Commerical and Residential, Burglar Alarms, Security Cameras, and wireless monitoring

The customer is responsible for calling the police, fire, and medical authorities when the security system generates a text or email to the customer's cellphone or computer. Self-monitoring requires enrollment as a "full data" wireless monitoring customer. This is a very good deal for cost minded business owners or home security customers who only use their security systems when they are away from their home.

Self-Monitoring Rates

Yearly $60
Semi-annual $35
Quarterly $20
Monthly $8

Window Contacts / Glass Break Detectors / Motion Detectors

A lot of people do not understand how these devices work. For example, most people think that if you contact your windows an intruder can't get in without the alarm activating. That is not true. lf your windows are contacted the alarm goes off if you raise the window frame, but if you break out the glass and crawl in the alarm does not go off. Same with glass break detectors. lf you raise the window the alarm does not go off. What you also do not realize is that if you have blinds installed a glass break detector will not detect the window breaking because the sounds the detector is looking for will bounce off the blinds to the outside. Motion detectors are great because they do not care how you got in, they just know that you are there based upon your thermal image. However, you can only use them when the room or building is not occupied. Most salesmen will just sell you what you want to get the commission. A good salesman will explain what I have discussed above so that you can make an informed decision on what is best for your particular situation. Know the answers to your questions before you ask. This will help you determine which company you can trust.

Wireless Alarms vs Wireless Monitoring

Do not confuse a wireless burglar alarm with wireless monitoring. Wireless monitoring means your security system uses a cellular phone to communicate with the central station instead of a land-line. A wireless security system uses transmitters/receivers to replace wires running from your doors, windows, etc. to the control panel. A wireless burglar alarm is a great alternative to exposed wiring. However, a wireless burglar alarm is prone to lightning damage and requires maintenance. A wired system will always be more effective than a wireless system. Think of it this way, what is more likely to fail, a piece of wire or a transmitter/receiver setup? You should also know that a professional burglar alarm technician can wire almost any home or business without exposing wires.

Some systems use WIFI to connect the alarm system to your router and call that wireless monitoring. DO NOT BE FOOLED, your router may be wireless, but it is still connected to your modem. The lines running to your cable/phone modem (see below) can be cut on the outside of your home or business. True wireless monitoring requires a cellar phone link to the 24 Hour Central Station

Free Security Systems

Free burglar alarms would be great, but nobody has one. Free usually is accompanied by an installation, activation, or some other fee. Free really means the monthly monitoring rate has been INFLATED for as long you have the system monitored. lf you compare the cost of paying for the system up-front versus a "free" alarm with an inflated monitoring rate over a five-year period you will always pay more for a "free" alarm. What is worse is that the longer you keep the system the more money you lose due to higher monitoring fees. ln essence, you are financing your alarm system through higher monitoring fees. You would be better of purchasing your security system with a credit card.

Sirens

Security systems using a land-line should always have an outside siren. You want to make as much noise as possible to encourage the intruder to leave your premises. Companies that install burglar alarms that do not have an outside siren are making you rely solely on their monitoring service for a response to an alarm. lt is all about making you continue to make that monthly payment. lf you lose phone service or the burglar cuts the land-line you have a "useless" alarm system. A smart burglar will look for yard signs from national companies because he knows that in most cases all he has to do is cut the phone line and the alarm is disabled. We install phone line monitors so that when a phone line is cut the outside siren immediately activates before the intruder breaks-in to alert the neighborhood.
Of course, we always recommend using a cellular phone (wireless monitoring) as a backup to a land-line or as the primary means of communicating with the 24 Hour Central Station.

Cable/Telephone Modems

Modems are vulnerable to having the lines from your service provider cut by an intruder on the outside of the building. Also, if your phone service uses a modem be aware that a loss of power to the modem (your home or business) will cause your phone system to shut down. Either event means your security system is no longer monitored because it has lost its means of communicating with the 24 Hour Central Monitoring Station. lf you have a modem, make sure it has a backup power supply (battery). You should also consider adding a cellular phone (wireless monitoring) to ensure your security system can always communicate with the 24 Hour Central Monitoring Station.

Video Surveillance

Most security cameras sold today are 1080p (HD) so picture quality is generally not an issue. lf needed, you can always buy better video for an additional cost. Basically, there a two types of video surveillance systems. While both can be viewed remotely via internet connections, one retains historical video data off-site and the other stores this data on your on-site DVR. The systems that store video data off-site are less expensive, but the downside is you pay a monthly fee to the company storing your video data. Another downside is that if you lose power to the modem or the internet cable is cut there is no video streaming off-site to be recorded. The video surveillance system using an on-site DVR for recording will be more expensive depending on the size of the hard drive. However, the upside is there is no monthly fee. While the upfront cost might be a little bit more the savings over time will be substantial. Learn more about out Video Surveillance here.