A House Alarm To Safeguard Your Home.

A residential alarm having the capability to give warning of break-in attempts and actual intrusion, and possibly the capability to warn of fire, flood or other danger.

To qualify as a house alarm it needs the capacity to protect an average, or larger, house.

A home alarm with, for example, a few window sensors and one door sensor may be adequate for use as an apartment security system, but not be capable of protecting a house.

The types of alarm systems suitable for houses is quite wide ranging, from very basic door or window alarms up to sophisticated monitored systems.

Many basic alarm systems employ sensors to detect an attempt to open a door or window. The sensors send a signal to a siren that alerts you to the attempted intrusion.

Many homeowners find this type of house alarm gives them the peace of mind that they would know if, for example, someone was breaking in through a window at the rear of the house when the homeowner was in a room at the front of the property.

A siren sounding would also, of course, likely deter the burglar from continuing his break-in and send him scurrying away. As to whether a siren only system would be likely to bring help depends on a few things. The more remote the location of your home the less chance there is that someone would hear the alarm. If you are not at home when the burglar calls then this type of system would be of limited protection.

If you do have close neighbors you need to ask yourself if they would be likely to hear the siren (unlikely if they spend a lot of time in front of their television with the volume up,) and what their response to it would be.

Whichever type of house alarm system you decide upon your house will be a safer and more secure place for your family than without one.

Basic siren only house alarms come with a set number of door and window sensors and possibly motion detectors.

It is best to cover all possible entry points and this invariably means purchasing extra sensors. Most systems are expandable, the better the system the more sensors and detectors can be employed.

At the other end of the scale there are the monitored home security alarm systems.

These systems do more than just set off a siren if there is an intrusion attempt to your home. A monitored system is connected to a central station and should the system be triggered a signal is transmitted to the station where the alarm company's staff establish if a break-in is taking place. If so, your local police are immediately notified.

It can be seen that the big advantage of a monitored house alarm is that it does not depend upon someone hearing a siren and taking appropriate action. However, these systems do incur a monitoring fee, usually billed monthly, so do fall outside of the budget of some homeowners.

A middle way? Autodialer systems not only set off a siren if someone burgles, or attempts to burgle, your home but they also send alerts, either text or a prerecorded message to a preselected list of phone numbers.

The list can be of any numbers you choose such as your own cell phone, your partners cell phone, your neighbor or your office phone. The autodialer will work its way through the list until it is answered.

With many of these auto dial house alarm systems you are able to listen in to your home to confirm that it is an intrusion before alerting the police. Autodial systems give you more protection than just a siren, but there is no monthly monitoring fee. The X10 Protector Plus is one such system.

Should you choose a traditional hard wired alarm system where cables connect the sensors and motion detectors to the control panel?

Or should you choose a wireless home security system that uses radio signals to connect with the sensors?

Fitting a hard wired system into an existing house can be an involved and costly job as cables have to be run under flooring and channeled into walls. Installing a hard wire security system to a house under construction is an easier and less expensive job. However some homeowners prefer these systems as there is very little danger of electromagnetic interference.

Another point to keep in mind is that once installed, wired alarm systems are more or less permanent. It would be best to leave the system behind if you move house and install a new one at your new residence.

Wireless house alarm systems are generally simple to install as there are no cables to run between the components. Often these systems are install by the homeowner themselves, thus reducing costs considerably. Also, it is usually a simple mater to extend a wireless system by adding additional components and to dismantle the system should you move home.

Reliability too has improved with the advance of technology over the years, so interference is not near so much of a problem.

Whichever type of house alarm system you decide upon your house will be a safer and more secure place for your family than without one. Remember though, that an alarm by itself is not enough. It is just part of your overall home security defenses.

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