A vital part of securing your home is the installation of a home security system.  Home security systems can vary greatly in the levels of protection that they provide.  Whether you are hiring a professional security installation company, or you are going to do it yourself, there are critical design elements that should be considered that are covered here.

First you need to determine what you are willing to spend on a security system.  Most alarm monitoring companies offer a free or reduced installation of their basic package which usually includes 3 door contacts, 1 keypad, 1 passive infrared motion detector, 1 back-up battery, 1 siren, and yard sign if you agree to their monitoring agreement.  For many homeowners, this is a very cost effective way to have a basic system installed.  But if you wish to have more coverage on your home, it will cost you more.

The most important areas of the house to cover is the back and the sides.  Burglars look for the point of entry that will give them the most cover so that it reduces their chances of getting caught.  When a burglar is thinking about breaking in the front, they will ring the doorbell to see if anyone answers.  If there is no answer, then they will kick the door in and close it behind them.  From the street, it is hard to tell that there is anything going on.  But if they were to break a window on the front of the house, your neighbors can easily tell that something is not quite right.

Most burglaries occur through the doors.  The doors most often targeted are the back and side doors.  Windows can also be an easy entry point.  If your primary concern is protection for your family while you are at home, then it may be wise to consider contacting all of the accessible windows on the home.  If you are mostly interested in protecting your property while you are away however, it may be more cost effective to use motion and glass break detectors.  This is because on most windows it is possible to simply break the window and climb in.  If the window is not raised, the contact will not be triggered.

An interior trap of some sort is a critical part of an effective home security system.  The most popular interior trap is a motion detector placed in the living room or hall as a back up to the perimeter protection.  There are motions available that are designed to filter out animals yet still detect intruders.  Although these pet motions are great, they are not recommended for homes that have cats.Because a cat can jump so quick, it will fool the motion into thinking it is a person standing up as opposed to an animal.  If you contact an interior bedroom or closet door that is kept shut when you are away, this could be a good alternative.  When the burglar opens the interior contacted door, the alarm will sound.  This interior contact is off when the alarm is armed in the stay mode so that you can still freely open and close that door without setting the alarm off.

Glass break detectors are often requested by homeowners with animals.  Before spending your hard earned money on glass break detectors, it is important to understand their limitations and what they were truly designed to cover.  A glass break detector is a line of sight product.  The glass break detector is listening for the sound and vibration of breaking glass, and it has to occur within milliseconds of each other.  This dual technology is to cut down on false alarms.  Chances are that a glass break detector will not work if you are trying to protect windows that are covered with heavy draperies, faux wood blinds, or shutters.  Places in most homes where they can be effective is the glass above the master bath tub, and the back door glass.

Something else to consider in your security system design is to add a cellular back up to the system.The cell back-up unit will transmit an alarm signal in the event of a burglar cutting the home phone line.  There is an additional cost involved due to the cost of the unit and the monthly airtime, but it is the ultimate as far as alarm communications are concerned.

In conclusion, the minimum home security system that you should consider would at least have an interior trap of some form and all of the exterior doors contacted.  Since all of the keypads on the market today are easy to operate, you should never be afraid of using your alarm system.  As I tell our customers all the time at my company, “It will not do you any good sitting on the wall”.