Overlooked Home Security Measures

When we work with homeowners to secure their homes, we take a “full-court” approach to creating this security. Often, this involves finding solutions that customers didn’t initially have think of when they called us. When people think of home security, they often have a few things in mind. This may include some burglar-related alarm equipment, as well as some of the smart home devices that have gained traction over the last several years. However, we can offer equipment that provides enhanced security, sometimes against threats above and beyond the ones in homeowners’ minds when they call us! Today, we look at some of our most valuable overlooked home security measures.

First, we’ll show you some security system-related products that can make your security system more effective than ever. Many of our customers install monitored alarms to secure their homes from the threat of a burglary. However, these systems can create security above and beyond the threat of a criminal breach. Then, we’ll move on to a couple non-alarm ideas that we love to see homeowners use. This section will start with a focus on installing quality lock hardware on your home’s exterior doors. From there, we’ll detail the ways that adding cameras to your home can increase your security. Now, let’s get started with our look at why people often miss these important security measures!

Non-Burglary Related Alarm Equipment

Many customers fail to get the most out of their alarm systems due to not exploring all of their options. In fact, many customers are surprised to learn that their alarm systems can offer security for threats that have nothing to do with a break-in. For starters, we offer monitored smoke and carbon monoxide detection to alert customers to dangerous fire and CO-related emergencies in their home or business. This equipment can save your property, and even more importantly, save lives! For this reason, we strongly recommend installing life safety equipment as part of any security plan.

Additionally, we also offer sensors that alert you to important weather-related issues as well! For example, our “hi-lo” temperature detectors can create a central station response if your home experiences dangerously hot or cold conditions. This can help alert you to frozen pipes or HVAC equipment failures. Additionally, we offer flood sensors that can detect the presence of water wherever we install them. As an added bonus, some of our alarm manufacturers even create sensors that detect both extremely cold temperatures and the presence of water! These contacts provide a huge amount of environmental security in one compact piece of equipment. Now, let’s take a look at how choosing the wrong monitoring method represents one of the most common overlooked home security measures that we see.

Interactive Security Monitoring

The majority of our security system customers take advantage of our alarm monitoring services. As we mentioned earlier, setting up this service involves connecting your security system to our central monitoring station. Older alarm systems generally utilize a customer’s existing phone lines to create this communication. Unfortunately, this often proves ineffective. For starters, traditional phone service does not provide reliable, consistent service. Phone service can fail due to weather-related incidents or even car accidents involving telephone poles. Furthermore, burglars often cut a property’s phone lines before attempting a break-in. They do this to disable any attempts to call for help that you or your alarm system may make after a break-in.

Recently, new technology has created the ability for better alarm monitoring. In particular, our interactive cellular monitoring service, powered by Alarm.com, provides the best security monitoring available. For starters, this service utilizes a cellular network, rather than phone lines, for monitoring. This leads to consistent central station communication regardless of your phone line’s status. Furthermore, your cellular dialer can add convenience and security above and beyond providing a reliable communication path.

In our post on Using Your Smartphone to Add Security to Your Alarm, we discussed the generational expectation that customers can control their electronics with their smartphones. Our interactive Alarm.com cell dialer cell dialer allows users to arm and disarm their security systems remotely using the Alarm.com smartphone app. It also allows them to receive notifications regarding security system status changes. These status updates can include low battery alerts, power failure notices, and other similarly important messages. Adding these features creates tremendous security, and we often surprise customers with the level of customization we can provide for their security experience. Next up, let’s shift our attention away from alarm-related security and look at the importance of installing quality locks.

Heavy-Duty Locks

Out of all the security equipment in the industry, residential locks rank right at or near the top of our “most often overlooked” category. In fact, we rarely show up at a house to find high-quality lock hardware. Part of the reason lies in the fact that it can be very hard for homeowners to tell the difference between a good lock and bad lock. Furthermore, most of the cheap locks found in stores are of less-than-stellar quality. Let’s get into some industry specifics to help you choose good locking hardware to secure your home.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) have created a 3-level testing system for lock hardware.  Lock manufacturers often seek out ANSI/BHMA certification for their product lines. Tests are meant to gauge factors such as bolt strength, security, the ability to withstand impact and force, and quality of finish, among others. ANSI provides this helpful guide to door hardware testing. The lowest-quality hardware receives a “Grade 3” designation, with the best scoring in at Grade 1. As you can probably guess, Grade 2 falls right in the middle. Grade 2 locks represent a step up from Grade 3, without having quite the quality of a Grade 1 lock.

Unfortunately, most locks on homes fall under the Grade 3 category. Burglars can easily pick these locks, or drill them to gain access to your home. The aforementioned bargain-priced hardware store locks generally fit this category. Beware, as you will also likely receive a “bargain” level of security with that purchase. With locks as much as with many other products, you often get exactly what you pay for. Look on the packaging to see if you can find an indication for the lock’s grade. If you cannot, assume that you are holding a Grade 3 lock. While installing these locks still beats installing no locks at all, we do not recommend using them. Instead, look into a lock that will last longer while providing more security. Now, let’s take a look at one one final piece of our important but often-overlooked home security measures.

Surveillance Cameras

Over the last couple decades, the popularity of surveillance cameras has soared, and for good reason. Installing cameras provides you with a few important types of security. For starters, cameras provide you with both live and recorded footage of your property at all times. This allows you to check on things in real time, as well as after an event when needed. Cameras also act as a deterrent to crime, as people seeing cameras often decide to commit their crimes elsewhere!

In the past, people considered installing cameras more of a “commercial” security measure than a residential one. Part of the reason for this lies in the relatively high price point for installing cameras. However, surveillance equipment has lowered considerably in price as the technology has gotten more commonplace. Additionally, some homes did not allow for traditional hardwired camera installation. Today, we can install Wi-Fi-connected smart cams, such as our preferred Alarm.com cameras, that do not require us to run wiring back to a recorder to install surveillance! In addition to providing you with live and stored video, these cameras have additional features. For example, your smart cameras can send you instant video alerts upon detecting motion. Furthermore, they also have analytics that allow you to search for motion events triggered by animals, vehicles, or people. These abilities make adding smart cameras one of our top overlooked security measures!

Putting our Overlooked Home Security Measures to Work for You

We hope that this post helps you find the overlooked home security measures that work best for you. Additionally, we also encourage you to contact us with any questions this post may raise for you. We will happily answer any and all of your security-related inquiries. Moreover, we also invite you to take advantage of our free site survey program. We offer complimentary security audits and equipment quotes to both new and existing customers alike. While on site, we can assess your current security situation and make suggestions for improvements. If you don’t have much in the way of security equipment now, then we can start from the ground up! Together, we can create a complete security plan to keep you, your family, and your home as safe and secure as possible!