A huge variety of options now exists for home and office security systems, and “the right alarm” depends on you. People who work from home and are almost never away from it have different needs than traveling salesmen. Indeed, one of the most important choices you make is between ‘home-alone’ alarms and a monitored security system that spurs others into action.
For some, fully functional smoke and carbon monoxide detecting alarms may seem to be all they really need. These are small but essential parts of any safety system – combined with good fencing, motion lights, and maybe their dogs — cover the only holes they have. For them, there may think there is no need for a monitored system – they think one that sounds an alarm only within the home is fine. Of course, this isn’t necessarily the case.
For others, a home-alone system makes no sense at all. Their neighborhoods are ‘safe enough’ but no one is home most of the time. Kids go to schools, parents go to work, there are after-school activities, dinners with clients, parties…sleepovers…no one is home. What is happening in their house is happening for their neighbors and whole subdivisions are basically deserted for much of the time.
Home-alone alarms are even more impractical for families whose children do not spend their free time away from the home. There are still no adults in the house, but now their children are home alone in them. The safety stakes just went up by a thousand percent. Suddenly, both the dog and the fence seem smaller, and motion lights are just not enough to protect the home.
If a fireplace is thrown into the equation, choosing the right alarm can get a bit more involved. So many factors come into play in your choice of the best alarm system that it is very difficult to offer advice from afar. A security professional should be consulted, whether home or small business, to discuss what type of alarm can be used to best suit your needs.
The bottom line is it is good for anyone to have a monitored security system to keep them safe, both at home and while they’re gone.