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<p>The main purpose of a <a href="https://www.ansjer.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">smart home security system</a> is to keep your property and the people inside it safer. Harm may come in the form of a burglary, home invasion, fire, flood, or other environmental disaster, and most smart home security systems can monitor for all of these. They use a combination of sensors that communicate over radio frequencies or wires to a central hub, which then communicates with the outside world using a cellular connection or occasionally a landline. The hub is generally a touch screen mounted to your wall or a small box placed on a counter or in a cupboard.</p><p>The sensors are installed strategically around your home at entry points such as doors and first-floor windows, as well as in hallways and high-traffic areas. They detect when a door or window is opened or closed, when someone is moving around in your home, or both. When the system is armed, it sends an alert to the hub after a sensor is triggered. The hub then sounds an audible alarm, sends you a notification (a phone call, text, or a notification on a mobile app), and can alert a monitoring center if you have professional monitoring.</p><p>With professional monitoring, trained security company employees track the signals from your system and attempt to contact you and the relevant authorities if a potential threat is detected. All professionally installed security systems require professional monitoring contracts for up to three years. Most DIY systems give you the choice of using professional monitoring with no long-term commitment.</p><p>Today, most smart home security systems are wireless and don’t require a landline or electrical work to install. Here is a rundown of the common security alarm features and what each one does:</p><p><strong>Control panel or hub</strong></p><p>This is the heart of a security system. It uses radio signals to communicate with your security sensors, you, and the monitoring center. Most feature a built-in keypad or another way to manually arm and disarm the system.</p><p><strong>Key fob and/or keypad</strong></p><p>These are additional ways to arm or disarm the system. Often a keypad is built into the system’s hub, but you can buy additional keypads, which can be helpful if you have more than one exterior door. With a wireless smart system, you can also use an app on your smartphone to manage the alarm.</p><p><strong>Contact sensors</strong></p><p>These are small, plastic, battery-powered devices consisting of a sensor and a magnet. You place the sensor on one part of a door or window and the magnet on the other. When the door or window opens, the contact between them breaks and a signal is sent to the hub.</p><p><strong>Motion sensors</strong></p><p>These slightly larger plastic, battery-powered devices are generally placed up high to cover areas people have to move through when they're in your home. These mainly use a technology called passive infrared that detects movement by sensing body heat.</p><p><strong>Glass-break sensors</strong></p><p>A glass-break sensor listens for the sound of broken glass and generally has a range of about 25 feet. They're a good option in homes with large pets who may trigger motion sensors. Because a contact sensor can be bypassed if a burglar shatters a window and then climbs through to gain access into your home, a glass-break sensor is a good secondary measure for windows and sliding glass doors.</p><p><strong>High-decibel sirens</strong></p><p>While today’s wireless technologies provide many sophisticated ways to scare off burglars, there’s nothing better than a good old-fashioned piercing alarm to alert you and your neighbors to potential danger. All smart home security systems offer an interior siren. Most are built into the hub, and many have the option of adding an external siren. Generally, these emit a noise somewhere between 80 and 115 decibels.</p><p><strong>Yard sign and stickers</strong></p><p>Brightly colored signs advertising your smart home security system are standard equipment and are your first line of defense. Many burglars won’t even attempt to break in when they see them. <span style="color: rgb(17, 90, 191);">Professor Joe Kuhns</span> of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at UNC Charlotte conducted a <span style="color: rgb(17, 90, 191);">study</span> among incarcerated burglars to find out what motivates and deters them. “The burglars themselves suggested to us that if they saw indications of an alarm system, whether that's a sign or a visible camera, they would simply go elsewhere,” Kuhns says.</p><p><strong>Cameras</strong></p><p>Surveillance cameras aren’t a standard piece of equipment, but they are the most popular add-on, according to the security companies we spoke with. The most common types include video doorbells that connect using your existing doorbell wiring and send you an alert when there’s motion at your front door or when someone presses your doorbell. Also popular are weatherproof outdoor cameras that are either plugged into an outdoor socket or routed to an indoor socket (usually by drilling a hole through your wall). Some companies offer battery-powered cameras if you want to avoid wiring entirely, but you'll have to charge them periodically. Indoor cameras are also popular, and they can be plugged into an indoor socket. Most cameras can detect motion and send alerts, some can specifically detect people, and a few can even recognize different faces. Cameras record video in one of two ways: continuous recording or motion-detected recording. The former is generally more expensive and records 24/7, indicating on a visual timeline when it saw something, while the latter records video only when it detects motion.</p><p><strong>Environmental sensors</strong></p><p>Sensors that detect smoke, heat, carbon monoxide, water, and temperature can protect you and your home from fire, frozen pipes, and gas poisoning. These sensors don’t come standard with most security systems, however. Some DIY systems don’t offer professional monitoring of environmental sensors, so be sure to check if this is something you want.</p>
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