According to recent research, the number of burglaries is rising year after year, making homeowners losing billions. Although you cannot always prevent thieves from invading your home, you can invest your money and your time in an excellent home security system.
Home security systems are developed to protect your home and your family, giving you at the same time full control over your house. You just need to install a few smart devices to make your flat a sophisticated place where technology is your ally in keeping intruders away!
Check your door
It may sound too obvious, but your door is the main access point to your house. In other words, you cannot afford a weak and vulnerable door. In the majority of cases, intruders only need to kick any blind spot to strike the plate, the door frame, or even both.
If you are not ready to invest in new doors, you can still check and improve your existing ones. The first thing to do is to remove one of the screws that hold the strake plates to your door. If it is too short, it will automatically make easy for any thief to kick in the door. Just replacing the screws (that should be at least 3-in long) can make a huge difference in your door security.
Nevertheless, you can make your lock even more secure by installing a door jamb or a strike plate reinforcement. These kits are available from any shop at a very reasonable price. They prevent the door jamb from breaking if the door is kicked in while holding the deadbolt lock in place.
Forget your keys (literally)
Although many homeowners still use door locks with physical keys, soon technology may make these systems obsolete. Smart locks make your door considerably more secure and safer. They can be opened using a keypad, finger scan, or your mobile device.
You will no longer need keys. Most importantly, smart locks can be installed without drilling any additional hole in your door. On the other, they are significantly more expensive than a traditional door lock.
Your alarm is your best friend
In a time when everything related to our houses is “smart”, we should not forget the importance of a good, old alarm. These systems are still useful in keeping intruders away from our property and are with no doubts an affordable alternative to many modern home security systems.
Alarms are usually triggered when they sense that one of your doors or windows has been opened. Some of them are also able to detect vibrations through broken glasses and unauthorised movements inside your property.
On the other hand, the majority of these systems do not offer video surveillance or automatically notify the police during a break-in. Nevertheless, they can be very loud (their piercing siren can reach up to 110 decibels) and can thus inform your neighbourhood that something is going on in your flat.
No More Hiding Spots
Take a look at your neighbourhood. Anything can become a hiding spot for burglars, especially well-hidden areas. You can either removes any bush or tree to get rid of these hideaways, or you can protect your home with the right devices.
For instance, you can install motion-sensor outdoor lights. They automatically turn on when they detect motion and are one of the best burglar deterrents. They can be set up everywhere, and you can even buy a wireless model that can be managed from your smartphone or laptop.
Keep an Eye on Your House
Do not forget to monitor what happens inside your home as well. If you do not want to install security cameras, you can rely on webcams. They feed live images from inside your home to your portable device or computer laptop. Some of them offer more features, such as recording capability, noise-cancelling microphones and night vision.
Protect Your Mail
If thieves steal your correspondence, they can access your personal information and, in some cases, steal your identity. Mailboxes are one of the easier targets for intruders, but it is not difficult nor expensive to protect them. A mailbox that can only be opened with a key can make a huge difference.