Looking for the Best Home Security Systems?

 

Home security systems are an essential part of almost every home. According to federal statistics, the USA saw an estimated 2.2 million burglaries in the year 2010. That is a huge number of violated households and an even larger number of victims left without their possessions and the emotional and mental turmoil of knowing that a stranger has entered your house and taken goods that may not just have monetary value, but also sentimental and personal value.

Offices, as well as residential homes are burgled every day of the year; however it is residential burglaries that account for the vast majority of burglaries here in the US, taking up more than 70% of all burglaries reported.

By taking the step to look for a home security system, you have already made inroads in making sure that you do not become one of the next statistics, but it is important that you know what to look for when purchasing a home security system.

There are a huge number of different home security systems out there that all cater for different needs and different budgets. There are all kinds of different kits, types and brands available and it can be hard to know quite where to start.

Budget
The first thing to take into account is of course your budget. You want to be looking for a home security system that you can comfortably afford but it is also worth taking note of exactly what you are protecting. It is not worth saving a few dollars to get an inferior home security system if you have hundreds of thousands of dollars of possessions in your home that needs protecting. The rule of thumb here is to get the very best home security system that you can possibly afford.

Home Security Monitoring Systems

You then need to decide whether you are going to opt for a monitored system or a stand-alone system. The benefit of a monitored system is that the authorities will be automatically contacted for you at the time of a break-in, which means that if you are out of your home the incident will still be reported, or maybe even more importantly, if you are still in the home somebody is already on their way even if you don’t get the opportunity to contact the police yourself.

It is important that you take into account the actual monitoring system. Many homeowners overlook this as they focus more on the actual technology and quality of the security system itself. However, if you are opting for a monitored system then it is important to check out the response times, associated cost and the reliability of that system. When it comes to it, this is one of the most essential parts of your whole security system and can be what prevents a burglary in process or allows the criminals to get away with your goods.

Home Security Installation

Another important factor when purchasing a home security system is whether you will install it yourself or whether it will be professionally installed.

Very often, unless you are a professional, installing your own home security system can mean extra time and hassle and the chance of not installing it correctly, potentially rendering it useless. The other problem with installing it yourself is that often these systems are less complex to allow for easy fitting. This can mean that although you will still get a level of protection, it may not be as technologically advanced in keeping out intruders as some of the higher-end professionally fitted security systems are.

The pro’s of fitting a security system yourself though is of course a financial saving as well as being able to fit it at your own convenience rather than having to book appointments with fitters and so on.

If you can afford it, then it is often better to have a system professionally fitted. This will ensure that the security system is fitted correctly and covers all areas of your home. Professionally fitted systems will often have more complexity which provides further protection against burglary.

Wireless Home Security Systems

You will also want to take into account the level of sophistication that your home security system offers. This often increases with budget but you can also differentiate between products in the same price band which offer different levels of sophistication.

Some home security systems simply work on motion. They use motion detectors that can be set off to alert the system that someone, or something, is moving in the protected area. However, these sorts of systems are famous for their false alarms as often a small animal such a cat can be responsible for triggering the motion detector. The danger of this is that a sequence of false alarms can lead to “The boy who cried wolf” syndrome, meaning that possibly when a real alarm is set off it is ignored as another false alarm, effectively defeating the whole point of the system.

If your budget allows for it, try to look for a system that offers more complexity. The home security system technology has advanced rapidly over the last few years and now offers systems that can differentiate between a real human intruder and a small animal. These types of sensors are particularly important for outdoors monitoring.

You will also need to make the choice of wired or wireless systems. More and more systems are now wireless and they are certainly the preferential choice for the best results.

It is ideally best to get as many other types of sensor and detector that your budget will allow. This should firstly include fire detection but should then lead on to glass breakage sensors. Combined with outdoor motion detectors, this will provide a double layer of security as even if an intruder was to somehow get past the outdoor motion detectors, the alarm would then be set off when they tried to gain entry.

Put simply, the choice of home security systems available to you are many in number. As a general rule of thumb, you should look to get a system with as many of the above functions as possible, and that fits within your budget. You can then be assured that you have done the very best you can to proactively protect your family, your belongings and your home.