There are several different kinds of home security. You can have an alarm that is triggered if someone breaks in to your home, put security-company stickers on your windows or leave lights on inside and outside when you’re not home. The problem is, burglars are not always stupid and many know how to get around these things. The only reliable home security is alarm monitoring.
What is Monitoring?
When you set up a security system in your home, it’s important that the police, fire department or medical responders arrive at your home as soon as possible. An alarm that is not monitored requires you or, hopefully, a neighbor to call the police, and this may not happen if you aren’t home or your neighbor doesn’t hear the alarm.
A monitored system is connected to a monitoring company that has staff on duty 24/7 to monitor your alarms. If your alarm is triggered, they will call you to ascertain if the emergency is genuine and send the required service. If no one is home, the police will be sent to the house. All of this happens within one to one and a half minutes.
What Type of Monitoring Is Available?
There are three main ways your security system communicates with the monitoring center when your alarm is triggered. The most common is through a cellular uplink. It is more reliable than through a landline because it works even if a burglar cuts the telephone lines. A landline connection can use a wireless phone, but it needs a landline to communicate with the monitoring center. Security systems can also be connected through a broadband link. This is much faster than a landline and less expensive than a cellular connection but not as reliable.
Tips for a Safe Home
• Trees and shrubs near the front windows are good places for a burglar to hide.
• Many insurance companies will give lower rates to a home that has a good security system.
• Outdoor motion-activated lighting will deter burglars.
Systems also include remote camera viewing, fire monitoring, medical alert for seniors, carbon monoxide monitoring and much more. You can even control your lights, locks, sprinklers and thermostats remotely. Most home break-ins happen between 10 am and 3 pm when most residents are at work or school. This is one of the main reasons the best home security is a monitored system.