Upgrading Your Home Security System

Nearly all of us have been burglarized, or know someone who has, at some point in our lives. While it may seem difficult to protect your home from a professional thief like you see in the movies, you may feel more comfortable knowing that most home burglaries that take place are done by amateurs. These amateur thieves are very easily stopped by some fairly inexpensive and easily implemented home security measures. The way to significantly improve your home’s security would be to install a home security alarm system.

There are, of course, the time tested, recommended ways to improve your home security, including:

  • Getting a big, scary guard dog and hope the burglar is afraid.
  • Adding more secure locks on all of your doors
  • Locking all valuable in a safe deposit box instead of keeping them in your home where they are easily accessible.

In addition, at the heart of any true home security strategy should be the decision to install a home security system. Home security services have been in use for decades now and have gone through several waves of innovation.

A standard home security system includes the following primary components:

  1. Sensors – used to detect intruders when an entry point has been breached and they are entering the home.  These include window sensors, door sensors, and even glass break or motion detection sensors.
  2. Key pad – the control panel of the home security system where a home-owner can activate/deactivate and make adjustments to the system.
  3. Alarms – these are inside and outside the home and emit ear-piercing sound that is difficult to sleep through or ignore.  If your alarm is monitored by a central station the signal will still be sent even if the intruder finds a way to disable the loud siren.
  4. Monitoring – this is a central command center that monitors the alarm sensors.  In addition to the alarms or sirens being activated, when the security in the home is breached this central command center will send the signal to the proper authorities and let the home owner know what is going on.  So for example if an intruder enters the home through the front door and the home-owner cannot be reached, the signal will be sent to the monitoring station and they will send the message to dispatch the local authorities.

A typical home security system will typically have a single key pad, multiple alarms, and many sensors. In the past, many home-owners relied on home alarms, but those have long since evolved into fully automated home security systems for one important reason. That reason is this: an unmonitored ‘house alarm’ relies on the kindness of strangers and neighbours to investigate the intrusion and contact you when you are gone. If the intruder is aware that the alarm is not being monitored by a central station they will know that they have more time to burglarize the property before someone attempts to stop them. The un-monitored system was flawed from the start and innovations in technology have made it easier for home-owners to get more advanced home security protection at a reasonable cost.

The monitored home security system automatically alerts the monitoring station which then contacts the home-owners, the emergency responders. All of this is done according to a standard security protocol to ensure that the thieves are more easily deterred and prosecuted. It also helps to reassure home-owners that their loved ones are better protected – including the “big, scary dog”.

Other developments in home security include the ability to protect your home when you are not in it, as in when you are at work, or the grocery store, or the soccer field. To keep an eye on your home and protect it from intruders when you are gone, a home security system is ideal. When you are not around, the sensors and cameras act as your intrusion detection system and communicate directly with the monitoring station. These home security alarms and services are now far more reliable through technological advancements than ever before.  Imagine being to retrieve images from your smartphone whenever there is movement is a certain part of your home or having the ability to unlock your front door from the office to let the cleaning service in!  These are just a few of the features available with today’s home security systems, they have the ability to do much more than just catch intruders!

About the Author

This article is authored by GuardMe Security. GuardMe Security’s goal is to design and install outstanding home security alarms to meet the needs and budgets of our customers. We have delivered the best security equipment and the highest quality professional installations to the home-owners. Contact us for a quote for your custom home security System today.

Erin Emanuel