Successful home security

Consistency, common sense and cool technology work together to make your home safe.

HOME IMPROVEMENT | DiAnne Crown

For Michelle Tjelmeland, a good home security system is about personal safety. Various zones in her Springfield home are wired and monitored with door chimes, motion sensors, sirens and flashing lights set to signal a breakin, fire, sump pump failure and much more, all of which can be controlled from multiple keypads in the house as well as via Tjelmeland’s smart phone. “We have it so we can be safe,” says Tjelmeland of the sophisticated home monitoring system Young’s Security Systems, Inc., installed several months ago. But its features do much more than that, according to Jim Havey, president of Young’s Security.

Bells, sirens, apps and cameras

“The Honeywell Professional System and Total Connect application give you more control of your home,” he says. You can save energy by controlling your heating, cooling and lighting, arm and disarm the system, monitor activity with cameras, receive alerts in case of detectable carbon monoxide and more – whether you are home or not. “Because all of the features are integrated into one application, you have the ability to automate and control your home, and do video surveillance, all with your smartphone.”

Young’s base system costs $395 and includes one control panel, three door contacts, one motion detector, a key fob, cellular communicator, yard signs, window stickers and installation. The system can be expanded to include such features as window contacts, glass break protection, surveillance cameras, smoke and heat detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, additional key pads and key fobs, and more.

Young’s is one of several national and local home security providers that serve the Springfield area, including George Alarm, Central Illinois Security, Vivint, ADT and others. To select what’s right for your home, consider the cost of the system and monitoring, the flexibility of the system to meet your personal, family and pet needs, how long you’re planning to stay in this home, whether the system is proprietary to one provider or can be monitored by another company if you wish to make a change, conditions of equipment warranties, the length of any required service contracts, the average time it takes for a technician to provide service, whether the company is listed with the Underwriters Laboratory, and the ability of the system to accommodate quality cameras.

Homeowners who are serious about the surveillance aspect of security choose live monitoring with recorded video. There are two basic options: camera systems rented or purchased from the security company and linked to a website that is accessible for a monthly fee, and camera systems available from retail electronics stores that can be operated and monitored with a smartphone without a subscription.

For approximately $200 at Best Buy, an expandable Swann two-camera DVR system, complete with night vision, can monitor your premises, record all motion and be viewed via smartphone without a monthly fee.

Consistency and common sense

The standard home security line is, “If burglars want to get in, they’ll get in.” So, according to the Springfield Police Department, your goals should be to make your home look like too much trouble to break into, and use common sense approaches to slow down a break-in long enough to allow neighbors and patrol cars to see and identify the would-be burglar and force him or her to leave behind evidence that can be collected and used for identification.

In addition to conscientiously using your cool new security system, employ these security tips from Officer Matthew Goulet, coordinator of Crime Stoppers of Sangamon and Menard Counties.

• Install motion sensor lighting. “Lighting is the number one deterrent against those trying to break in,” says Goulet.

• Keep your doors and windows locked. Anyone trying to get in will have to use force (which will take longer, be more trouble and make more noise).

• Don’t let mail and newspapers accumulate. These are obvious signs no one is home.

• Keep bushes and other vegetation trimmed and trees limbed up so your property is easily visible from the sidewalk and street.

• Request a free home security inspection by the Springfield Police. Call 788-8324 to schedule.

• Request Vacation Check for extra Springfield Police Department supervision of your property. Call 788-8325 to schedule. You’ll be asked to provide an emergency contact name and phone number and such details about the property as whether any lights are on timers, if you’ll be leaving a car parked in the driveway, if there is an alarm system, etc. “I encourage people to use that proactive program to keep their property safe,” says Goulet.

For more information, www.safewise.com offers useful information on how to choose a home security system and an interactive map of vulnerable points in and outside of the home www.safewise.com/you-gotrobbed. Young’s Security Systems, Inc. also has a website, youngs-security.com

DiAnne Crown of Springfield has been a frequent contributor to Illinois Times.