If you hard-wire your home or install a wireless security system and link it to a monitoring service, that service can call you or dial 911 if a window or door opens when it’s not supposed to.
You can add detectors that alert the monitoring service if a window’s glass breaks, install motion sensors that can report movement in a home that’s supposed to be empty, and include smoke detectors that trigger the service in case of a fire.
The pros:
- You or the authorities will know when there’s trouble at your house within minutes, so there’s a good chance the crook will be caught or scared away.
- Some homeowner’s insurance policies come with hefty premium discounts for homes that use a professional alarm monitoring service.
- When you are away from home, for the work day or for the whole summer, someone is “watching” your house for you.
- The fees are usually affordable, starting at around $10 a month.
The cons:
- You pay for the monitoring service whether you use it or not. If you routinely leave your security system disarmed, the monitoring service won’t be able to do its job.
- You can wind up causing unintentional false alarms. While the monitoring service will try to call you before calling the police, most will go ahead and alert the authorities if they can’t reach you. If it turns out your cat tripped the motion sensor, you could get stuck paying a fine for a false alarm. Most security companies require you to sign a multi-year contract for the service.
Before you sign up for a monitoring service, discuss your family’s lifestyle and your concerns about safety with a security professional. It could be that you need some parts of the service but not others. Choose a company that is willing to customize their product to meet your needs.
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