Home Security System Installation

Home Evaluation for Security System Installation
Before a home security system installation can take place, a security sales consultant will visit your home.  The purpose of the visit is to explain the different systems and pricing options.

But the key part of the visit is to evaluation your home to determine the best type of system to install.

What kind of target is your house for crime?

The consultant will first evaluate your home from the perspective of a “would be” burglar.  Some things that they will take into consideration include:

1. Location of home in relation to other homes.  Are your neighbors close or far away.  Is there a lot of activity on the street.  Is the a Neighborhood Crime Watch sign in the neighborhood.
2. Does the house appear to be accessible?  Can a burglar hide behind bushes, trees, sheds, cars, boats, alcoves, or blind corners?
3. Is there a fence on the property.  Fences are both positive and negative.  While they do provide a deterrent to burglars, if they will be able to break in because a fence hides their activity from the neighbors, that’s not good.
4. Do the windows and doors appear secure or are they old and vulnerable to forced entry.

After this evaluation, the Security Sales Consultant will ask about the typical and the home life and typical routine of the family, including:

1. Number of residents, any children?
2. Do the parents both work and are away from the house during the day?
3. Do you take frequent trips?
4. How long have you lived in the neighborhood?
5. Will ask about the neighborhood and any instances of recent burglary activity.
6. What concerns do you have that you feel you need a security system alarm?
7. D0 you have pets?

Security System Design

Next step is to walk through the house to determine a design for a security system.   The process includes evaluation and analysis of the following areas:

1. Best location for the security system keypad.  Do you need more than one.  This can be convenient if you regularly enter the house from the garage, which may be a distance away from another point of entry, live a front door.
   Or you may want to have a keypad in an upstairs location.
2. How many entry point contacts do you need?  This includes points of possible entry like doors and windows.
3. Most home security systems will come with a motion sensor.  This is put in a high traffic area, and acts like a “trap” when the intruder passes through the motion sensor’s range.
4. Where to install the control panel?  This is the brains of the security system.  They are usually placed in a basement or closet.  The control panel should be in an area that is protected, either a windowless area, or within range of a motion sensor.

Recommendation: It is best to have both spouses participate in this process.  Many times it will come to light that one spouse’s process of entering or exiting the house is different than the other spouse’s understanding.  Also, it eliminates the need for moving equipment due to a pattern of activity that was not considered.

Design a Security System that provides the best protection within your budget.

The goals of the Security Sales Consultant is to design an affordable system that give the most protection, while staying within the home owner’s budget.

A homeowner should consider what level of security they are comfortable with.  You can build Fort Knox, but most intruders will take the path of least resistance, namely, a door or easily accessible window.

However, depending upon the size and configuration of the house, you may want to include equipment that is in addition to the basic home  security package.

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