As with many technology-related products, people have a hard time defining the term “security system.” Of course, we do not expect those that do not work in our industry to know as much as we do about our products. Most people understand the basics behind alarms and alarm monitoring. This monitoring process involves connecting an alarm to a central station. In turn, our central station contacts our customers regarding alarm events and, if neccesary, creates an emergency dispatch. However, we often surprise people with what we can actually monitor with our alarm systems. As you will see, security system monitoring includes many potential services and options. In this post, we share some of these options with you!
We will begin with an overview of the details of burglary and life safety-related monitoring. When most people think of “security systems,” they think of these services. From there, we will look at some lesser-known types of alarm monitoring. First, we will look at weather-related monitoring. From there, we will also look at how we monitor a home’s interior environment. Finally, we will look at how our alarms even monitor smart home appliance activity. Now, let’s get started by focusing on a couple of the most popular alarm monitoring options.
Contact sensors, such as this model by Interlogix, do the bulk of our alarm-related burglar detection monitoring.
Burglary-Related Threats
As we mentioned earlier, security against burglary remains the most well-known type of alarm security. In fact, many people refer to security systems as “burglar alarms” for this reason. We use a variety of security contacts to help detect threats and monitor our customers’ property against burglars. Contact sensors, such as the one pictured here, can secure doors and windows by detecting when someone opens them.
Additionally, we add motion and glass break detection in order to guard against burglars breaking through windows and entering your property. These prove especially helpful in rooms with sliding doors or picture windows. Finally, we also offer sensors designed to detect the breaching of basement windows. All of these sensors communicate back to the alarm system’s main control unit which, in turn, sends a signal to our central station to create the necessary response. Now, let’s look at another very common type of equipment we monitor with our security systems.
Life Safety Emergencies
In addition to monitoring your property for burglaries, we also recommend adding lifety safety devices to your security system. Specifically, we often install smoke, carbon monoxide, and heat detectors as part of our alarms. We introduced these sensors in our post sharing 5 Steps to Improving Fire Safety for Your Family. These detectors can alert you to potentially life-threatening emergencies. Additionally, they create a monitored alarm response as well. Therefore, they can potentially save your home if you have a fire while away. Moreover, the fire station dispatch could even save the life of you or a loved one trapped inside.
Finally, adding this security often comes with a unique monetary benefit. Insurance companies will often lower monthly premiums for customers with monitored fire safety devices. Sometimes, this discount entirely pays customers back for the initial cost of the equipment installation. Once this happens, these customers actually make a profit from their monitored life safety equipment. The combination of this unique benefit, along with the safety this equipment provides, make it a very popular option for our customers. Now, let’s look at another, lesser-known security system monitoring option.
Environmental sensors provide important security by monitoring your home for weather-related emergencies.
Weather Scares
At this point, we’re moving from the “meat and potatoes” alarm monitoring options to some options that surprise customers when we offer them. Our environmental sensors provide a prime example of one of these options. We offer sensors that create alerts for environmental disasters that have the potential to cause major damage to any home or business. For example, our “hi-lo temperature” detectors can create an alert 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. Environmental sensors can help you detect and address these issues before they create a mess that takes a significant amount of time and money to repair. Our next security system monitoring option provides a nice connection between our environmental sensor monitoring options and our options for smart home monitoring, which we will also discuss. Let’s look at a unique way to both control and monitor the environment inside your home!
Your Home’s Interior Environment
In addition to monitoring your home for weather-related environmental issues, we also offer an impressive means of monitoring your home’s interior. Our Alarm.com smart thermostat provides both security and convenience. This thermostat allows you live access to track — and change — your home’s temperature at any time. Therefore, you never need to fret about whether you remembered to turn your heat on or off after leaving the house. Simply pick up your smart phone, open the Alarm.com app, and check your thermostat settings. Don’t like what you see? You can instantly set the thermostat to the desired temperature using the same app. Additionally, you can create temperature schedules that save energy and keep your house comfortable during occupied hours.
Adding a smart thermostat to your security system, such as this one by Alarm.com, allows you to track and control your home’s temperature remotely.
As an additional option, you can also create a desired temperature “range” within your home. Your home’s temperature falling either above or below this range will trigger an alert from your smart thermostat. This eliminates the need to check on your home’s temperature often while away. After all, you’d be the first to know if your house becomes excessively cold or hot! The combination of security and convenience features make this a very popular alarm add-on. Now, we’ll share some other smart home devices that you can connect to your security system and monitor.
Smart Home Appliance Activity
We can monitor more smart home appliances than just smart thermostats with a security system. A module installed in your home’s security system can give you access to a host of automation services offered by Alarm.com. This module connects the smart devices in your home on one platform, so they work together to provide automation and simple control. For example, smart locks allow you to lock and unlock doors in your home with your smartphone. Moreover, they allow you to monitor when others lock and unlock your doors. Finally, you can even create an alert to let you know if nobody locks up your home by the time you expect everyone to leave for the day. At that point, you can lock the door remotely if you determine the last one out simply forgot!
We also offer smart lights, smart garage door openers, and even smart cameras and video doorbells. You can control these devices and check on their status using the Alarm.com app. Furthermore, you can create alerts on all of these devices to track their use. These smart home appliances all add unique security. For further reading on this topic, we encourage you to check out our 7 Important Security System Add-Ons for Your Smart Home. This connection between home security systems and smart home products has been one of the biggest developments in the industry over the last several years!
Finding the Security System Monitoring that Works for You
We hope that this post helps you understand the many security system monitoring options available. Additionally, we encourage you to contact us with any alarm monitoring-related questions you may have. Perhaps you have an alarm already and wish to discuss adding equipment and monitoring services to it. Or, maybe you have yet to install a security system and want to get it done right the first time. Either way, we will be happy to help. Furthermore, feel free to take advantage of our free site survey program, which we offer to new and existing customers alike. During our visit, we can address any concerns you may have. Moreover, we can create our own suggestions based on our observations. Together, we can come up with a security system, and a security system monitoring plan, that keeps you and your property as safe and secure as possible!
Stock photos in this post used under the Creative Commons Public Domain CC0 License.