Affordable Home Security For You

We live in a dangerous world. You get reminded of this every time you open the newspaper or turn on the TV news. There is a constant undercurrent of local crime that includes burglary and home invasion. If you've ever been a victim of someone entering your house and stealing something or causing damage, you know how unsettling and insecure it makes you feel. If you've ever been attacked... well, that's an order of magnitude worse. But what can you do to prevent becoming a victim of this scourge of local crime activity?

One high tech solution is to create an electronic barrier around your home that will sound the alarm if anyone dares invade your sanctuary. The mere presence of a home security system may act as a deterrent to crooks that are nervous about being caught and are looking for the easiest and least risky targets. The more daring will encounter a shrieking alarm they can't turn off and the knowledge that the police are being summoned even as they stand there plotting their next move. If you happen to have the misfortune of being at home when someone tries to penetrate a door or window, you can have an option installed that let's you communicate with a security center dispatcher without even having to touch the equipment.

Technically, what's involved? The latest systems are all wireless. That means that the different components communicate via radio waves. It won't do a burglar any good to look for sensor wires to cut. There aren't any.

The components of a basic system include door and window opening sensors that do just what they say. Someone tries to get in and the system is triggered to sound the alarm. As a second line of defense, a motion sensor will detect movement of anything human size within its line of sight. Your pets can roam the house at will. But anyone creeping around will get caught by the infrared sensor. By the time they find out they've been discovered, it's too late.

The digital keypad is how you control the system. You enable it when you leave or want to be protected while you are at home, say overnight. Control is made easier with a key chain remote access that lets you arm or disarm the system with the push of a button. It looks just like the remote door opener for your car.

More options include carbon monoxide detectors, smoke and heat sensors, water sensors and freeze sensors so that you can rest assure that someone is keeping an eye on your property as well as your possessions.

What make the wireless home security system so effective is the monitoring service that goes with it. For a small monthly fee, you'll have a professional security center on duty 24 hours a day. Your system contacts the center over your regular telephone line. Don't have landline service? An upgrade includes a digital cellular connection that communicates wirelessly.

Another upgrade you may be interested in is two-way voice service. With this, your control panel acts as an intercom so you can talk to the monitoring center dispatcher even if you are injured and can't get to the panel. It's so effective that it will pick up your voice up to 75 feet away.

So how much does it cost to get one of these systems? The basic wireless security system is free, with a small fee for professional installation. Monitoring fees are modest and readily affordable. You choose the level of service you feel will be the most effective for your situation.