You are thinking about investing in your very first home security system. You have looked at professionally installed systems as well as just about every DIY option you can afford. The last thing you’re trying to settle is whether you need monitoring. Does home security have to be monitored to be effective?
Yes and no.
That is not a cop-out. Yes, someone has to monitor the system, or it does little more than make noise. If no one is around to hear the noise, you are out of luck. But no, a home security system doesn’t have to be monitored by professionals. Professional monitoring is better, but DIY monitoring also works.
How Professional Monitoring Works
Vivint Smart Home is a nationwide provider of home security and smart home systems. They describe professional home security monitoring as putting a system “under the constant care of a professional monitoring center.” Vivint offers professional monitoring in addition to professionally installed systems.
A professionally monitored system has a direct connection to a monitoring center via the internet, landline telephone, or cellular signals. Some systems rely on multiple connection points for redundancy. Regardless, an alarm triggered at the local level sends an alert to the monitoring center in real time.
Monitoring center personnel are trained in how to respond to alerts. When an alert comes in, they will attempt to contact the homeowner to assess the situation. If the homeowner does not respond or circumstances suggest an actual emergency, personnel will immediately contact local authorities. They will then continue monitoring until the first responders arrive.
How DIY Monitoring Works
Homeowners who choose to monitor their own systems set them up to send alerts to their phones or email accounts. Phone alerts are better thanks to the real-time nature of push notifications. Regardless, the DIY homeowner needs to pay attention to whatever means he has chosen for receiving alerts.
Assume a homeowner who gets alerts on his phone. If his burglar alarm is tripped while he is at work, he will get a push notification. It is then up to him to decide how he will respond. He might immediately call the police or, if he has video cameras, check the live video feeds first.
If a homeowner chooses email notifications instead, self-monitoring becomes a bit of a challenge. Email isn’t necessarily instantaneous. There can be a delay of several minutes between when an email is sent and when the server acknowledges receiving it. Email makes a nice backup, but self-monitoring a home security system is a lot more reliable with phone notifications.
Why a Homeowner Might Go With DIY
The thing I constantly wonder about is why homeowners would invest money in a home security system and then rely on DIY monitoring. I suppose the first reason would be cost. Although professional monitoring is not likely to break the bank, it is also not free. Homeowners who choose professional monitoring pay monthly subscription fees. Depending on their service providers, they might also be bound by a contract.
I suppose some people choose DIY monitoring simply because they prefer to do as much as possible for themselves. They DIY everything they possibly can. So why would home security monitoring be any different?
Why a Homeowner Should Consider Professional Monitoring
Saving money is good motivation for going with DIY monitoring. And yet, there are particularly good reasons for paying for monthly monitoring service. Vivint discusses five such reasons on their website. Let us paraphrase them here.
1. Safety and Convenience
Professional monitoring offers greater safety and convenience. From the safety aspect, a homeowner can worry about protecting himself and his family in the event of an alarm. He doesn’t have to worry about contacting local authorities because the monitoring company does that. In terms of convenience, homeowners still get real time notifications without having to continue managing and maintaining account options.
2. Fast Response Times
Professional monitoring tends to lead to faster response times due to the fact that monitoring personnel are always paying attention. They are not distracted by business presentations, long meetings, family outings, and so forth. Whenever they are on duty, they are ready to respond. More importantly, remote monitoring centers are staffed with on duty personnel 24/7.
3. Comprehensive Response
In addition to faster response times, professional monitoring also includes a comprehensive response. In other words, monitoring personnel are trained in how to respond to every alarm in the best way possible. They know how to evaluate situations to determine threat level. They know what to do if the investigation of a particular alarm results in certain circumstances. They can get the authorities there faster when necessary but intervene when a false alarm has been triggered.
4. Monitoring When You’re Away
Monitoring becomes a real issue when you are away from home, especially when the distance between you and your home is significant. Imagine you’re on vacation in the Caribbean when your home security system is triggered. Self-monitoring puts you at a disadvantage. Not only do you have to assess the emergency, but you also need to figure out how to reach local authorities. You cannot simply dial 911 from the beach.
On the other hand, a professional monitoring center can take care of things no matter where you are at a particular time. You still have access to push notifications, live video feeds, etc. But in the event of an emergency, you can let the monitoring center take control.
5. Peace of Mind
Last but not least is peace of mind. You might be very confident in your ability to self-monitor a home security system. But why not get some extra help? Professional monitoring comes alongside you with an extra layer of protection. Now you have two sets of ears and eyes keeping track of things.
Does home security have to be monitored to be effective? Yes. It needs to be monitored by the homeowner or someone else. That someone else doesn’t have to be a professional monitoring center, though professional monitoring is a good idea.
