At Northeast Security Solutions, we think of adding an alarm system as a worthy investment. Of course, the equipment and service comes at some cost to our customers. In return for the investment, security systems provide priceless security. Many of our customers have had dangerous fire, burglary, or environmental emergencies diffused thanks to their alarm system. Obviously, this type of security is exactly what security customers look for. They know that safety and peace of mind carry no price tag. However, not all alarm customers know that they can add equipment that actually repays them for their investment in security! In this post, we share some powerful security system tips that pay you back.
We will begin by looking at how adding alarm monitoring can actually save you money than it costs. From there, we will look at both the security and potential cash kickback provided by adding monitored fire detection. Then, we will explain how our cellular dialer can help you cancel your phone bill altogether. Finally, we will focus on how connecting smart home products to your alarm can create tremendous savings. Now, let’s get started by looking at how security system monitoring can pay off in more ways than one.
Security System Monitoring
A couple months ago, we created a post answering the question “What Happens After My Alarm Goes Off?” In that post, we described the difference between monitored and non-monitored alarm systems. In short, non-monitored (or “local”) alarm systems create a siren response to an alarm activation. This allows anyone home to take the proper action based on the situation. While this does add some security, local alarm systems contain a major limitation. Namely, non-monitored alarms do little to secure you or your home in your absence. Of course, a burglar may hear your siren and still run away. However, you won’t know about a break-in until you return home. Furthermore, smoke detection on alarm systems will fail to create a fire department dispatch if the system remains unmonitored.
Monitored smoke detectors, such as this one by System Sensor, can create a fire department response to a fire at your home.
For these reasons, we always recommend signing up for our monitoring service. This allows our central station to reach out to you upon an alarm activation and, if necessary, dispatch the proper authorities. Moreover, having a monitored alarm system generally comes with a discount on our customers’ homeowners’ insurance plans! This discount varies by provider, but in some cases the discount actually outpaces our monitoring bill. Under this scenario, you could actually save money while adding security to your alarm. We recommend asking your insurance provider about this discount to see if you can take advantage. Now, let’s look at a way to make this discount even greater.
Smoke and Heat Detection
As we touched on already, we can install smoke and heat detection as part of an alarm system. This equipment pays tremendous dividends. Some customers do have these devices tied in to local, unmonitored alarms. In this case, the system detectors act like a standard home smoke alarm would by creating a siren response when they detect smoke or conditions so hot they indicate a potential fire. However, putting these devices on a monitored alarm really allows you to experience their full benefits. Many home fires start while the family is away. In these cases, you can see how having the central station dispatch the fire department can potentially save your home.
Moreover, many deep sleepers sleep through the noise created by smoke detectors. In fact, a recent ABC news report cites a study showing that 80% of children can sleep through this sound. Therefore, monitored fire detection can save the lives of those at home during a fire by calling out for help. The security benefit of this equipment alone make its addition a great investment. However, the decision gets even easier for homeowners who find out that adding this detection creates a far greater insurance discount than an alarm without smoke and heat detection. For even more life safety, we offer monitored carbon monoxide detection as well. Feel free to check out our tips on Adding Monitored Fire Detection for more information. Now that we’ve addressed alarm monitoring, let’s look at a type of monitoring that represents one of our top security system tips that pay you back.
A Cellular Dialer That Lets You Cut the Cord on Your Phone Line
Traditional alarm monitoring involves connecting your security system to your home’s phone lines. In turn, this allows the alarm to communicate with our central station. From there, the central station receives reports of alarm events and takes the proper action. Unfortunately, this type of monitoring carries major drawbacks. Phone-line based monitoring will fail whenever a customer’s phone lines go down. This can happen when inclement weather strikes. Additionally, burglars often cut their victims’ phone lines as a way to cut off alarm communication before breaking in!
In addition to adding security through interactive controls and instant alerts, interactive cellular monitoring also allows you to keep your alarm monitored even if you cancel your phone service.
Luckily, security technology has improved to the point where we no longer need to rely on phone lines to monitor our customers’ alarms. Now, we can install cellular dialers that bypass your phone lines entirely. These devices use a cellular network to communicate with our central station. From a security perspective, this means that you receive more consistent monitoring. From a monetary perspective, it allows you to cancel your phone service without interrupting your security monitoring. Many customers continue paying a monthly phone bill just to keep their alarms online. If this sounds like you, we encourage you to make the jump to cellular monitoring. Now, let’s add one more strategy to our list of security system tips that pay you back!
Smart Home Products that Save Energy
As an additional benefit to adding cellular monitoring, our cell dialer powered by Alarm.com comes with a unique set of security benefits. This dialer allows us to offer interactive cellular monitoring, which lets our customers control their alarms systems with a smartphone or any other internet-connected device! Furthermore, our cellular dialer sends out customers instant alerts based on alarm activity. This means that events such as alarm activations, low sensor batteries, and system armings and disarmings can create notifications if you so desire.
Perhaps most impressively, our cellular dialer also acts as a smart home hub. Specifically, the dialer communicates with any smart home devices on the Z-Wave smart home platform. This allows our interactive cellular customers to connect a variety of smart home devices to their alarm system. In turn, they can control these devices with the same Alarm.com app they use to control their security system.
Installing an Alarm.com smart thermostat allows our customers to save energy and money by tracking and controlling their home’s temperature remotely.
Many of the most popular smart home devices aim to save energy and, therefore, save you money. For example, smart thermostats can keep your temperature low until you’re about to return home. You can make this happen by setting a schedule or control the temperature in real time with your smartphone! Likewise, smart light bulbs can stay dark while you are away but still provide a well-lit entrance into your home after work. Many of our customers take advantage of smart home products to save energy and money. For more information, check out our post sharing 7 Important Security System Additions for Your Smart Home!
Taking Advantage of Our Security System Tips That Pay You Back
We hope that you have found this roundup of security system tips that pay you back helpful! Additionally, we encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have about the material presented here. Taking advantage of these tips allows your home security to truly work as an investment by paying you back while also providing valuable security. Furthermore, we offer free site surveys to both new and existing customers alike. Therefore, we can stop out and help create a customized plan to put these tips into place in your own home! While on site, we can also address any other security-related needs you may have. Together, we can create a complete security plan that provides the security and peace of mind that you need, while also creating tremendous monetary value as an added bonus!
Feature Photo Credit: maxpixel.net used under the CC0 Public Domain License.