Let’s face it: Bruce Wayne has all the best gadgets. There’s the Batmobile, the Batcycle, those funny little bat shaped boomerang/throwing-star hybrid weapons, the grappling hook, and all the high tech goodies in the Bat Cave to help him out of almost any situation imaginable. It’s easy to daydream, wishing that we, too, could be that cool. But behind Batman’s cool is an astounding billion dollar inheritance worth enough to fund all his gadgets. Most of us don’t have that kind of financial situation, but we can still enjoy a high tech home with a few comparatively inexpensive tools to fortify our mini-mansions against the bad guys.
Having a modern home security system can at least make you feel like you’re surrounded by advanced technology that helps protect the place you live. In the old days, home security systems were very basic door locks, and mechanical alarms that, when triggered, would sound off and alert you to a break in. Unfortunately, unless you had vigilant neighbors, if you weren’t at home when a break in occurred it would just be a little noisy, and the thief would likely still get away with valuables. Without someone nearby to respond to the alarm, it didn’t do very much good. Today ADT home security, obviously well known around the globe, has moved well beyond the early days of simple burglar alarms that ring loudly when a door is opened by someone without authorization, and into the space of home automation and monitored home security.
Monitored home security systems can be as simple or as complex as your budget and imagination allow. By monitored, I mean that if any of the circumstances you have set up as parameters for a breach in your home’s security take place, a real person is going to instantly know about it. For example: you are away on vacation and you have armed your monitored home security system. It consists of automation of interior and exterior lighting, as well as sensors on windows and doors. The sensors are able to detect motion and when windows or doors are opened. If this happens, your monitoring agent immediately gets a signal and attempts to contact you at the home in question. As soon as that attempt fails, emergency personnel are dispatched to the address: police, fire, and rescue will arrive shortly, assuming that something has gone wrong.
What makes this Batman-like is the fact that you can have apps installed on your compatible mobile devices that will let you watch, in real time, what is happening via surveillance cameras on your property. You can also be alerted if the monitoring center activates a response to a crime or other emergency situation. These also work when you are still around town, but just not at home. Imagine that you are at work, and you want to know when your kids get home from school in the afternoon. With an app, you can be sent an email alert letting you know they made it home safely. You’ll also be alerted if they don’t.
This kind of home security doesn’t cost a lot, for all the peace of mind it offers. If you can’t be Batman, you can at least have you very own super heroic home security system in place to watch after you. Do you have high tech home security? Share your comments.
This is a Guest Post written by: Katya Fjiorda
Katyais a blogger who enjoys home improvement and gardening. She is a professional landscaper and contributes to her local chapter of the Humane Society.
