What to Look for In a Home Security System

If you are like most homeowners, you're concerned about the safety of your family, your home and your possessions.  In this increasingly violent society, home invasion and burglary are rising rapidly.  This obviously makes a home security system an important choice.  However, what should you look for in a home security system? What makes one system better than another?  What are the most important items that you should ensure are included in the system, in order to enjoy the best protection for your family?
 
Professional Monitoring – One of the single most important factors about choosing a home security system is to ensure that it comes with 24-hour security monitoring by a professional security company.  DIY solutions and video surveillance systems monitored by the homeowner may sound nice and may even seem more affordable than a professionally monitored system, but the costs of these systems may not be measured in terms of dollars, alone.  If your system is unmonitored, it can lead to serious problems down the road.  With a monitored solution, your home is covered by a blanket of protection all day, every day. If an emergency occurs, the monitoring station will alert authorities, even if you cannot make the call yourself.

Additional Areas of Coverage – Most homeowners only think in terms of protecting against burglary when installing a home security system.  However, the fact remains that a professional system can give you additional protection.  For instance, a quality system can be equipped with several modern options, including fire and smoke protection, protection against flooding, protection against freezing temperatures, against the silent threat of deadly carbon monoxide and even against the threat of power loss.

Advanced Features – Some home security systems are equipped with advanced features, such as long-range two-way voice communications.  This enables you to speak with the monitoring station even if you cannot reach the telephone.  This is a valuable enhancement, which has ramifications for the everyday homeowner, as well as for the elderly.  In addition, systems designed to protect the elderly can be equipped with wearable panic buttons in case an accident occurs outside the home, or in an area where the customer would not be able to reach the phone or the control panel.

Easily Expandable – The security systems of yesteryear were hardwired into your home, which was convenient and reliable, but resulted in damage to the home and difficulty when it came time to expand coverage.  Modern systems employ hybrid wired/wireless solutions that provide the best non-intrusive protection and the best expandability.  The control panel remains hardwired into the home, but all outlying sensors are wireless, which ensures that they can be moved, rearranged, added to or removed as your security requirements change.  In addition, if you choose to remove the peripheral sensor, there are no gaping holes in your sheetrock to repair.
Obviously, investing in a professional home security system from a company such as ADT is an excellent option and provides you with many different layers of protection.