Houston Home Security Systems Go Hi-Tech in Housing Bust

Traditionally, home security innovation and purchases have been spurred on by new construction or by new home owners. But the latest trend in Houston home security is riding another wave—the housing downturn. As home sales slow and new construction lies dormant, the home security industry is trying to entice existing homeowners, many of whom already have home alarm systems, with cutting-edge high-tech innovations.

The newest Houston home monitoring trend is to connect your entire home to the Internet. Systems designed by companies like Honeywell International for the Houston home security market go beyond sending out an alarm if a burglar targets your house. Drawing on the same type of wireless technology that lets you unlock your car from your iPhone may soon allow you to turn on your lights, adjust your thermostat, monitor your energy use and watch the rooms in your house from afar from a website or an iPhone app.

The Changing Face of Home Security

Houston, more than many other cities, is a young and upwardly mobile city, with tech-savvy entrepreneurs who look for more value in everything. It’s no longer enough for a home security system to ping the emergency responders if something trips the alarm in your home. With cars that phone home if you get into a fender-bender and cell phones that allow you to track whether your teen is staying under the speed limit, it was about time that the home alarm market joined the future. Today’s typical home alarm system customer wants more than emergency alerts –he’s looking for wraparound services that fit his lifestyle and make his life easier.

The newest Honeywell security system offerings include a service called Total Connect that allows customers to adjust lighting remotely, monitor temperature changes in their homes and remotely unlock the front door for the electrician or the cable guy. That allows you to save your valuable time off from work for more important things like taking in your daughter’s school play. You can even wire your liquor cabinet or medicine chest to alert you if someone happens to open them while you’re not at home.

If you’re still making do with a basic burglar alarm or worse, no home security system at all, call a Houston home security company to learn more about what the future of home security has to offer you.

Alarm System Monitoring—The Other Half of Home Security

A home security system is an important part of ensuring your family’s safety, but if you stop there, you’re only getting half the job done. When you combine a home alarm system with professional alarm system monitoring, you’re doubling down on your investment to make sure that your family has the best protection available.

What is Alarm System Monitoring?

Alarm systems come in many different types and styles. The least expensive and easiest options are those that alert the people in your home that someone has entered, or is trying to enter, the premises. Those basic alarms may scare off an invader or wake you up so that you can defend your own property, but they don’t do much good if no one is home or if your home is fairly isolated.

The next step up is a home security system that alerts an outside monitoring company that something has tripped the alarm in your home. The most basic of these are completely automated, meaning that when the alarm is tripped, your phone automatically dials a pre-programmed number which relays the alarm to local law enforcement or fire officials. Those systems will alert authorities even if no one is home, but they have no way of knowing what type of emergency is happening, or even if there is an emergency. False alarms can make an automated monitoring system far less effective.

When your family’s safety is at stake, the best option is a full security system with 24-hour human monitoring. Houston home security companies that provide alarm system monitoring with professionals who respond immediately and appropriately if the alarm system in your home is tripped. The first response is usually a call to your home to check on things. If you don’t answer the call, or if you indicate distress, the alarm monitor immediately notifies the local police.

In addition to home security monitoring systems, many home security companies offer personal security alarms which can be activated by the person wearing or holding them. These are similar to home security systems in that they allow an individual in trouble to notify an outside party that they need help. This type of system is especially popular with elderly and disabled individuals who are often at home alone. If they fall or otherwise need assistance, they can trigger the alarm, and the security company can respond directly through the device to reassure the family member and get assistance.

Whether you need a home security system or a personal security alarm, the system will be more effective and offer you far more peace of mind if it includes active alarm system monitoring as part of the package.