Home Security System Considerations for Your New Home
By James Todd
Your New Home and Your Family's Safety
When you're building a home, you're undoubtedly overwhelmed with excitement and ever-changing plans and decisions, making it easy to overlook some of the smaller details. But this is not a time to compromise your family's safety. By determining your family's safety needs early on, you can better equip your new home and ensure you and your family are safe for many years to come.
On the most basic level, a home electronic security system can provide you with protection from break-ins with four important levels of deterrence: yard signs, warning decals, loud sirens and 24-hour monitoring. The right home electronic security system can also save your family from fire, a necessary benefit considering that a home fire occurs every 86 seconds and 8 people die in house fires every 24 hours. Add to this the fact that many electronic home security systems can also detect carbon monoxide and it becomes clear that security systems are something you should strongly consider when planning your new home.
Thanks to advances in technology, homebuilders have a wide variety of systems to choose from. There's the more standard electronic system that includes an alarm and 24-hour monitoring which requires homebuilders to purchase the inexpensive equipment, pay an installation fee, and pay monthly (usually less than $40) for the monitoring. This traditional system is tried and true and remains the backbone of home security systems today because of its ease of use and affordability.
Also on the market is automated home security, which resembles something seen previously only in James Bond movies. Using automated systems, homeowners have the luxury of using voice recognition and even seeing inside their home while away via their laptops. Despite their futuristic qualities, adding home automation to an existing home is surprisingly affordable and simple, with many of the products costing less than $40 and requiring no new wires! (www.Smarthome.com).
Regardless of which system you prefer, you must consider your own needs before deciding which system is best for you and your family, including:The style and number of doors and windows in your home
How many floors your home will have
Your children's ages and their bedroom locations
The number and type of pets you have
Your home's location
Does your home have a detached garage?
Are there any gas-fired appliances in the home? (For carbon monoxide detection)
Does the home have a hot tub or gas logs? (For carbon monoxide detection)
Do you have elderly people living in the home (Critical condition monitoring solutions such as medical assistance)
You can save money on security monitoring services or even monitor for non-traditional security events like water in the laundry room or basement. Additionally, Smarthome products include devices that will allow you to unlock the front door to let friends in or close the garage door from your office via the Web. Remote control thermostats allow you to adjust the temperature from bed at night or even from a cell phone while on your way home (or to your 2nd home!). They can even trigger a notice to you if the temperature gets too low (freezing pipes) or too high (pets, plants, etc.).
Go over your wants and needs for your home security system with your builder. And, it is wise to ask friends and neighbors about their security systems. Find out what kind of system they have, what company they chose and why, and find out if they are pleased with their system. You may also want to ask about their system's ease-of-use, reliability and even costs. Once you have narrowed down the list of companies you want to work with, give them a call and discuss your specific needs. Then, go over your findings with your builder to ensure the system gets installed and is up and running long before you and your family spend your first night in your new home. And last but not least, don't forget to make a quick call to your insurance agent. Your home's new alarm system should save you money on your homeowner's insurance premiums.
4 Reasons for a Home Security System
By Todd Robinson
Your home security system should be the most important appliance in your home. One of the first investments that you should make after purchasing a new home is a home security system. Now more than ever, with drug use among America's youth holding at a steady pace or rising, a home security system should be on top of your priority list.
As an ex home security system salesman, it always amazed me how many people would purchase a home security system after they had been victimized. The main problem is, people have the true ability to think that crime will not happen to them. I would have to say that at least 6 out of 10 times that I went to an appointment, it was after an incident of some kind. Most people, if not all, like to think they live in a nice neighborhood, so they think that they don't need a home security system. The problem is, I can tell you first hand that crime happens everywhere. Lots of times crime happens in a neighborhood without anyone but the victims knowing about it. People don't always like sharing bad news with their neighbors, especially if they are not on speaking terms. Industry statistics show that chances are that if you are burglarized, it is by someone who is familiar with your home or neighborhood. Usually it is someone that lives in the neighborhood or maybe knows someone in the neighborhood.
A home security system has four objectives:
1. Deterrence
Statistically you are 3 to 4 time less likely to have an intruder enter your home if you have a home security system sign on your front lawn and stickers on your windows.
2. Minimum loss
If someone is brave enough to enter your home after seeing the lawn sign, they don't believe that you actually have a home security system. You can go to ebay right now and purchase an ADT yard sign and stickers, which means that every yard sign you see does not mean that the home owner has a home security system. If a intruder decides to enter your home and the alarm sounds, chances are he is not going to stick around very long, he may take an item or two, be he won't be able to go shopping in your home because he knows the police have been called.
3. Avoid a confrontation
The last thing anyone wants, is to return home only to have an intruder in the house. If you have a home security system, if someone broke into your home, when the alarm sounded he probably left. If you arrive home and your alarm is sounding, you know not to enter the house.
4. Fire protection
The home security system of today has the abilityilty to have smoke detectors connected to it. ADT actually calls them smoke communicators. If smoke is detected, the home security system alerts the monitoring station and a representative calls your home, if someone does not answer the phone, the fire department is dispatched.
Insurance companies offer up to a 20% discount for having a home security system, that being said, the investment you make, will eventually be paid for by your insurance company. Overall, a home security system should be strongly considered if you are a new homeowner or if you have been in your home for 20 years, it is a investment that is worth every penny.
