Getting The Best Alarm System For You

The narrator in the book, and movie, “Fight Club”, poses a funny question during a fit of self-reflection after his entire condo unit explodes. The question: “What dining set defines me as a person?”

We at Alarm System Report believe this question can be reworded and adapted to our industry.
So, what home alarm system defines you as a person? Can you answer that question with confidence?
It’s OK if you can’t. That’s what we are here for!

Many people don’t know where to begin when shopping for the best alarm system, let alone the specifications for the best alarm system equipment that will protect their home and their family in an emergency.

Here’s the best way to get started. First, think about your property as a whole. Where is it located? Is it a condo, townhouse or a freestanding home? Is it secluded or is it in a densely populated neighborhood? Do you have a large or small yard? Is there a neighborhood watch? Do you have ground-level windows? Is your garage attached or separate?

Asking questions like these will help you establish what the best alarm system measures are for protecting your exterior.

For example, if you live in a densely populated neighborhood with a neighborhood watch, plus you have a small yard and no ground level windows, having perimeter security as part of your wireless alarm system probably wouldn’t make sense, causing you to spend more money than you have to on your alarm system. Conversely, if you live on the huge corner lot in a semi-rural township, and you have ground level windows on the side of you house that isn’t visible from the road, you may want to consider adding perimeter security to you home alarm system mix to cap that vulnerability.

Once you are confident in your exterior alarm system needs you can focus on what makes sense inside.
Ask yourself these questions: How many exterior leading doors are there? How many windows are easily accessible? From what rooms should we be able to control our home alarm system? Do we have any un-caged pets roaming the house? What rooms possess the most valuable objects? Are any valuable objects on display in windows? Where are our children’s bedrooms in relationship to ours? Do we have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors? Are our lights, central air and central heat on timers?

Answering questions like these will allow you to decide on the best alarm system setup for your household needs. You can decide if you will only need one master control panel or multiple, like adding a control panel in a bedroom or upstairs hallway. You can determine if simple door and window sensors will suffice for you alarm system needs, or if you should add floor sensors to a room with valuables or window shatter sensors where valuable objects are visible from outside.

Furthermore, having your lights on timers, your central air and heat and smoke and carbon monoxide detection wired to your alarm system master control can create efficiency where efficiency was once lacking. But perhaps you already have a thermostat or other device that allows you to maintain these home security measures, and those additions wouldn’t be the best alarm system requirements.

Lastly, you’ll have to make the decision to add 24/7 monitoring to your home alarm system. If you are a person who travels a lot for work and can’t always be around to protect your home, a monitoring system may be a great fit. But if you are at your home daily or live in a neighborhood that neighbors would be able to hear your alarm sound in case of emergency, the 24/7 monitoring might not make sense for your needs.
Creating the best alarm system for you is a specific and personal decision. But assessing your individual, or your family’s, specific needs by asking many of the questions stated above will help you guarantee you have the best alarm system in place.