You want to protect your home, family, and valuables from intruders but home security services can be so expensive. A secured home doesn’t need to cost you high monthly monitoring fees. There are many home security tools that can increase your safety and protection that you can buy from your local electronics or hardware store and install yourself. A few added measures can deter unwanted guests from your home.
The most important aspect of home security is lighting. Intruders don’t like to sneak around a home that is well lighted on the outside. A neighbor or passer-by might notice him and call the police. Spotlights aimed towards your home in strategic areas such as windows and doorways will make your entryways unfavorable choices for break-ins. Keep large bushes trimmed away from windows to eliminate hiding places around your home. Be sure to keep tree branches trimmed that might be used for climbing to higher windows.
Lighting is equally important inside the home. If there are lights on inside your home, intruders will think there is someone home. If you have your lights hooked up to timers it will seem like someone is inside turning the lights on and off. There are simple timers that will turn your lights on at a certain time each day and you can set them so that you never have to walk into a dark house.
It is important to change the timer occasionally so that anyone who is watching your home will not realize the lights are being electronically controlled. Other sophisticated lighting systems can be controlled with a remote or a computer. If you install a computer-controlled lighting system you can turn your lights on from anywhere in the world at any time from a computer or laptop.
Another security feature that you can use while away from your home is the home security camera. Elaborate home security cameras hooked into a central computer can allow you to take a peek inside and outside of your home from any computer. These types of security cameras can be quite costly and the installation can be quite involved, but as an alternative you can purchase inexpensive fake security cameras that will make a good deterrent.
Though it may seem elementary to prevent break-ins by locking up, most break-ins occur through open doors, windows or garage doors. Install dead bolts on all of your doors and make sure to use them. Close and lock all windows on the lower floor at night and when you leave your home. As added measures of protection, you can install metal bars on your windows and use door bars on any sliding glass doors. A door bar is a sturdy, adjustable, metal bar that is jammed in between the door and the doorframe. Door bars make it impossible to open a sliding door without breaking the glass.
You can purchase glass break alarms that can be easily installed on every window of your home. Glass break alarms mount on the windows themselves and will sound an alert if the glass is broken. These types of alarms are very inexpensive and can be useful in remote areas of the house like basements, garages, or anywhere in the house where you might not be able to hear breaking glass.
One security measure that is easily installed by anyone and provides a great measure of protection is the wireless motion sensor. A motion sensor alarm will sound a chime inside your home at the base unit when anyone walks past it. You can install these sensors up to 1,000 feet from your home at driveway entrances, doorways, or strategic areas around the perimeter of your home. Motion sensor alarms can even be installed within your home in hallways and basements in case someone does manage to get past the ones outside. You might even be able to catch your spouse raiding the refrigerator!
Increasing your home’s security with a few of these simple measures could mean the difference between life and death to you and your family. A few adjustments to your home can make it a very undesirable target and you will be less likely to lose your valuables or be in danger from would-be attackers.
