How to Design an Effective Home Security System

A vital part of securing your home is the installation of a home security system. Home security systems can vary greatly in the levels of protection that they provide. Whether you like to do it yourself, or are hiring a professional security installation company, there are critical elements that must be considered that are covered here.

First you need to decide what level of coverage your budget allows. If you agree to a longer term monitoring agreement, most alarm companies will offer a free or reduced installation of their basic package which includes 1 control panel, 1 keypad, 3 door contact, 1 motion detector, 1 siren, and 1 yard sign. For many homeowners, this is a very cost effective way to have a basic system installed. However, if you are willing to spend a little additional, you can really beef up your security by adding devices and contact points.

The areas of the home to put the most emphasis on is the side and back of the house. Burglars look to find the easiest point of entry where they will not get caught. When a burglar approaches a home, they will usually ring the doorbell to see if anyone answers or stirs in the home. If no one answers the door, they will kick the door in and close it behind them. It is hard to tell that anything is going on from the street. But your neighbors can easily tell that something is not quite right if they were to see a broken window on the front of your home.

Most burglaries occur through the doors. The doors most often targeted are the back and side doors. Windows are also easy points of entry. Contacting all of the accessible windows will provide a warning of possible intrusion if someone were to raise a window at night while you were at home. If you are mostly interested in protecting your property while you are away however, it may be more cost effective to use motion and glass break detectors. This is because on most windows it is possible to simply break the window and climb in. If the window is not raised, the contact will not be triggered.

A critical element in the design of a home security system is an interior trap. The most common interior trap is a motion detector placed in the living area as a way of catching an intruder that got by the perimeter contacts. Pet motion detectors are available which filter out animals but still pick up humans. However, these pet motions are absolutely not recommended for homeowners with cats. By jumping so quick, a cat fools the motion into thinking that it is a person standing up. If you contact an interior bedroom or closet door that is kept shut when you are away, this could be a good alternative. When the burglar opens the interior contacted door, the alarm will sound. This interior contact is off when the alarm is armed in the stay mode so that you can still freely open and close that door without setting the alarm off.

Homeowners with animals often request glass break detectors for their home security system. Before spending your hard earned money on glass break detectors, it is important to understand their limitations and what they were truly designed to cover. A glass break detector is a line of sight product. It is listening for the sound and vibration of a breaking glass, and it has to occur within milliseconds of each other. This dual technology is to cut down on false alarms. Faux wood blinds, shutters, and heavy draperies will greatly reduce or render the glass break detector totally ineffective. Common places where a glass break can be effective in a standard home include protecting the glass above the master bath tub, and the back door glass.

Another item for consideration if you are going to have your home security system monitored is to add a cellular back up to the system. The cell back-up is designed to send in the alarm signal if the burglar decides that they are going to cut the phone line. It is an additional cost due to the cost of the monthly airtime and cost of the unit, but it is the ultimate as far as alarm communications are concerned.

In the final analysis, the minimum home security system installation should include contacting all exterior doors and an interior trap of some form or another. Since all of the keypads on the market today are easy to operate, you should never be afraid of using your alarm system. As we tell our customers all the time at my company, "It will not do you any good sitting on the wall".

Tips on Home Security Montioring Companies & How You Can Get a Great Deal

There are many different types of security companies that provide alarm monitoring. The type of security company you are getting a quote from will have a great bearing on the rates and terms you are quoted. Security alarm monitoring rates can start as low as $10 per month while some go up to $40 per month or more for the same basic service. So "Why the big difference in price points?" you may ask. It all has to do with the business plan the alarm dealer is following and the level of involvement in the servicing of the alarm that they provide after the sale. Security companies operate based on 3 different business models.

• The most common alarm monitoring programs offered are 3 or 5 year agreements starting around per month. These companies are usually associated with national dealer programs such as Brinks, ADT, Protection One, Monitronics, and Central Security Group. Incentives such as free installation or free activation are often offered by these security dealers in order to obtain your monitoring business. The good thing in regards to these type programs is that the national company is there to back up the local dealer in terms of service. Some of the national dealer programs have very suspect monitoring, however most are pretty good.

• Another type of alarm company is the independent security dealer. These security companies do not sell off their agreements, but opt to hold their own paper. They tend to be much smaller than the larger national dealers. Smaller independent dealers will usually have to charge an installation fee of some sort since they are not being paid up front by the larger national company for the contract. As a result, you will usually have a bit lower monthly rate, since you paid something up front to help defray the cost. Since you are paying the cost of the installation and activation at the time of install, the independent security dealer will often offer a shorter term agreement. You have to be careful though because many of these independent dealers are technicians who are trying to start their own company on the side. Service after the sale may become an issue in these instances. But most of the smaller dealers can offer very good service.

• Web based companies are the third type of security monitoring company that you will find. They will offer a very low rate, but the trade off is no service department and less qualified monitoring staff. Should the need to service your alarm arise, you will have to call another company to get service. If you are not being monitored by an alarm company, it is highly unlikely that the alarm company would be willing to work on your security system due to the liability that it presents. In addition to the service issue, these companies are often not Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listed. If your monitoring company is not UL listed, they will not qualify for most insurance discounts that you may have available.

Always check with the local Better Business Bureau prior to signing an agreement for security service. On line reviews of monitoring companies are often unreliable since most are written by salespeople of other companies. The security business can be pretty cut throat in some areas. If you are considering a particular alarm monitoring company, look for their sign in a neighbor's yard and ask them about their experience with the company. Your neighbor will give you an honest and unbiased opinion.

If you happen to live in the Greater Houston area, then check out our Houston Alarm Monitoring packages. We offer flexible rates & terms and are a member of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston. Texstar Alarms also installs Honeywell and DSC security systems in Houston and surrounding areas. Give us a call for all your security, audio, and CCTV needs.