A house alarm system is not always the first thing a home owner thinks about installing. In reality unless you have come from a high crime neighborhood or have experienced a break in before it is one of the last things on your home improvement list.
It used to be that house alarms were one trick ponies that could only detect a break in. technology has changed over the years and there are several features available to make house alarm systems more attractive to homeowners. Smoke and carbon monoxide detection can now be an important feature built into a system. Also traditional systems will only make phone calls for you to emergency services, but they can also call your cell phone to alert you. If you want an extra bit of security you can have a video security system integrated into your alarm system.
Alarm systems come in two forms monitored and unmonitored. A monitored alarm system uses a third party company to monitor when your alarm system goes off, where it went off in your house, and if it is a break in problem or a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm. The service will try and contact you after it has called the appropriate emergency service to alert them of the problem. These third party companies usually charge a monthly fee ranging from $9 a month up to $50 a month depending on the company and level of service they provide. They often have a range of packages to fit your monthly budget. An unmonitored system has the same abilities to alert you, and as long as the phone line has not been tampered with it will call emergency services with a prerecorded message to alert them of the problem. The advantage to this system is that it is a onetime cost and if you have the desire you can install it yourself.
When purchasing your alarm system you will needs to make one of two choices. Do you want a hardwired alarm system or a wireless system? Typically the monitoring services include a wireless house alarm system as part of their packages. The drawback is that batteries will need to be replaced and can be expensive, however if there is a power outage your alarm system will still be functional unless some features require power from a regular power source.
Wired alarm systems can still be used with a monitoring service but you will pay extra for their installation unless you do it yourself. This is because a special security system company will need to install and configure the system for you and this will not be included in the package price from most monitoring services.
There are several parts of an alarm system that you should know about before hand to be informed as to what they do. Armed with this information you can better plan out the type of coverage you need for your home and the best place to install the items:
- The control panel. The name implies what it does; it is the beginning and end of any system wiring both electrical and phone wires.
- The siren that provides the audible alert of potential problem.
- Motion detectors are uses to detect any motion in the house in case one of the other trigger points was disabled.
- Window and door contacts that are used to trigger the alarm if any window and door is opened while the system is armed.
- Finally the keypad that is sued for arming and disarming the alarm system
When you are ready to purchase your house alarm system there are some things you needs to know beforehand:
- How many doors and windows you have. How many floors.
- Attached or detached garage.
- Any detached buildings you want included in the system: barn, shed, etc.
- Do you want broken glass sensors?
- Do you want smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as part of the system?
- Do you want a monitored or unmonitored system?
Keeping this basic information handy will help you to obtain the best quotes for any system you wish to have installed.