You may feel that locking your doors is enough to make your home secure. However forty percent of home burglars enter peoples homes in ways other than through a locked door. Some may use windows found on the first floor or second floor. They may come in through a garage or a basement. If you want to protect your home, you need to be sure that you are using a home security system.

You can find several types of home security systems. Monitored systems are the best, but if you can only afford unmonitored systems, they are better than nothing. Unmonitored alarms send out an audible sound to alert occupants of the home that something is wrong. Monitored systems come in burglar and fire alarm systems. You may finrd systems that protect for either one or both of these problems.

Like smoke detectors, systems that do not offer monitoring are better than no system at all. While they offer an audible sound, the safest route is to have a system that can monitor you home and notify authorities when any emergency arises. The seconds saved can be all important in emergency situations.

You may also want to look at options such as wireless verses wired systems. Wireless systems work on the principal of motion detectors that set off an alarm anytime anyone walks through a door or window that is being monitored.

A camera system allows the monitoring company to see the attack on your home. These systems are more expensive, so many people opt instead for blank cameras at the front and rear entry of their home.

A qualified installer can help to be sure that your system is installed correctly. If a system is installed incorrectly, it can give you a false sense of security and can jeopardize your safety.

You will find that features vary by the system you choose. A battery or radio backup means that your system offers more security. The battery back up will keep the system operating when the power is out. Radio backup allows the monitoring company to connect with the system even if the phone lines are down.

Other features available can monitor the temperature of the home, check for gas leaks or carbon monoxide. Still other systems can even check for flooding of the home. While you will pay more for each of these features, you will also find that they add to your home security.

While price is always a factor in choosing a home security system, prices have dropped as more people choose to add home security systems to their homes.

One feature that continues to grow in popularity is the single button voice activated system. One button control allows the system to be armed. Not only are these systems voice activated, they also tell you the status of the system verbally.