Food for Thought

  When you have a break in there is more harm done that stealing your processions. Your security has been stolen also, your home has been violated and someone has gone through your private and personal areas. Many people have told me that they just don't feel safe in their homes anymore. When they try to sleep at night they wonder when the burglar may be back.   

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As of July   18 2009 I have had to rethink this article. The  number one mistake that people make is dealing with the wrong alarm company. Many companies will hire college students to canvass areas door to door. These people are only here to make a sale and you may never see them again and the company they work for can be thousands of miles away.. In doing research I have found several links that support this theory.

There are  many experienced, reputable and reliable companies in almost every community, However there are inevitably some people who are out to take advantage of the concerned home owner. Beware of the "fast buck operator" and be sure that what appears to be a bargain doesn't turn out to be a costly mistake in the long run.   Find out how long the company has been in business. Select a well-established company with  successful history behind it. The failure rate among new companies is high and you don't want to be left with a system that requires service with no one to do the service.

  Be sure to ask about the contract with the alarm company. How long is it? What happens should you move? Be sure you know what you are agreeing to before hand.

              WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A QUALITY ALARM SYSTEM

               ****** YOU MUST HAVE A PLAIN OLD TELEPHONE *******

****If you have a digital phone (cable vontage) anything other than a plain old telephone let your alarm installer know before he starts****

If you do have a digital phone there are a couple of ways to communicate with the central station. Additional equipment will be needed to communicate with the central station. Ask your installing company what your options are. There may be additional cost that you will want to know about before installation is started.

  The sirens, sensors, keypads, and the other parts that professional alarm companies use are for the most the same. Again it comes to service. You need a company that will be there and give service when you need it.

  Check with state agencies to see if the company is licensed and if complaints have been lodged. North Carolina Alarm Systems Licensing Board 919-875-3611              I just found a new web site click here check it out may open up your eyes. The good the bad and the ugly with alarms.

   There are some companies that sell and install the alarm system and then sell the account to investment companies that are located in another state. Many times the purchasing company  is just an investment company does not have a good service network in place. Should you have service issue it could take a while to get service and the service could be very expensive..

Most systems are powered by the household power. There is a back up in case of a power loss. the back up battery. will take over and The system will continue to operate and  provide protection.

There should be an audible alert at the home to alert the neighborhood most of the time this will scare the burglar away and alert the neighbors of  a problem at your home.. All systems should send trouble reports to the central station. With the proper service agreement the replacement or repair parts should covered and replaced at no cost to the homeowner.

Should you decide not to purchase a service agreement there should be at least a one year warranty for parts and service.  This should be in writing.

A visual and audible signal should be provided to alert you to a malfunction in the system prior to operation.

 The system should be capable of being easily upgraded meet changing needs, e.g. smoke, fire, medical, water, temperature and any change in legal requirements.

You will need service from time to time. Make sure the company will be prompt when you need  a service call. Should you need service make sure that you can contact the company  for information about your system and not need to stay on hold for 30 minutes.

 Make sure the alarm is user friendly. It should be easy to learn and easy to show other family members and key holders how to use.  Make sure the alarm installer will explain the system to you completely. This way you will know what the system does and doesn't do. Make sure that you will receive written instructions also.

  Make sure the alarm company knows the local ordnances and cooperates with crime prevention programs in your neighborhood as well as with all  requirements made of alarm system owners by your local police dept.

  While it is possible today to obtain alarm components for "do-it-yourself" installation, such systems can provide a false sense of security. They normally do not provide full coverage of the home, may not be of the same quality as a dealer-installed system, and be false alarm prone unless installed by a person of sufficient technical skill.

   The number one mistake that people make is procrastination. This happens because of the thought process that it won’t happen to me.  The most common threat to our home is burglary. The state of North Carolina had over 57,000 burglaries reported to authorities in 2004 & 2005. Crime does happen, and it is not always the other person. According to the FBI, a burglary occurs in the United States every 15.4 seconds. A burglary is three times more likely to happen to people that don’t have an alarm than it is for people that have an alarm system.

 Make sure that the company that installs your system has yard signs and window decals. Burglars tend to follow the path of least resistance.  The burglar's selection process is simple. Choose an unoccupied home with the easiest access, the greatest amount of cover, and with the best escape routes. They look for easy targets and sometimes yard signs and window decals are enough to move them to another place. The signs will also help the police find the house should you have a break in. Signs and decals do stop some burglaries. It doesn’t stop all burglaries. So don’t rush out and buy just a sign.

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 Don’t have a wireless alarm installed when you could get a hardwired alarm system sometimes even for less money. The hardwired systems run wires through your walls and floors to connect the sensors. The advantage of a hard-wired system is dependability. There are no batteries to run down or change. The only reason to install a wireless alarm is when there is no way to run a wire to the sensor.  Hardwired systems provide a higher degree of security and the cost for a professional to install the hard wired system could be less expensive. With wireless the sensors will need batteries to work and you will have an added expense of replacing the batteries.

The worst system that i see on the market today what I call the all in one. This is where the keypad alarm control panel and siren are mounted in the wall somewhere close to the entry exit door. With this type of system all a burglar has to do is just jerk the control off of the wall (this can be accomplished before the entrance time has expired). Should this happen the alarm will never sound. There is a serious lack of security with this type of system.

A proper home burglar alarm system should feature a distinct signal on the premises, both inside and outside. In this manner, the occupants, the intruder and the neighbors are alerted at the same time. The alarm signals may be a loud bell, buzzer, siren, horn or other warning device. . Silent alarms which do not sound on the premises but merely alert an off premises monitoring source, are not recommended for residences, since they allow the intruder inside where he may be in a position to threaten an occupant while police respond to the silent signal.

When installing a burglar alarm system usually it is only a few dollars more to install a smoke detector this will alert you should there be a fire when you are at home and will notify the fire department. Should there be a fire when you are not at home the fire department will be notified. If you have pets in the home this could be a life saver for them. Also there is a significant savings on your home owner policy when you have fire protection.

    The most important part of your security is the central station monitoring. Be sure to inquire about the central station. All of this will be addressed if they have a UL Seal of approval. If they don’t have a UL Seal this could throw up a red flag and you may want to ask some questions If you are still interested in doing business with the co.. How many operators are on duty at all times? There should be a at least two operators on duty at any time?  If so how long is there only one operator. Eight hours is too long for one person with out a break. Who monitors when they go to the rest room. What is the training period for the central station operators? Do they have a back up power supply? Do they have redundancy should they lose the phones? The central station is the people that notify the proper authorities when you have an emergency. The calls could be anything from a hold up to a fire and the proper authorities need to be contacted as soon as possible. Another nice feature is recording the dispatched calls. In case it the dispatch should be reviewed

You should have full service agreement. Many companies will install an alarm system with only a contract for monitoring. Without a service agreement should the alarm break the customer would need to pay for service. Should the alarm panel fail this could cost as much as $400.00. Just replacing a battery including the service call could be as high as $75.00. The back up battery will fail sometime between 3 to 7 years. During the summer months, many alarm systems are hit by lighting. Make sure that service contract will cover this as many home owner insurance policies have a deductible of $500.00 to $1000.00.

Be sure to supply your insurance company with a form from the alarm company stating that you have an alarm system. This will enable you to receive  discounts from your insurance co...

Written by Butch Windham San Lee Security inc.