How to Compare Home Security Systems And Providers

So, you've decided to buy an alarm or home security system. Now what?

For most of us the first step is to head to the internet, open up a browser and type "home security system" and maybe the name of your city, or a few random qualifiers such as cheap, effective or deals. This approach can be good for some people, and confusing for others, depending on whether or not you know what you want already.

The internet is great for researching any subject; it is also great for buying a product. But the internet is can be tricky if you are trying to research a product you may want to buy. When you enter your search query, most of the websites that come up will be trying to sell you on a product, some directly others indirectly. For example, the search 'home security,' returns about 5,850,000 results. The first few results are probably going to be the top national retailers, and different pages on their site. After that the vast majority of those sites are going to be authorized retailers or affiliate marketers.

That's not a bad thing at all, especially if you already know the provider you are looking for. However, if you are just starting your query into home security systems then these kinds of results are going to be less helpful.

So How Do You Find Information About Home Security Providers?

If you are in the latter camp, and have not already made up your mind about a home security system or provider, then you need to be more targeted in your search queries. There are a few ways to get a good idea of their differences. How do you sift through all the sites and makes sense of the claims and services? How should you compare providers, systems, and deals?

The easy answer is you need to know the terms of comparison. You can compare apples to oranges if you have some base terms, such as 'tree-hanging fruit,' 'juice consumption,' 'vitamins and nutrients.' When you know how to compare home security systems and providers, then you can accurately begin to judge how they compare.

What follows are a few guidelines to help you understand how to compare home security providers and systems. Once you have an idea of the language being used, you can understand what is being said by the different companies.

Company To Company Comparison

Experience - There are many fields and industries in which being 'new' is an asset. Home security is not necessarily one of them. Innovation is not restricted to start up and up-and-coming companies. When you are considering who is going to be protecting your home, your family and your possessions, often times the older, proven, trusted companies are a safer option. And there are number of reasons why.

Innovation - Many young companies, and smaller, local security providers, may have started out with a new approach or innovative method to help protect your home. But the question remains, will they be able to consistently innovate? If they are a one trick pony, what happens to your home when that trick gets old? Older security providers have years and years of experience and have been forced to adapt to the ever changing climate of home security, and break-in prevention. Some of the older providers have been around for over one hundred years, and the only way that they will have been able to stay in business is to embrace innovation. That having been said, some local companies may be the first on the scene with a new technology.

Infrastructure - The home security provider's main roles are to monitor your home security system, and react if an alarm is triggered. For them to be able to do this, they need a lot of resources. A connection to your alarm, the ability to receive alerts immediately, a way to communicate directly with you, and a connection to local emergency response teams. Smaller companies may be better connected in your community, but lack the technology necessary to adequately manage a network of alarm systems, monitoring equipment and personnel. And if something should happen to their monitoring center, they could experience a monitoring blackout, leaving your home unsecured.

Established home security providers usually have a large network of monitoring centers that are staffed full time by professional dispatchers. One of the many benefits of having interconnected monitoring centers is to ensure coverage no matter what. For example, if a home security provider has 5 monitoring centers, if any one of them loses power or in some other way is unable to handle incoming alerts, the signals automatically get forwarded to one of their other monitoring centers. In this way the monitoring service you pay for is never interrupted.

In summary - Prices between older, national providers and local companies are more or less equal. Established providers tend to have more resources and a better infrastructure. So unless the local start-up has a particular device, technology or business model that attracts you in particular, the established brands are a safer bet.

And when talking about home security, safer is always better.

Home security Equipment

The next way to compare home security systems is to look at the systems themselves. Security systems are easily adaptable to different needs and homes. While there are too many variations to be able to touch on all the different points here, there are a few important things to keep in mind.

Wired v Wireless Systems - Home security on the whole has moved towards using wireless home security systems as opposed to the more traditional hard-wired ones. There are many reasons for this; wireless systems are easier to install, easier to update and harder to tamper with. Traditional alarm systems require drilling and running cables from the different sensors to the control panel. This can be costly and time consuming. And if you ever want to add more devices, you have to go through the process again. Wireless systems get rid of these problems.

Installation - While there are hundreds of resources out there to help you with DIY home security system installation, there really is no need to worry about this. Most security providers include free professional installation with their basic packages, so you don't have to worry about it. The added bonus of having your security system professionally installed is that the installation technician will verify that it is installed properly and that you know all of the ins and outs.

Additional Safety Measures - You may also be interested in seeing if your chosen security provider offers monitoring for additional dangers beyond home invasion. Most home alarm systems can work in tandem with various sensors for situations, like fire alarms, carbon monoxide poisoning and even flooding. Just as a security dispatcher will follow up on any sign of a break-in, they will follow up on any of these situations.

Know You Know What To Look For

Now that you have an idea of the general terms of the home security conversation, you are ready to begin your research and make your choice. Remember if you are looking for information on home security systems or providers, as opposed to ways to purchase them, you need to indicate as much to the browser. If you include words like 'reviews' or 'comparison' to your search query then you will be able to find home security system reviews or comparisons and avoid some of the direct sales pages.

For a long time now John has written about home services such as satellite TV and home security. A fan of anything that makes life more enjoyable or easier at home, he is constantly looking to help people with his suggestions.

Get started with your search for the right alarm system by reading more about security systems.