Planning Your Alarm System part 2

Planning Your Alarm System Part 2

How Much Do You Need?

If you are mainly concerned about protecting your possessions when no one’s home, then a basic system protecting the exterior doors and one or two interior traps may be enough security. An intruder may be able to enter through a window, but he will trip the alarm when he comes within range of the motion detector. This is the least expensive type of system, and when professionally installed can range from $100 to $1,000 depending on if you lease, purchase and have it monitored.

If you own a large home, or own extremely valuable or irreplaceable items you should also include addition motion detectors to place around such items and the areas in which they are kept.

Monitoring around the clock from a central station typically costs between $15 and $30 per month in addition to the hardware and installation.

If your primary concern is keeping yourself and your family safe while you are home, you will want to consider a complete perimeter system. The goal is to have the system detect and frighten him off with a loud siren. Alarm sensors are placed on all exterior door and windows. The cost of a complete perimeter system is related to the number of doors and windows being protected. For professional installation plan on spending $1,000 to $2,000 on the basic equipment plus $50 to $100 for each protected door and window.

Always get bids from two or three reputable security companies in your area. Ask plenty of questions before buying. This will help you decide what features you want and which ones you do not need in order to feel safe. Also make sure to check with your insurance agent to see if you can receive a discount on your homeowner’s insurance policy if you install a certain type of alarm system. They may have systems they prefer.

Fire Protection

If your system is monitored by a company, including one or more smoke detectors in the plan is a good idea. System smoke detectors are different from the ones that came with your house. They provide superior fire protection because they can be specialized for each area of the house. You can have different detectors for the kitchen (should you burn something on the stove) and the bedrooms. You also don’t need to worry about replacing batteries or what happens if no one is home when a fire starts.