by Christopher Skjonsby

Created on: October 11, 2007

Careful consideration should be taken when creating a plan to secure your home. Looking at the value of belongings you could lose in addition to the value of your home. Considerations should include your family's safety, life safety, and property protection.

One of the best deterrents is motion activated lighting around the outside of your home. Removal of shrubs and other cover' near windows or against the house greatly increase the visibility of a would be burglar. Yard signs and stickers are effective deterrents but most burglars have been in your home in the way of a canvassers or sales people to evaluate your home. There is a misconception in thinking a dog is a good deterrent, if criminals want to come in they will poison animals. A monitored electronic security system is the best way to go.

A well designed system will have minimum impact on your day to day life and give you peace of mind while at home or away. Careful consideration should be taken in the features a security system will provide. It is better to stop a criminal before he enters your home. Devices such as glass break detectors, door contacts and wired window screens will all trip the alarm before the house is entered. Motion detectors will trip only after someone is inside the home.

Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, temperature sensors, and water bugs can all be tied into the system to provide life safety as well as protecting your investment from frozen pipes or a flood in the basement. Specific actions can be setup with the monitoring station should a zone be tripped. Cellular communication backup or Internet based monitoring can provide a high security line to the station and are immune to the effects of phone lines being cut. Systems are extremely configurable with wireless technologies, a variety of detectors, and output modules.

Systems need to be properly maintained. An inspection once per year is usually included in monitoring contracts. A trained technician should come to your home and inspect each device. Detectors wear out, batteries lose their charge and the communication lines need to be tested. This is a vital role in maintaining the integrity of your system.
No system will absolutely prevent someone from breaking into your home. The purpose of the system is to trip an alarm and scare them into a smash and grab' situation. After the alarm goes off the burglar knows he has a limited amount of time to make a getaway. He will grab anything of value readily at hand and head out the door. As well, the Fire Department can be notified in the case of a fire or carbon monoxide detection. It can also have your friends or relatives called if there is a flood in your basement while on holidays.

When selecting a company to install and monitor a system, research their quality and reputation. Avoid the free alarm' as nothing really is free. Pay for your system upfront and you will not be bound by any long term monitoring agreements. Check there install rate and service rate, you really get what you pay for. Investing in a quality security system will pay for its value with peace of mind.

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