Why Professional Home Security Monitoring Is Worth the Investment
To say the home security market is saturated is to state the obvious. Big names like Vivint and ADT now face stiff competition from DIY providers like SimpliSafe and Ring. Consumers can even build their own systems from the ground up by utilizing open-source security and home automation apps deployed on Raspberry Pis and other similar devices. But in terms of determining the best, it often comes down to monitoring.
Someone needs to monitor a home security system, or it becomes nothing but a very expensive noisemaker. So consumers can either pay for monitoring services or handle monitoring themselves. DIY monitoring is obviously the less expensive option. It costs nothing to monitor a system by way of your smartphone.
That begs the question: is professional home security monitoring worth the investment? That depends on your perspective. You could buy a Vivint system and get 24/7 monitoring with or without a contract. You could also monitor the system yourself. Allow me to make the case for paying for professional services.
1. Professionals Are Fully Trained
Professional monitoring’s biggest advantage is the actual people paying attention to your system. They are fully trained professionals who know exactly what to do if an alarm is triggered. Why is this important? Consider the following:
- Non-Emergencies – Not all alarm triggers represent actual emergencies. And in fact, most do not. Do you know how to tell the difference? Trained professionals do. They know when to contact the local authorities and when to contact you instead.
- Genuine Emergencies– When genuine emergencies occur, training ensures a professional will not panic. Training ensures an appropriate and timely response. Can you say with confidence that you will not panic if your smoke alarm goes off?
- False Alarms– Trained personnel are more adept at identifying false alarms. This is quite helpful if your local law enforcement assesses penalties after reaching a false alarm threshold.
It is hard to beat professional training. If you want monitoring left in the hands of someone who does it for a living, professional monitoring is your only real option.
2. Faster Response Times
Modern service providers typically contact homeowners, whether a genuine emergency exists. Making contact with homeowners is good during non-emergency events because it lets them know that something at home needs attention. Homeowners benefit most from contact during genuine emergencies.
Imagine cameras and a door sensor alerting the monitoring center to a burglary. In addition to contacting you, monitoring center personnel will use other components in your system (like interior cameras and motion detectors) to determine whether a burglar has successfully breached your home.
The monitoring center will also contact the police on your behalf. Between them and law enforcement, they can get a handle on what is going on inside your home. They can do all this even while you are in your car and driving to your house. It all adds up to faster response times that you simply would not be capable of were you handling things on your own.
3. Professionals Aren’t Distracted
The most effective home security monitoring service is capable of responding instantaneously. The minute a camera is triggered or a window sensor breaks contact, someone at the remote monitoring center is acting on your behalf. There is little to no delay between the trigger and the action.
As a homeowner, employee, parent, and spouse, you are distracted by a lot of things. Maybe you don’t hear that notification come in because you are on the phone with a client. Or perhaps you’re going into a parent-teacher conference and protocol dictates that you turn your phone off.
Unless you can constantly pay attention to your smartphone, there will be gaps in your ability to monitor your security system. You need to ask yourself how critical those gaps are. If you are willing to take your chances, DIY monitoring might be your thing. Otherwise, paying for professional monitoring seems worth it.
4. Two Eyes Are Better Than One
Paying for professional monitoring does not mean you cannot monitor your system as well. And in fact, why not self-monitor? Two sets of eyes paying attention to your system are certainly better than one. You can contribute to monitoring when you have the ability to devote your attention to it. And when you do not, your service provider will still be there taking care of things for you.
5. Peace of Mind Around-the-Clock
Speaking of taking care of things for you, professional monitoring gives you peace of mind around-the-clock. Your monitoring provider is on the job even when you are sleeping. No need to worry about something happened during the middle of the night. If an alarm is triggered, monitoring personnel immediately spring into action.
When you are on vacation, professional monitoring allows you to truly forget about your home for a while. You can put your phone in your pocket and leave it there, giving you the opportunity to enjoy time with your family. There is no need to worry about your home unless your security provider contacts you.
6. Professional Monitoring Deters Crime
Finally, professional monitoring actually deters crime. By their own admission, burglars avoid homes with monitored security systems. They know their chances of being caught go up when trained personnel at a remote monitoring center are paying attention.
When you pay for professional monitoring, you’re given placards or window decals letting criminals know that your home is protected. That is often enough to send them looking for another target. You do not get that with DIY monitoring. In fact, the only way a burglar would know your home is equipped with a DIY system is if they saw an external camera staring at them.
None of this is to say that DIY monitoring isn’t a valid choice. It is. But if you can afford it and you want the best modern home security can offer, it makes sense to invest in monthly monitoring. You can get it with or without a contract, depending on the provider you choose.
