This is one of those posts I’ve been thinking about writing for a while – ever since I saw one of those dumb-ass ADT commercials with the guy with the black knit cap breaking in through the front door while some ‘helpless’ woman was in the kitchen.
I’m definitely no home-alarm security expert, but being a geek I really dug into the design and technology when I purchased systems for the two homes I’ve lived in here in Phoenix. We’re in a nice area, but home break-ins are a bit more common here than in Boulder. In one home I added an aftermarket system, and in the other we had it wired as the house was built. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- If you purchase an aftermarket system it will almost always be wireless, unless you want to rip your walls open. These systems can be attacked via timing and jamming, but most people don’t need to worry about that.
- With a wireless system you have a visible box on each door and window covered. An attacker can almost always see these, so make sure you don’t skip any.
- Standard door and window sensors are magnetic contact closure sensors. They only trigger if the magnet and the sensor are separated, which means they won’t detect the bad guy breaking the glass if the sensor doesn’t separate. You know, like they show in all those commercials (for the record I use ADT).
- The same is true for wired sensors, except they aren’t as visible.
- Unless you pay extra, all systems use your existing phone line with a special “capture” port that overrides other calls when the alarm needs it. For (possibly a lot) more you can get a dedicated cell phone line integrated into the alarm, so the call center still gets the alarm even if the phone lines are down. You probably want to make sure they aren’t on AT&T.
- Most of the cheap alarm deals only give you a certain number of contact closure sensors and one “pet immune” motion sensor (placed centrally to trigger when someone walks down your major connecting hallway). Pay more to get all your first floor doors and windows covered. Get used to the ugly white boxes on everything.
- Most alarm systems do not cover your exterior garage doors. The standard install protocol is to put a sensor on the door from your garage to the interior of the house. The only time we’ve been robbed is when we left our garage doors open, so since then we’ve always had them added to the system. They take a special contact closure sensor since the normal ones aren’t good with the standard rattling of a garage door and will trigger with the wind. Now every night when we set our alarm in “Stay” mode it won’t enable unless the doors are closed.
- None of the basic systems includes a glass break detector. Most of these are noise sensors tuned to the frequency of glass breaking, rather than shatter sensors attached to each window. I highly suggest these and recommend you put them near the windows most likely to be broken into (ones hard to see from the street). Mine has only gone off once, when I dropped something down the stairs.
- Understand which sensors are active in the two primary alarm modes – Stay and Away. Stay is the mode you use at night when you are sleeping (or if you are a helpless female in the kitchen in an ADT commercial). It usually arms the exterior sensors but not the motion sensor. Away is when you are out and turns on everything. I suggest having glass breaks active in Stay mode, but if you have a killer stereo/surround sound system that might not work out too well for you. There are also differences in arming times and disarming windows (the time from opening a door to entering your code).
- When your alarm triggers it starts a call to the call center, who will call you back and then call the police. I’ve had my alarm going for a good 30 seconds without the outbound call hitting the alarm center. It isn’t like TV, and the cops won’t be showing up right away.
- Most basic systems don’t cover the second story in a multilevel home. While few bad guys will use a ladder, know your home and if there are areas they can climb to easily using trees, gutters, etc. – such as windows over a low roof. Make sure you alarm these. Especially if you have daughters and want some control over their dating lives.
- Most systems come with key fob remotes, so you don’t have to mess with the panel when you are going in and out. If you’re one of those people who parks in your driveway and leaves your garage and alarm remotes in the car, please send me your address and a list of your valuables. Extra points if you’re a Foursquare user.
- Most alarms don’t come with a smoke detector, which is one of the most valuable components of the system. You regular detectors aren’t wired into an alarm sensor and are just to wake you up. Since we have pets, and mostly like them, we have a smoke detector in a central location as part of our alarm so the fire department will show up even if we aren’t around. We also have a residential sprinkler system, and as a former firefighter those things are FTW (no known deaths due to fire when one is installed and operational).
My alarm guys looked at me funny when I designed the system since it included extras they normally skip (garage doors, glass break, second story coverage, smoke detector). But we have a system that didn’t cost much more than the usual cheap ones, and provides much better protection. It’s also more useful, especially with the garage sensors to help make sure we don’t leave the doors open.
The one thing I’m not really big on is cameras. For my home I worry a lot more about someone getting in than capturing them after the fact. And we live in a densely populated subdivision with neighbors we know well and inform before we leave on big trips. That and an alarm sign out front are better than any crazy camera system.
Finally, make sure you test the system from time to time. It’s possible to mess up your phone connection or for the monitoring center to lose track of your account. If something does go wrong beat them like dogs – your safety is at risk. If you are paying $20+ per month for monitoring, they really should monitor.
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5 Replies to “Home Security Alarm Tips”
I’ve gotten to spend more then the average amount of time around burglars and petty criminals. Burglars very very rarely operate at night when working residentials. If there is someone in your house at night, they are not there to take the stereo.
Camera’s can be useful for follow up prosecution, they do not work as a deterrent and they should be hidden. Otherwise the task just changes from steal to get the DVR.
1) PLM still requires wall warts and wires to the outlet (I use PLM/RF for some home automation and am pretty familiar with it). I wasn’t trying to say wireless was the only option, nor that it isn’t secure enough, but that it will be what the majority of alarm installers push. Especially the ones like ADT or Protection One with package deals. I have wired in my home and the sensors are nearly undetectable (drilled through the door/window frames with no exposed components), which is nice.
2) Okay- I’m pretty open minded. You show me the studies/stats and I will update the post. I know cameras have had no effect on crime in the UK or in a test deployment in Florida (Yuba City or something like that). Those aren’t residential, and I’ve seen no study specific to that demographic, so if you can point me to something I’ll concede the point. And no argument they don’t have other uses. If I had a McMansion I’d probably want them, it isn’t that I think they are all bad, but I still have a hard time seeing the security value for a single family residence.
1) Again, 10 minutes of search will prove you wrong. Here’s one of many solutions I’ve used: try Googling ‘PLM-24’. That’s only the start of not-ripping-out-drywall-options.
2) Cameras have been shown to deter when their clearly visible, especially in home environments (partly because today it’s not commonplace). Besides being invaluable from a security front it can also give an average user insight to all kinds of other information at your residence. If you’re putting in a system, it’s more valuable when its extensible beyond one function.
I’m going to disagree still on a couple points:
1. Unless you rip open drywall, or run wires within view (or on the outside of the house), wired is rarely an option for an existing home. You can do it, but most of the people reading this will go to ADT or another installer in a box and won’t ever have that option. If you know what you are doing and design your own system you won’t be reading a simple blog post like this.
2. Cameras- they have not been shown to be a deterrent, and in a smash and grab they are no more effective than any other part of your alarm system. Less if they don’t kick off the siren to scare them off. If the value is for insurance later, then I won’t argue with you, but it most definitely isn’t a very proactive security control. Even if you have motion alerting, what does that buy you over a motion detector in terms of getting the police on scene? If you design the rest of your system properly cameras aren’t that important. Maybe they’ll help in an investigation, maybe with insurance.
In terms of your last use case that’s less security and more convenience (and geeky fun).
Target and such use cameras mostly for loss prevention from their own employees. On occasion they help police investigate a robbery, but the primary driver is reducing employee shrinkage.
A few problems…
First and foremost is that even if you don’t have an alarm system today to make the assumption that one has to be wireless is wrong. 10 minutes of research will get you some creative options besides full on wireless.
Second is your misconception of video. There are a million cheap cameras out there today and (since you were making an assumption here) they are an integral part to a full home security system. Most cameras, individually, have some level of alerting functionality from email, to a file drop to turning an alarm circuit high to note the presence of motion in the house. Case in point: no doors or windows have been ajar in the past 30 minutes although there is motion in the kitchen (assuming you don’t have pets or position / program them in a strategic focal point that cuts them out based on height). Most cameras have selective regioning in them and you can adjust sensitivity based on that.
Coming from a security analyst it’s hard to see how you can justify “after the fact” being useless. Are your neighbors up at 2:00am and constantly watching your house? If so, good for you but the majority of people don’t have neighbors that will sit and diligently watch for intruders because you’re on vacation – most have, ummm, lives. So what if the intruders brute force your house, do a five minute grab-of-goods and bolt? The cops, and your neighbors, in this situation are probably pretty useless. Cameras (especially!) for house approach and most entry points are key. If you have 3-6 cameras covering the 1st level inside and out of your house you’re going to see something and having it available to alert you and the option to potentially have evidence for your insurance company (see, they did steal the 50″ LCD that I don’t have a receipt for because I won it).
Lastly – I have a remote unlock feature. I have a camera at that entry point. If I want to let someone in to my house while I’m out I can validate – from my phone – who’s actually there. Video is a key component to today’s security systems. If it wasn’t your local gas station or Target wouldn’t use it for loss protection. Video is FTW and systems without today are incomplete and hindered comparatively.