According to the U.S. Department of Justice, burglary incidents have stayed steady in the last ten years. Dig down through the statistics, though, and you’ll see that the dollar amount of goods lost through each burglary has steadily risen. You may not be more likely to have a break-in at your home, but it’s almost certain that you’ll lose much more when it happens.
The bigger problem is that only 10 percent of the burglaries reported result in an arrest. Most burglaries are found after the fact. Police can just come out, take a report, and hope for the best. You’ll need that report for your insurance claim, but it won’t do you any good when it comes to recovering your stolen property.
The solution to this is to have the police be notified while the burglaries are in progress. And this means having a serious security system in your home or business, connected to the security company and to the local police department.
When to Install a Security System
When you’re doing any type of electrical renovation in your home or business, it’s the perfect time to review your security questions. Any electrical project plan can be improved by adding security details. You’re going to be removing walls and rewiring rooms anyway; you might as well put in a security system along with your electrical upgrade.
Consult with your West Palm Beach electrician. He’ll know the types of security system details that work well with your type of building, and will have suggestions for the best ways to incorporate them in your electrical renovation project.
Types of Security Options to Consider
The most common type of security option most people think of is a whole-house security system. This type of setup wires doors and windows with sensors, and will set off an alarm if any entrance to the building is opened without turning the alarm off shortly afterward. Most systems are wired directly to monitoring companies that are trained to alert the authorities once an alarm has been sounded. If your home or business has been broken into, this is the best way for police to catch the burglars in the act.
Another type of security option relies on passive security – making your building look so unattractive, the burglars go elsewhere to commit their crimes. Most of these systems rely on various kinds of security lighting. Burglars rely on stealth and secrecy in order to get away without being caught. They tend to pick the easiest targets in the neighborhood. If your home is brightly lit, thieves are more likely just to move on, all things being considered. It’s simple to add security lighting to your electrical renovation plans. Some of the more common options are:
- Flood lights outside the house, with or without motion detectors
- Lighting under the soffit on your building, which lights up the entire exterior
- Interior light timers that turn lamps on and off, simulating the look of someone being home
Pros and Cons of a Security Lighting Upgrade
Adding a security lighting system to your home renovation project can give you peace of mind and financial benefits, but it can cost quite a bit of money at the beginning. You’ll have to consider what maintenance you’ll need to do with your system each year and factor that in when weighing the pros and cons of a security system.
Speak with security experts or someone from your local police department for local crime statistics. In most cases, installing a new system will more than pay for itself between the decrease in stress and the increase in safety it affords.
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