home DVR surveillance systems are affordable and relatively easy to install. Unfortunately, even as security technology improves, the tricks used by invaders increase in sophistication too. For example, lock bumping is a technique that gets burglars into many houses that are locked. Nearly 16% of homes will be invaded by an intruder at some time, and nearly 75% of all crime is property related. However, with some basic security steps, 90% of burglaries can be prevented.
Home security basics
When it comes to the basics of home security, locks and motion detector lights go a long way to making burglars go elsewhere. People who live in higher crime areas, or in communities where lock bumping is a common entry technique can install special bump-proof locks. Professional locksmiths know how to get these and install them. But even apart from bump-proof locks, deadbolt locks deter intruders too. Exterior doors without deadbolts and without bump-proof locks are easy to enter with a credit-card size piece of flexible plastic. Every homeowner should know the value of a good locking system.
Motion activated flood lights aimed at driveways and the area around the house are another basic security measure that goes a long way to deterring home intruders. And some people who don’t have monitored home security systems nevertheless purchase signage or stickers that make it appear as if they do. Some people even install fake video cameras as a deterrent and install thorny shrubbery underneath vulnerable windows.
Video home security system monitoring can be a great adjunct to traditional home security, but it can’t substitute for the basics. For example, if a determined burglar gets into your house (which is far easier in a house with average non-deadbolt locks), the camera surveillance system isn’t much good. After all, the intruder can wear a mask and gloves and be in and out of a house before the homeowner receives the email alerting him or her that the security camera detected motion. Most burglars are decidedly low-tech when it comes to methods of getting into homes.
Modern home security
Home security system monitoring is one of the most popular ways to safeguard home security today. Modern home security systems have sophisticated networks of alarmed zones, closed circuit cameras, audible alarms, and other methods of security monitoring. While some homeowners elect to install security cameras hooked up to DVR surveillance systems they can monitor themselves from a laptop or smart phone wherever they happen to be, others choose security systems that are monitored by a monitoring service. The monitoring facility alerts authorities and phones the homeowner when the alarm system shows a security breach.
And many people who go to the trouble and expense of installing a comprehensive home security system, whether accompanied by cameras and a DVR surveillance system or not add other features such as fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to their alarm system. Other high tech touches to home security systems include passive infrared detectors that note quick changes in a room’s temperature that could be from the entrance of a person. Glass breakage detectors can be installed to respond either to the sound of broken glass or to trip a closed circuit loop connected to the window.
Home security and home insurance
The use of home security system monitoring often results in not only a feeling of improved security within the home, but a discount on homeowners insurance as well, particularly if the system incorporates fire alarms and / or carbon monoxide detectors. But home security systems do present the chance of false alarms. Sometimes movements by small animals set off motion detectors (though more home security systems are able to compensate for motion detected below a certain height from the ground), and there are law enforcement agencies that charge residents for emergency calls that were initiated by false alarms. The lesson is that every homeowner with a security system must check it regularly to make sure it is in working order and that any batteries are charged.
There are numerous options for home security system alarm monitoring services. Neighbors and home insurance agents can often give referrals to respected monitoring services in the area. The employees of some monitoring services are trained by the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, and the company itself participates in the Installation Quality Certification Program. While these aren’t guarantees of great service, they do ensure that certain minimum standards in home security system monitoring are met.
It is wise for the homeowner to contact local law enforcement to find out if they will be charged for mistaken emergency calls. Even if the answer is “No,” the homeowner should do everything within his or her power to prevent false alarms. Factors like how long the security system monitoring service has been in business and whether the home security equipment is underwritten by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL listed) are important considerations in making a decision on a home security system.
The monitoring facility should be open 24/7/365, because home intruders don’t operate on regular business hours. The facility should also have a backup monitoring center so that if the main center that processes your home security data experiences a natural disaster or electrical failure, the home can still be monitored around the clock. Redundant equipment should be in place for computer lines, landline phones, and computers to minimize or eliminate the risk of a power failure leaving a house unprotected.
Home security has evolved from being hard wired, where all the components were connected to a control panel, to using wireless technology, and high tech sensors such as infrared motion detectors. The basics of a monitored home security system include door and window sensors, audible alarms, and a control panel can be installed for a cost in the hundreds of dollars, and the monitoring tends to cost about $30 per month.
To this, homeowners can add infrared motion detectors that can detect heat within a 40 square foot area. This would need to be installed where valuables like expensive jewelry or a home safe would be located. Smoke detectors that report to the monitoring service are available, and have an extra layer of protection from battery operated smoke detectors, which can do nothing in cases where the homeowner is not present. In-line smoke detectors will alert the monitoring facility so that the appropriate responders can be summoned.
Homeowners with specific needs, such as monitoring for a pool or hot tub, detecting carbon monoxide, broken windows, or water flooding can have these parameters monitored by an alarm company. They can have systems that will alert the homeowner wherever he or she is if the temperature in a home wine cellar goes out of its ideal range.
Usually security cameras are not part of home security center monitoring. They are typically installed for the use of the homeowner only, so that the homeowner can monitor his or her house from anywhere using a PC, a laptop computer, or even an iPhone and summon authorities if necessary. But camera monitoring is not something that monitoring services general offer, for obvious privacy reasons.
Monitored security systems
But with monitored systems, the quality of the off-site monitoring is equally as important as the electronics and sensors that are installed in the house. Choosing a monitoring company wisely can lead to greater peace of mind whether the homeowner is home or away. The people off-site who know when a home security system sounds an alarm are the key to having the security that a modern system promises. All the electronic sophistication in the world doesn’t matter much if the system is being poorly monitored.
Most companies offer a free evaluation of a particular home to help the homeowner choose the features that he or she wants in a home security alarm system. The evaluation will also include a question and answer session or survey concerning specific security needs and lifestyle, such as whether people are at home during the day, and how often the homeowner takes vacations. Other lifestyle concerns are the typical amount of foot traffic the home has. For example, a home with teenagers and their friends coming and going often will need a less restrictive home security system than a retired couple that takes RV trips several times a year.
The size of the home, number of rooms, typical room size, number of windows, and types of door locks will also be important in choosing a monitored home security system. Monitoring companies will emphasize the basics of home security as well as a monitored system. Strong locks and motion detector lights are important whether there is a monitored system or not. These measures can keep some intruders away without the monitoring system having to be alerted, keeping false alarm calls to a minimum, particularly in areas where homeowners are charged for the cost of emergency dispatches by local law enforcement when there is not emergency.
Home security and pets
Pets are also an important consideration with monitored home security alarms. Motion sensors – even those designed to avoid areas near the floor – can be problematic with multiple pets and pets such as cats who tend to leap to higher surfaces. Pet-free homes, on the other hand, may benefit from motion sensors indoors.
Home alarm monitoring isn’t for everyone, but there are security systems today that are inexpensive to install, with monitoring costs that are reasonable on many budgets. Access control, two-way voice systems, and automatic alerting of authorities can be part of a comprehensive home security system. Command stations staffed by highly trained personnel make many homeowners feel more secure than alarm systems that are not connected to a monitoring system.
While monitoring systems and home video security can add layers of protection to a home, they are not a substitute for solid basic home security such as deadbolt locks, bump-proof locks, motion detectors on outdoor floodlights, and other low-tech deterrents. No security system is perfect, but all of them start with the basics.