My family and I are about to move into a 10,000 square foot home on 5 acres. It is in a nice quiet neighborhood adjacent to a country club and about thirty miles west of the Twin Cities. Security is the most important priority for my family right now because we have small children. What is the best security system available for this type of living situation? 24/7 camera surveillance by a specialist would be a plus. Thank you.
i have two ways i do my camera surveillance here at my place the first is i went to "xten" and got a package deal and set it up and the second was i invested in some small camcorder and with xten
modules i was able to use them around the house and we put our cameras in home made bird house
Depends on what you want to spend. Cameras are one thought but must be manned 24/7. Motion detectors both around the perimeter but also other areas of the property……..driveway, approaches to back doors, etc with alarms are another. House alarm.
Here you will not find the answer. You need to talk to multiple security agencies to find out who has what.
Lock your kids up in the dungeon.
You’ll definitely want to shop around and see what kind of security system fits within whatever budget you’ve set aside for this kind of thing. You can get an idea for all the different kinds of things that are out there if you check out SpyTown.com. There are some excellent systems on there, and you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised at the prices.
Hope this helps!
Hire professionals.
There are camera systems out there that pan, tilt and zoom intelligently based on movement. These cameras, in conjunction with a burlgary alarm system can be remotely monitored by a local security company or an alarm company and they can contact you or send an appropriate response when they see something suspicious.
You need professionals, and high end ones, to make sure the right hardware goes in, the automation reduces human intervention to a bare minimum and that protocols are set up and in place to make sure that when human intervention is required false alarms are handled quickly and efficiently.
This system will not be cheap, you’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars in hardware and manpower.
Hope this was some help.
I second the answer below to hire out professionals. If you are living in a 10,000 square foot estate, then I would invest in a good security system. What about hiring a person for security? Security systems are passive. They record, they send alarms. People are active on the other hand. They can act. A security guard from a local company could be at your house 24 / 7. That might be overkill, but it always goes back to what you are trying to protect. If you don’t want to go that route, then install some passive systems such as cameras or alarms. Have them monitored by a good security company. Go with a cellular backup type alarm (more info – http://www.teepeetech.com/wireless-security-systems/backup-cellular-your-home-security-system-7.html ). When your alarm goes off, it sends a signal to the alarm company. If it sends it via your land phone line, then someone can cut that line and disable your security system.
Install some good lighting outside. Consider how you enter into your home. Do you pull your car into a garage that is enclosed or not? You are most vulnerable at several times, when you get out of your car, when you answer the door, when you are asleep, when you are not at the house, when your kids are in the yard and you are inside.
Here are a couple of things to consider doing. How old are your kids? If they are over 5 I would recommend getting a small dog. Maybe a terrier like a Schnauzer. They are hypoallergenic and they will bark when they sense danger. Buy one from a good breeder. They cost around $1,500 but are well worth it.
Go to your local martial arts place in town and find a self defense class. Avoid the mystical zen junk. You want to get to point a to b as fast as possible. Point B being able to defend yourself.
Consider getting a gun. Here’s how to do it. Go to a couple of gun stores. Find one that will not only sell you a gun but give you lessons on how to use it. Look for a place with an indoor shooting range. Pick a gun in the 38 caliber. Something you can carry and conceal.
Consider getting a knife to carry. A knife is a great defensive weapon, but use it in conjunction with good training so that you know how to use it.
Don’t let this information scare you. You are likely in a good part of town and you probably won’t have to deal with any of these things, but security systems are passive, people are active. Remember that. Alarm companies can only react to alarms. You can only react to an alarm going off in your house. How will you react, that’s a key question and worth exploring. Of course, we shouldn’t live in fear. Knowledge is power and guns and knives are not all that bad. Especially when you need them.
These are great security tips:
#1. Avoid danger (keep your house well lit, have your neighbors watch it, don’t leave your kids unattended outside)
#2. Try to know when danger is happening. (alarm systems, monitoring companies, dogs, motion lights)
#3 .Decide ahead of time how you will react when there is danger. (get good self defense training)
You need to decide what your cameras are for first and how many will you need? Security cameras are great for certain things but not so good for others. First off how many entrances do you have and did you want the garage doors covered as well.
Generally you’ll want at least one camera on each side of the house and one on the front and back of the garage. ( if you keep cars outside you’ll want one for that too) .
Check out this blog http://spyville.blogspot.com/2008/05/installing-your-own-security-camera.html
there is some good information there on camera placement and installing cameras. You can get a complete camera system 16 cameras for about $1000 dollars with all the accessories to get it installed. This one http://www.spyville.com/complete-video-system.html has remote view and 24/7 tech help included. You can even access the video from your Iphone when you go away.
Setting up a security system will take sometime but in the long run it will be worth it as you will always have a recorded history of what goes on outside the house.
Just remember the best security system is between your ears. Lock stuff up and keep stuff closed criminals are lazy , otherwise they would have jobs, so why make it easy for them.
Good luck on the security system.