Deciding to purchase a home security system is a solid first step to ensuring a high level of safety for your family. However, when determining what type of system you need, or what components are necessary to maintain that level of safety, it’s easy to fall into the trap of confusion due to an overwhelming number of options.
Do you need video cameras and, if so, how many? Does a system that integrates into your smart home make sense? Does a security system also monitor flooding, smoke, or extreme temperature changes? If these are questions you’ve asked, we’re here to walk you through the five essential components of a home security system and how they can help keep your family and your home safe.
Environmental Detection
When most people think about their home’s security or safety, they may first imagine a robber breaking a window to gain access to the valuables inside the house or a bad actor prowling the backyard to probe potential access points. Just as important as protecting your home from these types of acts, though, is protecting your home from more typical hazards.
This is why environmental detection (glass break, flood, temperature, smoke/CO) is a foundational component of home security. Most homes are required to have a smoke and carbon monoxide detector, but these basic systems only help you when you’re home and able to hear the alarm. Upgrading these parts so they can provide notification to you when you’re not home as well as to a monitoring station can better ensure your home’s safety.
Further, flooding can not only damage a home, but it can also make it unsafe to live in. The best way to limit damage and prevent a small issue from turning into a life-altering one is early detection. Including this type of environmental detection in your home security system can save you from costly clean-ups and repairs.
Circling back to what people typically think of as home security, another element of environment detection is alerting you to glass breaking. Whether due to an intruder or extreme weather, knowing whether there is a new access point for robbers or wind and rain makes it easier for you to patch or replace your broken window.
Mobile Control
At this point, it’s cliché to say we do everything on our phones. We consume media, communicate with friends and family, and conduct our work through them, often all at the same time. The smartphone truly is the hub of each person’s being, serving as our connection point to the outer world.
So, it makes sense to make your smartphone the communication hub for your home security system, especially during those times when you’re away. After all, to adapt a popular philosophical question, if a smoke detector goes off and there’s no one to hear it, is it really saving anyone?
But a smartphone can do so much more than serve as a long-distance smoke detector. It can track pretty much anything happening at your home. When connected to your home security system, you should be able to gauge and adjust your home’s temperature, see whether that online purchase was finally delivered, and even allow you to speak to anyone inside your home or at the front door.
Another key aspect of using your smartphone as a communication hub with your home security system is the level of customizability. You can set up “do not disturb” periods, so your phone doesn’t go off during your important work meeting due to your spouse bringing multiple trips of groceries through the front door.
Security Monitoring
Keeping your family safe is a 24/7 job. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get some sleep, though. Going with a security system that offers around the clock monitoring by a team of dedicated professionals makes your life easier and safer.
A monitoring team can respond to threats before you do, especially in situations where you’re unable to respond. Through the variety of detectors installed throughout a secure home, the monitoring team can be prepared to act should you be dealing with a carbon monoxide leak, fire/smoke, or a burglary.
Homes secured by active monitoring stations often have quicker response times from police, fire, and emergency services. These precious extra seconds and minutes can sometimes be the difference between a scare and costly property damage, as well as giving the authorities a head start on finding and catching potential perpetrators.
Motion Detection
Though they are often overlooked, motion detection is a needed element for any home security system. Motion sensors are flexible in their use, with an ability to be paired with alarms, cameras, and lights, among other things.
A basic motion-detecting light can provide a tremendous amount of bang for its buck when it comes to security. Criminals typically prefer to divert attention away from themselves, but a sudden light activated by their movement highlights their presence and may scare them off. Beyond security, a motion-detecting light can help keep your home’s front yard illuminated if you get home late or leave before the sun rises.
Motion detecting cameras can also reduce the need for constant surveillance by only operating when needed. You don’t need security footage of your unoccupied yard, but you will need it when trying to identify an individual taking a short cut through your backyard or scanning the area for vulnerabilities.
Video Surveillance
Of course, a motion detector doesn’t help anyone if it’s not attached to something useful, like a video surveillance system. These systems are essential because they provide video access to whatever occurs inside and outside your home.
As technology advances, so does the capabilities of video surveillance systems. New set-ups can transmit live video to your smartphone or tablet, back up video to the cloud, and even provide audio output, letting you communicate with whoever is under your system’s watchful eye.
One of the main purposes of this surveillance system is to alert you to potential intruders and help the local authorities identify such individuals. However, video surveillance can be a useful tool for your home, even beyond its common safety and security uses.
If you’re leaving a pet or children at home, you can easily check in on them. Through your mobile control, you can help lower or raise the temperature in the home, if needed, to ensure a maximum level of comfort.
Twin Cities Home Security Experts
When it comes to your family’s security, you’ll only find one company that cares as much as you do. Per Mar Security Services are residential security experts.
We also offer free consultations so we can craft a system that works best for your unique circumstances. So, if you’re looking for the best home security system to keep your family and belongings safe and secure, reach out to Per Mar Security Services today.
Image: ESB Professional
