Home Security Systems

The Kids Are All Right Parents who worry about older children or teenagers home alone can set up their system to notify them when the alarm is disarmed after school. “When the son swipes the keycard to turn off the alarm, his father gets a text message,” Pickral says. “If it gets to be 4:45 p.m. and he hasn’t gotten the message, he can make a phone call.” An Alarm.com security system can send you a message if there’s a power outage and/or a water leak at your home. You can also use a camera, hidden or not, to check on a caregiver. “No one believes they would need a camera or they certainly wouldn’t have hired that caregiver,” Barra says. “But it’s a comfort to be able to peek in between meetings and see the children playing blocks. It’s becoming more acceptable to have cameras in your home and the price is coming down.” A four-channel video recorder costs just over $1,000 and cameras can range from $50 to $500, Pickral says. You can even have a TV channel dedicated to the security system. HAI’s systems can give you a dedicated channel so that you can see whatever the camera sees—whether you’re at work monitoring a caregiver or in your own home keeping track of an older relative. Or, you could have a Web page on the television screen giving you updates and that you could interact with via remote control, Barra says. Alarm.com systems offer similar options, such as live video from one or more cameras. Monitor Elderly Relatives If you are concerned about elderly parents or grandparents home alone all day, or if you’re worried about your own health, you can set up your security system so that, for example, someone is notified by phone, text message or email if a bathroom and/or kitchen light hasn’t been turned on by a certain time of day, if there is no motion in a certain room by a set time or if an exterior door is left open longer than a set amount of time, Pickral says. “People want to age in place,” Barra says. “They don’t want to go into assisted living. They don’t want to be a burden to their children who may be in their 50s or 60s and may not be local. You can tie the system into their normal pattern of behavior.” It was this kind of concern that prompted John Nevin and his three siblings to set up such a system, through Alarm.com, for their widowed mother, who turns 70 this year. Each sibling has customized the system to be alerted to as many or as few changes inside the home as he or she wants. “We can get an email and see Mom came down for breakfast,” Nevin says. “We can see that Mom took out the garbage. We have motion sensors so we can tell if she’s moving around the house. Or, I can just go to the system and see if there’s been any activity and see what she’s been doing. Mom lives in Michigan and we’ll see on the news they have a foot of snow. Then we’ll get an email and see she’s okay. It gives us peace of mind. Plus, it’s a nice reminder. When you’re busy, it’s easy to forget about somebody. Then my Blackberry goes off and there’s Mom. Sometimes it’s a reminder that I need to give her a call. And I can call when I know she’s in the kitchen.” Forgot Something? Not to Worry If you’re always wondering at work whether, for example, you unplugged your iron or curling iron, you can program your system to turn off a certain outlet or outlets when the security system is in ‘away’ mode, Pickral says. You can also check your system to see if you left your garage door open, but you can’t close the door unless you’re nearby, Barra says. Reduce Fraud Homeowners can also use their systems to save money by reducing fraud. “We’ve had owners of second homes identify fraud,” Knebel says. “Property managers said the homes weren’t rented and pocketed the cash.” But the system clearly showed people were in the home at the time. Homeowner Timothy Gallagher of Lindenhurst, N.Y., capitalized on the monitoring capabilities and activity logs for his system, made by Alarm.com, to recover money from a dishonest contractor remodeling his kitchen. The contractor accepted the first two payments for the job. But after four weeks, Gallagher’s kitchen was still torn up and the contractor had made very little progress. “The contractor would say, ‘I was there almost all day; I left at 3 p.m. but I forgot to reset the alarm,’ ” Gallagher said. But motion sensors in the home showed activity for only about 45 minutes. After being confronted with the activity logs, the contractor returned most of the money Gallagher paid him. Water, Water Everywhere Anyone who has ever had a water leak or power failure while away from home knows how quickly damage can be done. Now your security system can include moisture sensors under the sink as well as near the dishwasher, washer and hot water heater. If there’s a leak, the system sends a signal to automatically turn off the water to the house, Pickral says. “We saved one customer at least $5,000 in water damage,” Knebel says. “They had a water sensor in the basement. They got notice there was a flood in the basement and the water was turned off.” You can also set up your system so you can be notified if there’s a power failure so you can save food in the freezer and prevent pipes from bursting in the winter. With the right home automation system, your house can keep you safe from intruders and fires, save you money and offer an improved lifestyle—all at the push of a button.

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