Is a Dummy Home Security Camera Economical?

A home security camera is one way to protect your home against would be burglars. A home security camera system is essentially one or more small cameras that are mounted, usually, on the exterior of your home to deter would be burglars. A home security camera typically works in conjunction with a home security system. In many cases the home security camera is activated by motion and can swivel to begin filming in the direction in which motion is detected. The home security camera will transmit the images that it views to a monitor where it can be viewed and recorded. Purchasing a home security camera for several locations on your property and the monitoring and recording equipment can be quite expensive. A home security camera has been proven to be an effective burglary deterrent and for these reasons some homeowners opt for a dummy home security camera to deter burglars without the high price of a real home security camera.

The question, however, is whether or not a dummy home security camera can really be an effective way to protect your home from burglary. There really is no simple answer to this question. A dummy home security camera that is very convincing and can be difficult to distinguish from a real home security camera might be effective. The more the dummy camera looks like the real thing, the more likely it is to fool burglars. The problem with this is that the more realistic the dummy security camera looks, the more expensive it will be. The price may still be lower than a real camera but it may be close enough in price that a real home security camera might be a better option. There are many dummy home security cameras that can be purchased for very little money but when the price is lower so is the quality of the replication. A dummy home security camera that is clearly a fake will not be effective when it comes to deterring burglars.

For many determining whether or not a dummy security camera is an economical choices has more to do with effectiveness than it does with finances. A dummy security camera may certainly be an affordable home security option but if is not effective, it will turn out be very costly. A real home security camera will more than pay for itself if it prevents you from losing valuable or irreplaceable pieces of property. A real home security camera not only acts as a burglary deterrent but in the event that the burglars do enter your property, a real security camera can record valuable evidence that might be useful in regaining your property.

Home security tips -- Good lighting helps prevent crimes

It is obvious that lighting plays a critical role in making your home safer. Yet, many homeowners don't plan it well from the viewpoint of security. Here are several critical home security tips on lighting.

* All sides of your home should have security lighting in place, placed high out of reach. Make sure it is reasonably vandal resistant.

* Lighting near doors is especially important, because burglars tend to focus on doors the most.

* To reduce risk of burglary, any lighting is better than no lighting. If you see that any portion of the house or yard is not adequately lit, take care of it.

* Your garage is another critical area of your home. Make use of an automatic garage opener. Most garage openers turn on one or more lights when activated.

* To protect your carport, leave a light on. If you are going away, have a light set on a timer. Also have lights activated by motion detectors to deter intruders.

* In general, lights attached to motion detectors are the best choice for exteriors, particularly for the backyard. Connect an alarm as well and you will immediately get to know if someone moves around in your yard.

* Some people hesitate to use motion sensor type lighting because of the false alarms caused by small animals like cats and dogs. Proper placement of the motion sensors as well as correct settings for sensitivity will take care of this problem to a large extent.

* Using motion sensors in the front of the house requires careful planning, because they can be triggered by people walking on the sidewalk or by children playing. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to hook lights to motion sensors.

* Many people leave just a small light on when going out. This is done to avoid walking into a dark home when returning. Examples include hallway lights or a light in one corner of the kitchen / living room.

Unfortunately, this kind of lighting signals to would-be burglars that no one is home.

The solution is to leave several lights on. Leave a radio on as well. When going on a vacation, put interior lights and a radio on timers.

As you can see, your objective is twofold. One, to ensure that lighting can reach all nooks and corners of your home and yard on demand. Two, your home should look occupied even when it is not.

Follow these simple home security tips on lighting and you will have gone a long way towards creating a safer home for you and your family.

James Strobes is a home and office security consultant. For information on home security in general, wireless home security systems and more, see the foregoing links

The Top 5 Home Security System Components

Advancing technology is making more and more sophisticated home security equipment available to the average person to help them keep their home and family safe and secure. There are a lot of choices to make when setting up a good home security system plan, and here are some of the top security system components that should be considered as you do:

1. Having a basic alarm system that is triggered when someone opens an outside door or window is a great start, but there are ways for experienced burglars to get around such a system. So a very good secondary line of defense in case of a break-in is having motion detectors installed in every room of the home. They can be located in one of the ceiling corners so they are not obtrusive and can have a good view of the entire room. If you are way from home, these are great tools to detect a home intrusion because of the motion inside the house and sound the alarm as needed.

2. Alarm system monitoring services are another significant upgrade to the standard home alarm system. A monitoring service will be connected to your alarm by phone line and if the alarm is triggered they will first attempt to contact you as the homeowner on a predetermined phone number to be sure that the alarm has not been accidentally set off. If they cannot get you they call the local law enforcement to investigate the situation.

3. Adding video cameras to your home alarm system is another great upgrade that can keep you well-informed on all that is going on outside your home at all times. Surveillance video cameras have become so small and durable that they can now be placed outside the home at the most important spots and even be equipped with motion detectors that will sense when movement is taking place in it's protected area. It can then notify you if you are home or just turn on a video recorder to capture the activity if you are absent.

4. A home safe is another valuable home security component. If for some reason thieves do manage to get past all of your security system defenses, a home safe can thwart all their efforts. Burglars do not want to spend a lot of time inside a home as every minute that they are inside increases the possibility that they can be detected and apprehended for their crime. A well placed and solidly installed home safe makes all the hard work and effort that they will have to go through to get into it much harder to justify, and so often prevents the theft of your most valuable possessions.

5. Including other monitoring systems along with your home security system can be very valuable for peace of mind too. Often companies can hook in a fire alarm system to the main alarm too, and if the fire alarm is triggered the appropriate fire station will be notified. Personal and medical alarms can be integrated this way too and that can be especially valuable for those with severe health problems and the elderly who live alone.

Considering these home security components when you either buy or upgrade your existing home security system can enhance your overall home security plans.

Find out more about a home security system and home security alarms by visiting our Home Security Review website.