Home Security: Home Alarm Systems

A few years ago, the most a person could do in terms of home security was to employ security personnel. Even so, security personnel was a comfort and not a requirement, and many thought that security personnel just catered to the vanity of the ultra-rich and the famous.

Back in those times, there was not such an incessant need of home security for the common man, as most of the family members would work only a small walk away from their homes. However, today, with the advent of globalization, most family members are working and away from home, leaving the elderly and children at home. Therefore, a good home security and alarm system is the need of the day.

There are various alarm systems available for all types of homes. The smoke alarm is considered to be one of the simplest of such systems. Although the smoke alarm is not as strong a system as the others, it works well if the burglars are stupid enough to smoke in the house. Some burglars are even known to cook food in the house, once they check whether the house has been locked up for a long time, for example a foreign travel binge.

Some of the most reliable home security systems consist of features which enables the user to contact the police, the nearest hospital and any emergency services required. Most systems work on a combination of contact points and motion sensors placed at doors and windows A typical home alarm system includes:

• Control Panel: The control panel is the center of the entire security system installed in a house. It is where the system terminates are located, as well as where the phone line connects if the security system is a monitored one. The control panel also has the backup batteries.
• Inside Motion detector: These detectors will sense any motion in the room, or any other changes in the room caused by human presence.
• Contacts: These specific door and window contacts allow the alarm to go off when the doors of windows are opened while the alarm is set on.
• Keypads: The keypad is a normal set of buttons which allows the security system to be armed of disarmed.

While these are the general elements of a home security system, some systems also have:

• Glass Break Detectors: These help in detecting any glass break. Most burglars do not have open the entire windows to get into the house, they can get inside by merely breaking a pane of the window or the door.
• Pressure Mats: There have been occasions where only the elderly or the children have been at home. In such cases, the very presence of burglar is a cause of concern, because a botched burglary is more dangerous than a successful one. Therefore, some home security systems have pressure pads, which can be placed under the rugs. This will alert the home owner of any unwanted presence in the home and its surroundings.
• Panic Buttons: These so-called 'panic buttons' connect the security system to any numbers that need to be contacted immediately in the case of a burglary, for example the police, the hospitals and even the fire brigade.

Home security systems are of two types, monitored and non-monitored systems. Monitored systems have a central monitoring station which is contacted whenever the security system is triggered off. The station then informs the relevant authorities about the break-in. Non-monitored security systems rely on the neighbors with their on-site alarms and in some cases strobing lights.