Expert Home Security Comparison Guide and Reviews

The First Line of Defense: Knowing the Facts About Home Security

August 8th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

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Sometimes the simplest steps are the smartest! By placing a sign that advertises your home security system in your yard, you can dramatically reduce your chances of being targeted by thieves.

In a study published in the Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, Dr. Yochanan Shachmurove, Dr. Gideon Fishman and Dr. Simon Hakim studied the motivating factors behind a burglar’s decision to rob one home over another. Their findings indicated that isolation and occupancy were the two major considerations.

The study indicated that while you are reclining in your lazy chair and flipping through 100 channels of Cable TV (and still finding nothing to watch) you can rest easy. Ok, the study did not read quite that way - but it does tell us that burglars rarely target homes with occupants in residence.

Homes that are more frequently targeted tend to be secluded or isolated. Keep in mind that this definition encompasses homes with an entrance that is not visible from the street, due to foliage or other visual obstructions. The ideal ‘pigeon’ for a thief is an expensive home that is detached with no security measures and is located less than a mile from a major highway or road.

The study also revealed that the third most important factor is highly visible security measures. Deadbolt locks can’t be seen so they did not deter burglars. However, advertising the fact that your home is protected by a security system was a major deterrent. The professors found that if a house is protected by an alarm system, the chances of a burglar’s choosing it are virtually zero. Those are pretty great odds!

In the study’s conclusion, the professors determined that homes without security systems were 3.5 times more likely to be burglarized than those with protection. If a thief does victimize a home with a security system, they spend far less time in the house during the robbery and therefore remove fewer pieces of property.

This research and similar studies have led insurance companies, such as State Farm, to advise their clients to install home security systems. In fact, many times homeowners with alarm systems will receive an incentive in premiums. The National Crime Prevention Council in Washington, D.C. has also endorsed security systems as a deterrent to crime.

A home security system can range in cost from less than fifty dollars to upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. Sometimes you can actually get a system for free, when you sign a contract with a monitoring company. You can also opt for a wireless system, which is quite easy to install. In fact, these systems typically fall under the “do it yourself” category. But before you decide to tackle that particular project, you need to be armed with a working knowledge of all your security system options. No pun intended!

First, there are two basic types of systems. One option sounds an alarm and turns on various lights throughout the home. The other offers those features, but is also connected to a monitoring company twenty-four hours a day. With this system, an employee at the monitoring company automatically calls the police for you, when the alarm is tripped. These systems not only protect against intruders, but can also be hooked up to fire alarms and carbon monoxide protectors.

You may also want to consider a system that provides you with the option to place “panic buttons” throughout your home. These are particularly valuable, for those with a medically fragile family member.

The most expensive systems have surveillance cameras placed at checkpoints throughout your property. You can actually monitor your home yourself from any location, by connecting to a closed circuit program on your laptop.

Detectors can be found not only on doors and windows, but also underneath rugs and in every room in the house. When a detector is tripped, the homeowner checks his control panel to see exactly where the disturbance is occurring.

If there is no danger, the homeowner can opt to cancel the phone call to the monitoring company, or shut down the alarm by entering a pass code on the control center. To avoid sending false alarms, family members should be taught how to use the password system. If the system is not halted, the monitoring company phones the police and they are dispatched to your home.

Now how do you translate all this information into practical applications, when it comes to actually keeping your home from being burglarized? Let’s summarize:

Put a sign up in your front yard advertising your system. Decals on the windows are not as effective.

Buy a system that sounds an alarm.

Invest in a system that provides protection against fire and carbon monoxide. One smoke detector in your kitchen is not as effective as a series of smoke and heat detectors placed strategically throughout your home. If your house catches fire when you are not at home, your monitoring company alerts the police immediately.

Monitoring companies are very valuable in emergencies, but you will also need to educate family members and household guests to maximize the benefits of your system.

If your house is secluded or in the country, your best defense is a system connected to a monitoring company. A sounding alarm may not offer enough protection.

Burglars may cut the outside telephone wires before they enter a house. If you don’t have a cell phone, you won’t be able to call the police and your system won’t be able to call the monitoring company. So consider adding a second phone line.

Cut any foliage hiding doors and windows. Burglars deliberately pick houses that they can enter without detection from the street.

Join a Neighborhood Watch group or start one yourself.

With an early career in home improvement, Gary Stuart translated his experience to the application of home maintenance, remodeling and the construction of four new homes. Overseeing the construction process and orchestrating the day to day details of home ownership have resulted in many a late night trip to the local hardware store! Gary has translated his passion into developing his alarm systems website which offers home owners the benefit of his experiences. For more information please visit, http://www.home-alarm-security-systems.com

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Home Security - Some Practical Advice

August 5th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

When people think of home security, the first thing they generally think of is burglar alarms. In most cases, though, alarms are only a small part of the overall security of your home.

In many cases, the key to home security is actually the windows. Houses with less secure windows get broken into far more often than houses with secure ones, as windows are the number one point of entry for burglars. You should always make sure to use the toughest glass you can, and have locks fitted to the windows. Never leave your windows open when you go out, either - even really high up ones that you wouldn’t expect anyone to be able to get to. Also, never leave ladders lying around in your garden - lock them up in a garage or shed instead.

Doors are also a common point of security weakness. Your door should be sturdy and bulky, with a well-built lock that can’t just be forced open easily. You should also make sure to be careful about losing your keys, and never store them together with something that could reveal your address.

Of course, that’s not to say that alarms aren’t effective, although for the most part they are better as a deterrent than they are at detecting and helping to catch a burglar. Fitting a visible alarm to the front and back of your house is the simplest thing you can do to put a burglar off (they’ll go for your neighbours instead), but a well-made fake alarm box generally works just as well for this as a real one. Front and back lights that come on when someone gets close also make a very good deterrent, as well as being convenient for you when you come home late and want to get the key in the lock.

John Gibb is the owner of home security For more information on home security please check out http://www.Home-Security-extreme.info

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Home Security Providers: What They Do

August 2nd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

When one thinks of one’s own Home Security one may be hard put to establish the best solution to select. The least one should do before deciding is to take a hard look at the available proposals and explore them attentively from every side.

Two are the main types of provisions one can consider to set up: either an independent surveillance system with alarms and automatic event reporting, or a subscription to a surveillance service as offered by security providers.

We would like to mention here briefly the advantages and limitations of the second of these two above options, the one offering such integrated services, and to point out why in some cases it may be just the right solution.

Among the important advantages that one should consider are the following:

- Your system will be set up by Professionals
- They will be fully accountable for maintenance and continuous operation
- They may charge for service, not for hardware
- Integration means that proper sensors for any type of other hazards can be included
- Continuous monitoring occurs at a central station responsible for taking immediate action whenever required
- Certain providers may dispose of their own rescue crews to dispatch
- You can be awarded a document capable of gaining you a substantial rebate from your insurance company

Some of the limitation of most services may be as follows:

- Only homeowners, not tenants, may be eligible for service
- An event will trigger a call to official security services (police, firefighters etc.)
- There is no control on the effectiveness of this action, only follow up
- The customer may be bound to a minimum contract duration (three years)
- The recurring expense may be significant

If one is tempted to rely on security providers for assuring adequate home surveillance and protection, it would be advisable to obtain a few offers from different firms and to compare them. If you collect the names of other customers you will be able to check if they are indeed satisfied with the service they get.

By selecting the best security service provider one is fully relieved from the fears of technical hurdles. One is not relieved however from the responsibility of having got indeed the most desirable of solutions.

Elia Levi is a retired engineer.
He built a website to assist with a step-by-step Guide to understand, design, select and set up, all by yourself the best and least expensive surveillance system for your home security. Read more on the subject of this article at
http://www.1st-diy-home-surveillance-guide.com/adt-security.html

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