WirelessAlarmStore.com Wireless Home Security, Alarm Systems, and more

Whether you call it a home security system, burglar protection, home alarms, etc. the home security market is growing, and so are the many different brand names for systems, prices, monitoring, and other make-or-break things you should know before buying a new security or upgrading the one you currently own. Number one goal - protection of family, home, and personal belongings. Without this all of your money is wasted. Although most burglar alarms serve the same basic principal, there is a lot you should know about quality, the right security system to buy, and some basic home alarm system knowledge going into the purchase. Let's look at a few basics below...

How does a Home Security Systems Work?

Every security system should have some sort of trigger(s). A few of these burglar alarm triggers might be 1) the system is tripped when someone breaks an electrical circuit, 2) the alarm is tripped when motion is detected. There are also glass breakage sensors which are often installed on secluded windows at dark areas of the home or business.

Electric Powered and Circuit Burglar Alarms

Alarms that primarily use electrical circuits are beliwved to be the simplest types of alarm systems. They are sometimes used to guard a perimeter of a house, and entryways like windows and doors a burglar might use to enter your home. These types of home security systems can be divided into two types: open-circuit systems and closed-circuit systems.

With a closed-circuit security system, the electric circuit within the detection system remains closed as long as the door or window is shut. If someone opens the door, the circuit is interrupted and the alarm activates. An open-circuit system opposite; when a burglar opens the door, the circuit gets completed, making an electrical contact triggering the alarm speaker and central monitoring station (if monitoring is used).

Motion detectors and open or closed-circuit security alarms can be combined to create a pretty comprehensive home security system that control almost everything if desired.

Motion Detectors

Motion detectors are the other primary security system accessory used by most homes and business. They are very useful and almost full-proof for detecting burglars who enter the house and are within the motion detector's range of sensing motion. Most motion detectors work by sending out radio waves and a type of monitoring the reflection pattern. If the reflection pattern is disturbed within the motion detector, for example by a burglar entering a kitchen or hallway where the detector is placed, the alarm is triggered and a signal is sent to the main security control box. Motion detectors are used in large rooms, narrow corridors, and stairwells. Some good wireless motion sensors also have 3 or 5 minute motion lockout to conserve battery power. And, most good systems these days come with Lithium Ion batteries for anywhere between 5-9 years average lifespan.

Home Security Alarm Systems Types

1) Single Premises Alarms: These cheap alarm systems have a single purpose: to warn your family about a specific type of danger. They can include CO detectors, smoke detectors, or battery-operated door wedge alarms.

2) Local Alarm Systems: When a burglar triggers a local alarm system, the siren sounds, warning the home's occupants (and possibly neighbors) of intruders. These kind of alarm systems are used often by individuals who do not choose to get monitoring for their security system. However, so if noone is around to respond to the alarm, they may not be at all effective. Most of the time the noise alone is enough to scare away would-be burglars.

Telephone Dialer Systems

If you do choose "central station monitoring" for your local alarm systems (or telephone dialer systems), this can be useful sine the security system is pre-programmed to dial from 1 to 10 numbers if the alarm is tripped. From there, the security monitoring service, or yourself for self-monitoring, is contacted which and most of the time this means a call to your local police or fire departments. This is all automated. Typically, telephone dialer systems will call up to four numbers and play a prerecorded request for assistance message.

Continually Monitored Security Systems

This type of security system is the most effective (and often most expensive) type of burglar alarm to choose since it means continually monitoring your security system. With these types of alarms, tripping the alarm alerts your security monitoring service company. Real people (not automated systems) call the police/fire department. Some companies will even send a security officer to your home to check in on things.

The Best Home Security System to Choose

There's no easy answer to that question. It all depends on your reason for getting the system, what you are protecting, and also worth thinking about, what you are willing to spend.

Most monitoring companies charge anywhere from $15-$20 per month for monitoring. You can find decent monitoring for as low as $10 per month these days. However, be sure to ask questions like:

1) Make sure they actually are there 24 hours a day if the call center is operated by people and not machines.

2) Also, ask what their protocals are for triggered alarms. In other words, how long does it take them to respond to your home after the alarm is triggered.

3) Ask do they call you first, or you and the police, or both.