What is home security?

It used to be when you thought about home security, you thought about one thing: burglar alarms. Today, burglar alarms are still around, but they’re just part of a much bigger picture. In today’s high-crime, high-tech world, home security systems have come of age.

Back in the day, hardwired burglar alarm systems would use your house current for power and land line telephone to dial for help in an emergency. The obvious flaws: any professional thief would try to turn off your power and at least cut your phone line before robbing you blind.

Today, all the top systems are 100% wireless, with battery backup. The best wireless home security systems use cellular communications to contact a central monitoring office that’s open 24/7/365. Tampering with any component sets off an alarm, and some components even take the offender’s picture.

Event alerts come to you via mobile app, and to all your emergency contacts by any method they choose. Alerts are sent virtually instantaneously with most of the best systems.

Home security, provided by the top-rated home security companies, now includes the ability to control everything in your house, including burglar alarm systems, via your smartphone or tablet. You can access live streaming HD video of your home on any device, anywhere you can get an internet connection.

Forgot to turn off the iron? No problem. Z-Wave technology makes it possible to control any light, outlet, appliance, heating and air conditioning, not to mention the locks on your doors. You can even dim the bedroom lights to set the mood from virtually anywhere in the world. Home surveillance systems encompass more than just security these days.

Today’s wireless home security systems and home surveillance setups do amazing things, and even a top-of-the-range home protection system costs far less per month than the average cable TV bill. And with some systems, there are no upfront costs.

Why do I need home security?

Even if we lived in a world without crime (well, we can dream), making your home a safer place to live is never a bad idea. Besides protecting you from burglary, or even worse, a home invasion, today’s home security systems also feature:

• Fire, smoke, CO and natural gas alarms
• Children and pet monitoring
• Flood and freeze alarms
• Severe weather alerts
• Car and garage monitoring
• Personal safety fobs and pendants
• Remote control of door locks and every electric device in your home
• Energy management

Think of it this way. If your home security system included a Z-Wave thermostat, you could realize enough energy savings each month to cover the cost of even the best home security system. Monthly monitoring fees for the top security systems can be as little as $19.99 a month but no more than $49.99 for a system that includes all available features, including live HD streaming video surveillance. There are even ways to create DIY home security systems.

Ask yourself this: is it worth the cost of a nice – if unspectacular – dinner out to protect my biggest investment and asset from all the possible things that can happen when I’m not there, or even worse, when I am? You don’t have to be paranoid about security to appreciate the value of true peace-of-mind.

What should I do now?

There are many top-rated home security companies out there from which to choose, and they’re all a little bit different. We’ve done a lot of the legwork for you, and on this site you’ll find all the information you’ll need to select a company that’s the best fit for you and your lifestyle.

The best advice is that it’s never a matter of “if” something is going to happen, just a matter of “when.” Affordable state-of-the-art wireless home security is available to virtually anyone who has a place to live, so don’t put off your decision…tomorrow may literally be too late.