If you’re looking to protect your home in 2020, you might be looking into some of the top home security companies and what they can offer you in terms of protection.
Not all home security companies are alike, and some of them might not include the kinds of important tools you need to protect your home.
Home security and safety are crucial, and you want to know that you, your loved ones, and all of your belongings are protected. This is especially true if you’re paying a company to do that protecting for you.
But what kind of tools and features might you be looking for in a good home security network that a company can offer you? There’s so much technology now that a simple secured perimeter with an access control pad isn’t enough to impress a potential buyer anymore.
If you’re not sure what you might be looking for, don’t worry, you’re in the right place. Keep reading for 10 features of a good home security company (or the features that they offer) for you to look out for when making your decision.
Why Do I Need Home Security?
While you might feel safe enough, if you have a family to protect, you can never be too careful. Roughly 325,000 homes are broken into every year. Many of them happen during the day, in plain sight of neighbors, roads, and public buildings.
Even if it’s never happened to you, it certainly can.
Many surveyed criminals who have completed break-ins agree that even having a security camera visible made them less likely to break into the home. Even just the presence of a security system can be offputting to potential burglars. Wouldn’t you rather have the real deal?
There are many smaller security measures that you can take before a home security system, but they’re not nearly as effective. Many criminals aren’t deterred by fences, which are easy to scale, or dogs, which can be easily avoided.
Even signs with no real security system won’t trick the modern home invader.
If you have people, pets, and valuables to protect within your home, it’s time to consider contacting some home security companies to see which ones can offer you the features that you value most. Consider the following.
1. Activity Alerts
Some security systems simply function as alarms at entry points and nothing more, but is that all you want from a home security system in 2020? Some modern security systems offer more.
One great benefit of modern security systems is the ability to see activity alerts.
Sometimes these alerts are going to show you something malicious, like someone casing your space. Other times, though, they just allow you to see what’s going on around your household.
Do you want to be able to know when your children get home from school safely? Or when someone arrives at the door to drop off a package? They can even let you know if you accidentally left a door open, or if a private space was unlocked.
Activity alerts are the way to get this information.
2. Fire and Smoke Alarms
While most houses have smoke alarms, wouldn’t you like to have the alarm integrated into your pre-existing alarm system?
A fire and smoke alarm will alert you to any fire or smoke on the property so you’re able to take care of the problem or remove everyone from the house.
A properly integrated alarm system may also be equipped to call emergency services for you in the case of a fire that is too difficult to manage. This saves you time and can potentially save your home and the health and safety of you or your loved ones.
Every day, at least one child dies from a fire inside the home. This number doesn’t have to be this high, and it doesn’t have to include you. Protect your house with a home security system that integrates fire and smoke alarms.
3. Wireless Technology
If you have a security system enabled, you want to be able to control it from wherever you are. This means inside the house and outside the house.
Good home security companies offer an app, or something similar, so that you can easily check on the status of your home and make any adjustments with the press of a single button.
If you go away from home for an extended period of time, you can rest easy knowing that your home is still protected and you’re able to make any necessary changes from wherever you are in the world.
You can also often view cameras and monitors through these apps, keeping you in the know all the time.
4. Energy Management
Going green is in style right now, and your home security system can help you do just that.
Energy management in a good home security system will allow you to adjust important settings within your home, even if they’re not exactly security related.
This means that you’ll be able to control things like the temperature with the press of a button from the app on your one (or from voice control, if you’ve set up a smart house). This will save you money in the long term by cutting your energy bills when heat and air aren’t in use.
This can also extend to the lighting within the home. If you accidentally leave the lights on after you leave the house, you don’t have to worry. You can turn them off via your home security system. On the other hand, if you sense an intruder and you want them to think someone is home, you can turn them on even when you’re not at home.
5. Carbon Monoxide Detector
Carbon monoxide can be hard to detect for the average person. It’s odorless, and can sometimes be undetectable until it’s too late.
Even if you already have a carbon monoxide detector in your home, integrating it with your alarm system can save you in the case of an emergency.
If emergency personnel need to be contacted, the alarm system can sometimes do that on its own (or through a staff member connected to your emergency). This is just one way a good security system can keep your home safer.
6. Doorbell Cameras and Other Modern Camera Technology
We’re in an age where cameras can be incredibly detailed on home security systems, so you shouldn’t be settling for less if you don’t have to.
Modern camera technology in a home security system can include a lot of things depending on your specific needs and the needs of your household.
A popular camera type is a doorbell camera, that is triggered either by the doorbell itself (allowing you to see who is at the door more clearly than with a standard pinhole window) or through motion in front of the door.
This is a great way to catch porch pirates, or people stealing the packages left in front of your door by mailpeople and delivery people. It also shows you any people attempting to break into your space while you’re not home. It can be a good way to know if it’s time to change your locks, or if your household is completely free of people creeping around.
If nothing else, it shows you when your family arrives home safe and sound.
There are other kinds of cameras as well if you’re seeking out the best home security systems. You can get a nanny cam installed if you have young children. This can function both as a home monitor so you can watch the kids from a different room, but also lets you know if your childcare professionals are doing the job that they’re supposed to do.
Some cameras can even show you suspicious vehicles near the perimeter of your house, or across the road.
Outdated camera technology will be grainy, and inefficient for actually serving its intended purpose. If you want your cameras to be sharp, motion-activated, and suited to your needs, you need modern camera technology to be a feature of your home security system.
7. Smart Home Integration
Smart homes are totally in, and it seems like everybody has some kind of smart device installed in their house to make their lives just a little bit easier.
Smart home integration is a feature that will make your life a lot more convenient, and in an emergency, a lot safer.
Smart home integration allows your home security system to integrate with the devices already present in your home. It might seem like a lot to set up, but if your smart devices are already enabled, part of the work is already done.
Integrating your security system with your smart devices allows you to use voice commands for your security system as you would with your smart home.
While this might seem like a neat parlor trick most of the time, it can come in handy during an emergency if you’re unable to move from the spot that you’re in. Voice control is a handy tool, and smart home integration is one way to enable it.
8. Professional Monitoring
Professional monitoring is how security systems can catch problems before they snowball into huge disasters.
This covers environmental problems as well as actual break-ins, and it’s a crucial feature for home security companies to offer.
If you’re in crisis, you might be unable to reach your phone. Professional monitoring ensures that you’re covered in this situation and that emergency services will be on their way when you need them.
9. Flood Sensors
Flood sensors do what the name implies, they sense floods.
This alerts you to floods within your home that you may not recognize until it’s too late.
If there’s a leak somewhere or pooling water, there can be huge amounts of damage to your home. By the time you discover the water, it can be too late.
Flood sensors let you know early on that something in the house isn’t right, giving you the opportunity to go check it out for yourself.
Flood damage in your home, even if it’s minimal, can cause thousands of dollars to fix. Getting ahead of the problem will help save your wallet.
10. Two-Way Talk
Two-way talk creates somewhat of an intercom system between the rooms in your home and your devices.
This can be a great way for you to monitor your children and family members from wherever you are in the house.
Are the kids getting too distracted by their games to notice that it’s dinner time? Two-way talk will let you call to them with ease. Is a pet getting up onto the counter when it isn’t supposed to? You can scold it from the comfort of your bedroom (and likely give it quite a shock).
If there’s a break-in in your home, you can use two-way talk to speak to (or threaten) intruders, who might be less inclined to follow through with their actions if they know that their faces are obviously on camera.
What Do You Expect from Your Home Security Companies?
Depending on what your specific needs are, you might not want or need all of these features. Some things might seem like luxuries, while others are absolute necessities.
They’re all features that find a home in the home security world, though, and if you feel like you need them in your home, it’s best to shop around until you find the best option for you. The best home security companies will have all of these and more.
For more information on locks and security for your home, visit our site. If you need locksmith services, we might be the company for you.