Burglary Prevention – Home Security Secrets!

By: Andy Jon

Fortunately, most burglaries are committed by amateurs or opportunists. It is much easier to be one step ahead of these types of burglars by following some straightforward advice. Don’t think it will happen to you? Don’t you believe it. There has never been a better time to be more home security aware. Act now and don’t wait the until unfortunate happens.

Areas to Protect with a Home Security System

Determining your security needs can be somewhat difficult. How do you ensure you are able to protect your home and your family? Obviously, a home security system is your first step. You’ll need to choose a system that offers the best mix of benefits and affordability. However, you will also have to ensure that the system protects the key areas of your home. What areas are the most important? Where do you need the most protection?

Entryways – Your front and rear doors are obvious concerns. The system you choose should provide you with protection at both your front and rear doors. An additional concern should be the door leading into the garage, as well. You need to ensure that the system you purchase provides you with door sensors for at least the front and rear doors of your home.

Ground Floor Windows – Your ground floor windows are also a security concern. While your windows should have locks on them, they can still be broken or forced easily. Window protection is essential, especially for the windows on your ground floor. The most obvious windows are those that lead to large rooms, such as your living room and dining room.

Motion Sensors – While entryway protection is important, you need to have protection in the interior of your home, as well. Motion sensors provide this protection, but there are concerns here, as well. For instance, if you have pets or small children, they can inadvertently set off the alarm. However, modern motion sensors are able to distinguish between full-grown intruders and pets, as well as small children. These smart sensors can be a dramatic addition to the protection in your home.

Digital Control Panel – The control panel is one of the most important aspects of your security system. The wrong control panel can lead to false alarms and security concerns. However, if you have a digital security control panel, you will be able to avoid many of the problems common with older technology. These keypads have larger screens, one-touch communications and many other features that make home security systems easier to use. Any security system you purchase should have a digital keypad/control panel.

These are just a few of the items you should ensure are included in a top quality security system. However, these are not the end of your security concerns. Other items on the list include exterior home protection. You can install your own options, such as motion sensor activated floodlights, but your security system should include yard signs and window decals, to help promote greater protection.

Yard signs can often be the only deterrent you need. Studies have shown that criminals will bypass a home with a security system yard sign in favor of easier prey. If your system includes these (and it should), you can enjoy better protection. However, you must ensure that you change the yard sign out when it starts to fade – faded yard signs have the reverse effect and can lead to problems.

By: Laura Williamson

Flood Lights as a Security Tool

It’s a well accepted fact that most robberies and crimes tend to happen during the night. Criminals quite like operating under the veil of darkness as they are easier to detect and therefore foil. A homeowner should always keep this in mind and try to ensure that gardens and house fronts are well lit. Street lighting can suffice in most circumstances, but for areas that don’t have enough light, one should consider purchasing and installing a flood light.

Different varieties of flood light exist, but the ones commonly used on domestic premises tend to be 250 or 500 watt tungsten. It’s common for a flood light to include a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor) for the light to come on when movement is detected. Flood lights should be mounted to make sure that they shed light into areas where a robber may hide and remain undetected in normal circumstance. It is important to pay heed and attention to where a spot light may be mounted. For example, the light should never shine into neighboring homes or onto neighboring property and this may be perceived as breaching their privacy. Also, a flood light should always be pointing downwards as this max most use of the light it generates. The ideal angle for a flood light is an angle of 22 degrees. In this position it illuminates walls without blinding an observer who may not be able to witness the intrusion otherwise.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when using a flood light. If used incorrectly they will not provide any security, but instead pose a risk to your property and your visitors. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure the flood light is not in a position where it can distract drivers. They can be a source of accidents by temporarily blinding someone in charge of a car.
2. If a floodlight is incorrectly installed it can actually help a robber by blinding onlookers or providing shadows for criminals to hide in.
3. PIR sensors can be triggered by cats, dogs or things moving in the wind. This can cause false alarms and desensitize your neighbors to the flood light coming on.
4. A 500W flood light can be quite expensive to run (and has a large impact on the environment). Sometimes, just an ordinary 60W light bulb is enough for your needs.

Keep these points in mind when purchasing and installing a flood light as the only thing worse than no security is a false sense of security.

By: catwomanseven