Buyer’s Guide to Home Security Systems

Choosing a home security system can seem like a difficult task, especially when there are so many options. There are many features, types of monitoring and levels of coverage available when looking to purchase a security system. With this in mind, how is it that you can make an intelligent, well-informed decision about which security system is best for you? If you follow these simple tips, you can help ensure that you choose the home security system that is best for you and your home.

When shopping for a home security system, you need to consider these factors:

Residence Size

Depending on the size of your residence, you will have to modify your home security options. If you have a fairly large home, be sure that you choose a home security system that has enough available features to cover all of the vulnerable entry points in your home. Many systems are able to support a limited number of sensors and devices, so be sure the system that you choose is suitable for a large home. By contrast, if you have a small home, you don’t need to purchase a system that has the capability to support a large number of devices. However, it’s important to make sure that the system that you do choose has enough available features to protect the important areas of your home.

Living Style

Do you want a security system that automatically arms itself when your family goes to bed? Or, would you prefer a system that needs to be armed manually? Would you benefit from a remote-activated arming device that can be used to change your security system when you are entering/leaving your home? Depending on your living style, you can choose a system that has any number of convenience features to make your home’s security monitoring much easier.

Entry Points

The most important thing to consider when buying a home security system is if it can cover all of the entry/exit points of your home. Here are some interesting statistics about how many burglars use entry points in your home:

• 22% of Burglars enter by using a back door.
• 23% of Burglars enter by using a window on the first floor.
• 34% of Burglars enter by using the front door.
• 81% of Burglars enter by using an entry point on the first floor.
• 4% of Burglars enter through the basement.
• 2% of Burglars enter by using a second-floor entry point.
• 9% of Burglars enter by using the garage door.

Source: [1]

As you can see, protecting the first floor of your home is essential, since it represents the area of your home where around 80% of burglars gain access. Before purchasing a security system, it’s best if you evaluate all of the most vulnerable points in your home. It’s best to write a list of the “entry points” in your home. If you can, draw a map of the first floor of your home, noting the location of all of the entry points. Using these entry points, you can decide where the best place in your home is to put your control panel, the master device that monitors your home. Since the control panel may need to be within a specific distance to your monitoring devices (especially if you are using a wireless system), you need to choose carefully.

Make a list of all of the entry points in your home, dividing them by floor. Entry points may include:

• First Floor Windows
• Second Floor Windows
• Front Doors
• Back Doors
• Side Doors
• Skylights
• Basement Access Doors
• Service Doors
• Garage Doors
• Garage Windows

It’s important to list all entry points in your home, in order to ensure that the security system that you choose will be able to handle monitoring all of these entry points. If a specific system isn’t able to support enough devices to adequately cover your entry points, consider looking into purchasing a more versatile system.

Pets

When buying a home security system, it’s important that you make considerations for any pets that you have in your home. Many security systems monitor by using special motion sensors, which trigger the alarm if they detect movement. If you have any pets, they might trigger the alarm if they wander past the motion sensor. To prevent this, choose a security system that has a “Pet Filter” for motion sensors. This feature often makes it so that the motion sensor will not be triggered by a moving object under a certain weight. For example, many motion sensors are designed to filter out movement of animals that are under 50 lbs.

Sources:

http://www.beachesinspection.com/uploads/burglary_art.pdf