The safety and security of our homes should always be a top priority. I am always looking at our home security and things that happen in our local community thinking things are getting worse and how can I avoid being that guy uploading complains to social media about my house or car being broken into.
It is essential to evaluate and enhance our home security measures regularly to avoid falling foul of criminals. I am going to highlight importance of how I personally invested in an intruder alarm system, CCTV installation, and an electric gate system and how you could benefit by implementing these comprehensive security solutions, so you can enjoy peace of mind and safeguard their loved ones and property.
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Intruder Alarm System: A Strong First Line of Defence
An intruder alarm system is a fundamental component of any home security strategy. It acts as a powerful deterrent, alerting you and neighbours to potential break-ins or trespasses. Modern alarm systems come equipped with advanced features, including motion sensors, door/window sensors, and control panels with smartphone integration. These systems can be tailored to your specific needs, providing round-the-clock protection and real-time alerts in case of unauthorized entry. We opted to install an AJAX Alarm system as the technology behind it and the mobile app was head and shoulders above the rest of the competition and their background in IT technology showed forward thinking over legacy understanding of others.
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Installing CCTV Systems: Keeping watch at home or away
Trying to find quality CCTV is an issue and there are so many options to choose from. Professional CCTV technology isn’t user friendly and Friendly CCTV isn’t professional.
I had to make a compromise but with the help of Charged Services in Essex. I opted for Hikvision CCTV. Now I would say I probably wouldn’t of gone for Hikvision if I didn’t have the support and installation from Charged as the system is complicated. I had seen mixed reviews but also found “professional” installers fitting them with really poor image quality. Charged explained why this is and demonstrated multiple customer systems in totally different conditions and the differences that was required when setting up each camera to achieve quality picture. Where as devices like the Eufy Solar power 4k cameras seem to just deliver a quality image without the need for a professional CCTV installation. So I think making this choice yourself I would consider if you have the budget and are in Essex in the UK, then contacting Charged Services will be a good start. If you cant get access to a quality installation company then you may just be better with using a top quality retail CCTV product like the Eufy system, which also has the benefit of the doorbell and other smart home products.
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Installing Electric Driveway Gates: Controlled Access and Enhanced Safety
An electric driveway gate system not only adds a touch of elegance to your property but also offers increased security and control over who enters your premises. With an electric gate, you can regulate access, preventing unauthorized individuals from entering your property. Additionally, electric gates provide convenience, allowing you to open and close the gates remotely, eliminating the need to manually operate them. Integrating access control systems, such as intercoms or smartphone-based gate opening, further enhances security and ensures only authorized visitors are granted entry. Where we are in Essex, Car crime has been on the rise and I just felt that I was paranoid that people where able to come up when I was home or not and look around our property easily. A lot of people said I was being paranoid and that doesn’t happen but after speaking to a few installers, they showed us footage of exactly that happening. Middle of the night people were wandering up driveways checking door handles, looking through house windows etc completely brazen with no fear. I had always wanted electric gates where I lived before but again it was an expensive investment and we had some space issues so getting a gate to fit was always going to be difficult. While searching for gate installers and CCTV installation companies I was lucky because I came across Charged Services who did both and they was already on my list to contact about the security system and I was pleased to be able to use one company for the whole project. So once we had been in touch it was nice to just tell them what I wanted and have them handle everything. Integrating the gate system with the CCTV and alarm system etc the whole process was a breeze.
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Comprehensive Security Solutions for Maximum Protection
While each individual system has its benefits there are also gaps in their protection which will be sort to exploit by criminals. If you have an alarm system, generally they don’t do perimeter protection so you can still get intruders lurking around your property looking for a way in. Our Ajax alarm from Charged has external sensors so our alarm triggers early before a break-in would occur which I was happy with but its only in close proximity to the actual house.
Combining the alarm system with a CCTV system gives you earlier warning. Your cameras depending on the model can be set to send alerts to your smartphone if a human is detected in the perimeter of your property. If its something you need to worry about then you can remotely trigger your alarm siren to scare them off or call the police to say your watching a break in occurring, which could get you a response before the worst happens!
The Electric Gates and fencing really finishes the system off making it very difficult to gain entry to the property in the first place. Visitors will use the Intercom entry system or the Remootio 3 Smart gate opener key and we are alerted of their entry so we know there is nothing to worry about and our property is safe. If we get an alert on our CCTV or alarm system without having had the alert from our secure gate entry then we know we need to pay attention to it and potentially we have an intruder. But so far everything has worked well and although our neighbours have had intruders since we had our installation I feel our property is now less desirable to criminals as it is just far easier to go to another property than to try anything at ours. I know it sounds bad, But Id rather my neighbours get burgled than us. Hopefully they will follow our example though and secure their property and if we all make the effort the criminal gangs will target other areas that aren’t taking their security as seriously.
Conclusion:
When it comes to implementing these security measures, consulting with security professionals is crucial and question them on their knowledge, it’s a big expense and if your paying for their expertise then they should be able to demonstrate that they know more than you do, If your getting a “Fitter” and not an engineer then at least you know and you can pay accordingly but be prepared to manage the project yourself. If you don’t have the knowledge or experience to plan your system yourself then maybe even contacting a company further away that do have the expertise and pay them a design fee to organise it all for you and then make use of local fitters to install what the other company designed for you. At least this way they possess the knowledge and expertise to assess your property’s vulnerabilities and design a customized security system that meets your specific requirements. Then you can manage the installation yourself. Professional installation ensures that each component works seamlessly together, maximizing its effectiveness and minimizing potential vulnerabilities and also gives you the warranty from the company for the installation.