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Staying Safe - Home Security Trends

For homeowners wanting "the works," systems can range as high as $25,000, says Knepp, and be wired to communicate with home automation systems or to grant access via Internet or cell phone from anywhere in the world.

Specific sensors can be installed to maintain temperatures in special rooms, such as wine cellars or art displays, or to allow homeowners to check in on service personnel. Pool areas can be outfitted to alert homeowners to disturbances — or the hot tub can be heated before the family arrives home for the night!

Other types of monitors stand watch for carbon monoxide, water flooding and broken windows.

Security cameras, more often than not, are not part of monitored systems, but can be installed for homeowner use. A set of four cameras and a monitor, for example, were available recently on the Internet for just $700 while one local company quoted $1,500 to install a pair.

A more extreme theft deterrent is finding a place in a select number of homes. Banditsolutions.com recently unveiled a fog deployment system that emits a thick, white fog, filling an entire room within three seconds. A basic unit costs $3,500.

Regardless of loud sirens, fine-tuned sensors and burglar-spooking fogs, perhaps the most important component in any security system is off-site monitoring.

"The electronics that are in your house are just half the battle," Knepp says. "The other component, and the one that's most important, is the actual office where monitoring takes place. It's really important to have someone local who's keeping an eye on things."

He adds, "Not only are you shopping for the bits and pieces that make up your security system, but also for the service and maintenance of the system. That's really what home security is all about. What's behind that siren."

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