Parts Needed to Install Your Own Alarm System

• Home alarm systems give homeowners piece of mind when it comes to security.alarm warning notice image by green308 from Fotolia.com
  
  Chances are good that, if you have ever found yourself a victim of a home burglary or a home invasion robbery, you have dedicated a large amount of time wondering how it could have been prevented. Few things are worse than finding that you have become a victim to this type of act. A robbery leaves you feeling defenseless, powerless and ultimately suspicious. Getting over such a crime is difficult, but there are ways to protect yourself so that you know you and your family will never become victims again in your own home.
  
  

Window and Door Sensors

• The heart and soul of any home alarm system is the network of sensors that are placed strategically throughout your home. While the most effective systems place a breach sensor (the type of sensor that trips an alarm if the contact between two plates is broken) at every door and window in your home, this may not be cost effective for you in most cases. If money is an issue, place sensors only on doors and windows that are most likely for a burglar to breach during a break-in. Numerous types of sensors are on the market, but breach sensors are some of the best and most cost effective for home-based uses. Internal motion sensors and laser sensors will trip an alarm if any motion is detected or if a static beam is broken by an intruder. While these are expensive and highly effective, they are also more prone to false alarms triggered by residents of the home.
  
  

Outdoor Cameras and Lighting

• While most basic systems are only geared to the interior of the home, the fact is that you need to protect your entire property, which is why there are a few different types of outdoor perimeter sensors that work similarly to their indoor counterparts. Except, rather than strict breach alarms, the alarms trip if a large enough object passes through an electronic threshold along the perimeter of the property. Surveillance cameras are also a common and helpful tool for outdoor home security systems.
  
  

Central Computer

• You must figure out a way to configure all of the sensors, the alarm, the outdoor cameras and perimeter protection to ensure that it all works seamlessly and efficiently. You will need some form of central processor to ensure that it all runs together; numerous options are on the market, and many of those that are top of the line are wireless control systems that you can place anywhere in the home. You can also carry the central processor anywhere on the property with the alarm system remaining in full control. Many offer the ability for you to patch into the system over the Internet while you are away to keep an eye on things from the road.