Monday, January 25, 2010

Service Maintenance on Your Security System

A home's security system should be inspected annually to ensure that each device is working properly. Smoke detectors should be cleaned; panel batteries should be replaced every three to four years; sirens and motion detectors need to be professionally tested to ensure proper operation.

Checking these items reduces the possibilities of false alarms and will help to ensure that your security system functions properly when called upon. In these times, maintaining your investments are more important then ever.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Security Cameras and Video

One of the more exciting discoveries home owners are finding is the affordability and the ease of owning cameras. With technology prices going down, it is a cost effective security measure. Certain cameras allow a homeowner to view the images online over the Internet, or to receive alerts and images over their cell phone. Each system is custom designed for the particular application. All that is needed is access to the internet. Check out some ideas for these systems on the Atronic Alarms web site.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Benefit to Local Security Monitoring

When in comes to monitoring your home alarm or business system, there are many large national security companies who have their monitoring in a centralized location. This location may not be in your city, your area, or even your state. Using local monitoring stations assures that the company is familiar with the location of your home or business, understands municipalities and what their emergency protocol is, and that they are even aware of outside environmental factors. Did it recently flood? Did your area just get hit with an ice storm that knocked out power lines and telephones? Another benefit to monitoring your system through a local company is that it supports your city.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Reasons to Call Your Security Alarm Company

If you have an alarm system, there are many reasons to contact your security company. The first is to make sure your system receives a tune-up and is tested annually. A security system is much like a car; if you keep it tuned-up your investment will last you a long time. The service technicians will test all devices and clean out your smoke detectors. This helps in eliminating false alarms do to dust build-up or equipment malfunction that may have not been noticed without the inspection.

The second reason is to update your call list. If phone numbers change or people on your list change, it is vital that the central monitoring station have this information. If they receive a signal indicating there is trouble at the property they are monitoring, they need to be able to get a hold of you or with someone who can either get in the house or make some decisions. You also need to let the central monitoring station know when you are leaving on vacation. There was once a client who left for Europe and their basement flooded, setting off their water-bug device. Central station knew to contact the house keeper to let the needed people inside the home to clean it up. Very little was ruined because it was caught in time.

The third reason is to keep yourself updated on the new equipment and technological opportunities that the security industry has for you. If your system is over 10 years old, there may be a newer, more advanced system that will provide you with much more features such as internet monitoring, video monitoring, text messaging and lighting features. Atronic Alarms has always said that if it isn't broke, "don't fix it." However, you may want to look at what the newer models can do for you to see if investing in an upgrade would be beneficial.