Home Alarm & Monitoring Systems

Function

• Home alarm and monitoring systems typically feature a central keypad to arm and disarm the system. Homeowners use a personal identification number or key card when they leave and return home to turn it on and off. When armed, these alarm systems use connections to various kinds of detectors, including motion and sound, to determine whether intrusions are taking place. Some have audible alarms while others have silent alarms, and some also incorporate surveillance cameras. Signs of intrusion result in the alarm going off. Meanwhile, a signal and any relevant information, such as a camera feed, is relayed to a monitoring center over a special phone or computer line, where trained employees call the homeowners and local authorities.

Significance

• An increasing number of homeowners are turning to home alarm and monitoring systems to keep their possessions and families safe, according to a report by researchers at Rutgers University's School of Criminal Justice. The market for such systems is about $30 billion, and it's growing at a rate of between 7 and 8 percent each year, noted the report.

Benefits

• Alarm systems help deter crime, according to the Rutgers report, which looked at relevant statistics over a five-year period in Newark, New Jersey. As the number of residential alarms in use went up, the number of home burglaries went down, the study found. Another report by the American Society of Criminology released in 2007 confirms that home alarm and monitoring systems do in fact deter burglars.

Considerations

• Factors to consider in selecting a home alarm and monitoring system including up-front cost, maintenance costs, company reputation and response time. Typically, companies that offer home alarm and monitoring systems offer packages at various prices.

Features

• Many basic packages offer an alarm keypad with several motion detectors installed throughout the home, along with sensors that tell the central system when a window or exterior door has been opened. More expensive systems may also include monitors for hazards other than intrusion, such as carbon monoxide poisoning and flooding. Surveillance cameras are typically only included in the most expensive systems.