Easy DIY Security Methods to Protect your Home

Guest Blog #219, Entry #714, October 21, 2011

Installing a security system may seem like a chore, but modern technology has made the installation process much easier. In fact, the set-up process for wireless systems may only take about 30 minutes at the most.

Protect your home and family with a DIY security system

Here are some of the top do-it-yourself methods for setting up home security.

1.    Buy a security alarm kit

Most of the best security packages provide the essential devices for keeping the house secure. These are kits available for a lower price than if someone tried to buy every individual security component.

Standard kits come with a central panel and a number of security sensors to detect movement of the windows and the doors. They don’t often come with state-of-the-art devices, such as glass-break detectors or passive infrared sensors. However, they usually have most of the essential parts that people will need to protect the house.

Use wireless sensors on your doors and windows

2.    Use wireless sensors on the doors and windows

Most of the earliest wireless sensors were often unreliable, because they wouldn’t trigger the alarm even when it detected any movement around the doors and windows. The newest alarms are much more effective, thanks to revolutionary changes in wireless technology.

Every wireless alarm system now uses a central panel as a hub to operate the wireless sensors around the house. This panel can detect the battery life for each sensor around the house. This can actually save plenty of energy around the house, because it doesn’t rely on as many wired sensors as the older security system models.

Each sensor only needs a lithium ion battery. Although it may seem like people are spending more than they should spend on batteries, they are actually cutting the amount of electrical energy they use inside the house. The battery sensors also help to prevent a person’s home from experiencing a brownout due to an overuse of power.

Keep in mind that mansion owners cannot spread their wireless sensors too far away. The central control panel of a wireless system usually has a limited transmitting range of about 300 to 600 feet or so. This means that a wireless security system might not be able to detect transmitters from a further range unless someone attaches wired sensors into the central panel.

3. Use a manual home monitoring system

Security alarm kit

Although many security providers offer a home monitoring system, many of them are unwieldy and expensive to use. Many of the automatic systems could inadvertently use the phone line to call 911 for a false alarm. This could cause people valuable money, especially if people have a bad habit of tripping the alarms and forgetting the passcode.

Thus, people should instead purchase their own home monitoring system. Although it may seem like a hassle to string all the cords to a DVR (digital video recorder), it gives people more freedom to watch everything themselves. Rather than relying on a middleman in a monitoring station, people can watch all suspicious activity around the house from their own monitor.

Image Courtesy: Flickr

Q-See’s monitoring kit especially provides exceptional recording capabilities. The cameras can automatically record anything that triggers the motion detectors, allowing people to replay this material. The cameras may lack microphones, but the DVR still provides a big hard drive to save all the video data for future reference.

Although a do-it-yourself security might seem like a strenuous chore to complete, it pays off it the long run. A well-produced system will provide long-lasting protection to ensure that anyone’s house is secure.

Madison Parker is an expert writer on subjects related to home security systems. Read more on her blog at HomeSecuritySystems.net.

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