Your Home Security Options

I was sleeping blissfully Friday morning as a knock on the door woke me from my slumber. Not completely awake I was not sure if I had heard correctly that there was a knock on the door. Soon thereafter the doorbell rang.

Ambling to the window I looked out to see two Sheriff’s vehicles in my driveway. If you’ve never been woken up like this it is a little unnerving. I’m a law abiding citizen that does not get into any trouble so I was highly confused. A checklist of potential issues ran through my head to figure out the reason for their presence in my front yard.

Maybe they were there because I didn’t pay the taxes on my vehicle. Knowing that I paid the bill six months ago I quickly dismissed that reasoning. After dismissing several possibilities I considered that either my Rottweiler had managed to get out of the yard or someone happened to my son who was away at school. I decided to just go outside and find out what was going on.

I was informed that my car had been broken in to the night before. The Sheriff was investigating five other break-ins from my neighborhood that morning and he saw my car door cracked. Much to my dismay the inside of my car was a total disaster with papers thrown about and everything in my glove compartment taken out. I could not identify anything that was missing.

As I sat there lamenting the fact that this was literally the first time that I did not lock my car door I thought about the failure of my home security system – a Rottweiler named Beethoven. Now, Beethoven is a very protective beast that watches over our property like a hawk when he is awake but he somehow he managed to miss this. This whole incident got me thinking about home security.

When we purchased our home it had an alarm system however we cannot arm the alarm when we leave the house due to our cats within the home. This is leaving our home completely unprotected. Thankfully nothing of great value was taken from my car but our home would be a completely different story.

I started investigating all my home options and found that one home security provider is the right one for me. What is right for me may not be for you so I’ve put together a couple of things to look for when considering home security.

The first big question to ask yourself is whether you want to go with monitored home security or install a home security system on your own. The benefit of installing a system on your own is that the overall costs are low. A monitored security system has far more to offer you with the ability to watch over your home while you are away and contact local law enforcement for emergency response quickly. This means a much faster response time for you minimizing possible loss. A monitored system can also protect you from fire, carbon monoxide, and flooding. This is a tremendous added bonus.

The next consideration should be whether you want a wireless or hard-wired system. You will not have to worry about power supply on a hard-wired system but this required modification to your home. A wireless system makes installation a breeze and minimizes home modification. It is possible that you may have to check the batteries of some components.

Although not a typical offer from most home security providers, video surveillance can be a valuable tool to help you identify intruders or vandals. If you consider adding a video surveillance system to supplement your home security look for CCD Cameras that also have night vision capabilities and a system that can provide you with video backup capabilities.

Regardless of your security preferences don’t rely on your faithful furry companion to alert you under all circumstances. As I’ve found it is not as reliable as a monitored home security service provider.