What can you say about the holidays? They are a great way to spend more time with family, go broke buying the latest gadgets and gizmos, and open your home up to burglars! Now that's a bit of a Scrooge attitude, isn't it? However, theft statistics are not very jolly.
It is reported that a break-in occurs once every 15 seconds in the United States.
Ironically, most of these break-ins will not happen at night-when homeowners are most guarded-but in the daytime hours.
Further statistics reported proven equally Grinchy.
An Angie's List poll recently stated that at least 25% of all polled residents are planning to be away from the home for holiday seasons.
Most of these polled admitted that they have never even considered the security of their home while on vacation.
Indeed, many people don't think about securing the home before traveling.
If people live in a fairly secure area, they presume that other neighbors are watching out for them and that no burglar would dare try to break into a "nice home.
" The only problem is that because everyone presumes the best, no one actually plans for the worst.
Most neighbors are not going to waste valuable time by patrolling the neighborhood.
In a best-case scenario, a neighbor would merely call the police if a loud siren were sounded across the block.
On the other hand, installing a home security system would be a very shrewd idea for protecting a property during vacation time.
Home security systems include advanced motion sensors that can detect unusual movement but still filter out any ordinary pet movements.
Home security systems can also include contacted exterior doors, loud sirens, smoke alarms sensors, carbon monoxide detectors or even surveillance cameras.
What should you look for when choosing a home security system just in time for the holidays? Live monitoring is the most important feature, as this connects homeowners with emergency operators who can summon local authorities to the scene.
This will be of crucial importance if you are traveling away from the home.
Another significant factor will be in call quality.
Some of the best home security companies provide as many as five command centers, all to ensure that every emergency call goes through without interference.
That way, you know that even if a call is dropped from one center it will be immediately forwarded to another center so that operators can continue helping the homeowner.
Another factor to consider is whether the installation (which should always be professionally handled) is hard-wired or wireless.
There are advantages to both, mainly in terms of convenience.
Wireless installation eliminates clutter and also makes keypads and key chain buttons easier to access for homeowners.
If you know you are leaving town for the holidays then don't take your security for granted! Protect your valuables and peace of mind by ordering a professional home security system with live monitoring, battery backup and enhanced automatic sensors.
That way you can rest assured that not even Santa Claus will be able to climb down your chimney without proper authorization!