It has gotten so safe today that you can leave the door ajar for pretty long and still not lose your valuables to home burglars, all thanks go to the internet of things (IoT). More on IoT later.
Crime statistics shows that cases of burglary are falling across the United States.
Why?
Because more and more homeowners are turning to sophisticated manufactured home security systems to keep those pilfering hands at bay.
There’s a lot of these systems out there, each offering even better security than the next rival, but it all boils down to your needs.
What is IoT, to begin with?
Most of the modern home security systems are a product of IoT.
IoT describes the network of several physical objects—“things”—that are equipped/embedded with software, sensors, and other technologies to connect with each other and exchanging data via the Internet.
Now you understand why it’s possible to monitor your home from miles away using your smartphone.
So, basically, home security systems can link with other devices and share information to enhance the security of your home. We want to look at a few of those systems.
But, What Makes Up the Modern Manufactured Home Security Systems?
There is a list of must-have components for a device to qualify as a high-tech home security system.
Virtually all modern security systems come with these components (look for them in every system you wish to buy):
1. Panel
This forms the center for any alarm system.
It links up and communicates with all sensors installed in the home, allowing you to activate and deactivate the system more conveniently.
2. Door & Window Sensors
Probably the most basic part of your home security system.
They’re strategically placed on windows and doors. They will set off your security system if movements are detected.
3. Motion Sensors
Most motion sensors will recognize movements and heat within a 25-ft range and about a 90-degree arc.
As such, they are a perfect supplement where window and door sensors may not cover and can help boost the coverage provided by your system.
4. Surveillance Cameras
While cameras can be easily thought to be an integral part of a home security system, they are actually an added feature that you can do without, but still valuable.
They can be installed outside and inside the home for extra peace of mind.
The best thing about surveillance cameras is that they let you watch over your property regardless of where you are on the planet – you just need a reliable internet connection.
5. Panic Buttons
These buttons are designed to quickly arm and disarm the alarm.
Most of the time, if you use them in a panic mode, you’ll automatically alert the authorities close to you without even involving a call.
6. Automation Controls
These are what make hands-off operations a reality.
From switching on/off your TV, turning on/off the lights, and even securing or opening your doors or windows, home automation controls are often integrated with the home security system to add convenience.
The Top Three Home Security Systems Worth Installing in Your Manufactured Home
1. Smart Deadbolts & Smart Locks
Deadbolts are a group of diverse door security locking systems –
- single cylinder deadbolts
- double cylinder deadbolts
- one-sided deadbolts
- smart deadbolts
- etc.
– featuring a distinctive operating mechanism.
Unlike the traditional spring bolt lock systems, deadbolts cannot be adjusted to the open position with a bare hand except by rotating a key.
Of great importance is the smart deadbolt, which holds virtually all the credentials of a smart home security system.
Still, they work very much the same way as traditional smart locks.
Smart locks describe mechanical and electronic locking devices that will open wirelessly with the authentication of an authorized user.
In any smart home, smart locks permit the homeowner to enter or provide access into their homes to other parties without the need for a traditional key.
Why You Need a Smart Deadbolt/Smart Lock
- You are tired of leaving your keys under the mat (just like everyone else)
- You don’t want to have multiple keys all over your home
- Smart locks don’t make your house any safer, they just give you more control over how you enter and leave it.
What If You Already Own an Old Deadbolt but You Want a Smart Lock?
No worries – you can simply hang the smart lock on your old non-smart deadbolt and they will work together in harmony.
Models like the Sesame Smart Lock, Kwikset Kevo Convert, and August Wi-Fi Smart Locks, are designed to clamp over the top of your old deadbolt hardware.
Also, these three work flawlessly with many other common deadbolt brands. Always check the compatibility before trying to synch different systems from different brands.
Choosing a Protocol – Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth
The smart lock will need to communicate with your smartphone and all other smart home setups in your house.
Most of them will do so with these 3 common communication protocols –
Each has pros and cons.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth doesn’t eat into your battery as fast as Wi-Fi does. For that reason, it could take you a year, even more, to change the batteries in your door lock.
The downside, however, is the limited range of this protocol. Bluetooth is near useless beyond 300 ft. of range.
Z-Wave
Google, Schlage, and Poly-Control provide some of the best Z-Wave smart locks.
Unlike Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which link directly with your smartphone, you will need a standalone Z-wave hub via which you’ll like to your phone.
The job of the hub is to translate the Z-Wave signal of your lock to something the router can understand – thereafter, you will be able to link up with your smart lock from almost anywhere.
The hub is also the biggest drawback with Z-Wave as makes the whole protocol rigid and quite inflexible.
Wi-Fi
With Wi-Fi enabled, the homeowner can easily lock and unlock their door remotely, add new users, access codes from various locations, and view the activity logs or status of the lock.
The best thing is that you can easily integrate with such home assistants as Alexa and Google Assistant.
On the downside, Wi-Fi is aggressive on the battery, meaning you’ll need to replace the batteries more frequently.
Connecting to Common Third Party Products
Closely related to the protocol-talk is the issue of interoperability with other products from different brands.
Such third party devices as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Nest, and Apple’s HomeKit can be used to control your smart locks without the need for Bluetooth, Z-Wave, or Wi-Fi.
You can save a lot of money if you already have one of these third party items at home.
2. Window Guards
If you are thinking of a way to reduce the likelihood of your children suffering serious injuries – or even worse – window guards are the best method to provide an extra level of safety.
Window guards normally come as simple close bars of metal installed on the window to prevent anything the size of a small pet or a child from falling out of the home.
Another less mentioned value of window guards is their burglar proofing properties.
With strong window guards in place, it is near impossible for burglars to break into your home.
For a window guard to provide maximum security it, need to come with these properties:
- Should support side mounting unless you wish otherwise
- Need have about 3-7/8” spacing between any two closest bars
- Should feature tamper-resistant screws or nails to keep the grid firmly attached to the rest of the window’s frame
- Feature a quick release feature to permit simple removal in the event of an emergency – most window guards come with at 3- or 4-step removal procedure to discourage small children
- Guards should never leave more than a 4” gap below and above the bars in the window opening – this is to make it harder to dislodge by a person from outside.
- It should come with at least 3 bars unit and support window openings the heights of 15” (including the 4” recommended gap)
- The width of the window should be adjustable for window widths of 24” to 42”; the actual height of the guard needs to be in the region of 10. 4″
- Fixed window guard – you can choose a non-egress fixed guard option that can’t be opened or removed quickly in the event an of emergency. That is if you don’t want those window guards with a provision for emergency escape for whichever reason.
- Should support easy installation by possessing a fully adjustable and telescoping width (before you mount them) from 23-1/2″ to about 38”; should also come with a complete set of one-way and tamper-proof installation bolts or screws. These should be designed specifically for interior use.
- Must meet your local building codes
What Are the Best Brands?
Window security guards from these brands are some of the best in the market:
3. Burglar Alarms
Burglar alarms help ward off a would-be burglar by producing sounds or sending a notification to your smartphone.
The best burglar alarm for your house depends on your needs, personal preferences, where you live, your budget, level of protection you want, the kind of response you’re after, and even what your house is like.
The Four Types of Burglar Alarms
First off, you need to make up your mind what you would want to happen when the alarm goes off. Here are the options:
Bells-only Alarms
They make a brief noise, but won’t contact anyone (neither you nor the police).
Dialer Burglar Alarms
This type of burglar alarm will automatically dial your cell phone number, that of your family member, or any other nominated individual when triggered.
Smart Home-Security Alarm Systems
They will contact you or a close family member when triggered off through a tablet or smartphone application.
A Monitoring Contract
This can mean you pay a security company a monthly or annual fee to take the right action or contact the police in the event your alarm is triggered.
Wireless Burglar Alarms
Once you’ve made up your mind about what you want to happen when the burglar alarm is triggered, you will need to make the second important decision – whether to go wireless or opt for traditional wired solutions.
Wireless alarms look cute and are easy to install, but can be expensive to acquire. You will also need batteries for almost everything, including its sensors and the control panel, and all sensors.
Additional Details
Bells-only Burglar Alarms
A bells-only alarm (sometimes referred to as an audible alarm) will make a loud noise when triggered, which will hopefully attract the attention of a nearby person to come and scare off the intruder but won’t automatically contact anyone.
You can easily install the system all by yourself, or choose to pay a small one-off fee to have it put in place by a professional.
Here are the benefits and drawbacks:
Pros
- Having an alarm, regardless of what type, can assist to ward off a burglar
- You don’t need to pay for any monitoring contract
- You can install one yourself
Cons
- You will not be alerted when the alarm goes off
- Someone has to be nearby by chance to respond
- Without anyone at home to stop the break-in, your alarm will not ward off would-be burglars on its own
Dialer Burglar Alarm
In are you are not uncomfortable with relying on your neighbor to inform you when your alarm is triggered, you could consider the dialer alarm option, also referred to as autodialer.
Some varieties can even alert you in event of floods or fire and even link to your household panic button.
There’s actually two types of dialer burglar alarm:
- speech
- GSM
Speech dialers
They use your cellphone line to notify any number you have assigned. That way, it means you will need to own a landline plus wires linking it to your alarm.
GSM dialers
They utilize mobile network signals. For that reason, you don’t need to have a phone line or wires.
However, you still need to have a Sim card.
You also need to ensure it is topped up with plenty of credit to make calls when needed.
You will also need to ensure your home is under a strong cellphone signal.
Here is why you should or shouldn’t buy one:
Pros
- You or any other people you have nominated will be notified when the alarm goes off
- You don’t need to pay for any monitoring contract
- If you buy a single unit with additional detectors, the system can also notify you about other common dangers like fires and floods
Cons
- You and your nominated contact might be reachable when alerted
- If you opt for a GSM dialer and, by bad chance, your area experiences weak mobile network signals, it will affect how the system works
- Also, if you go for a speech dialer, you will need a landline phone and extra wiring
Smart Home Security
This is the best type of anti-burglary alarm for homeowners who are seldom at home but would want to get alerts directly via their smartphones.
A smart home-security system links with your tablet computer or smartphone, or those of your family members.
In case of a break-in leading to the triggering of the alarm, you or any of your family members will be alerted.
Some of these systems also permit you to control the system remotely from your smartphone.
Pro
- Can be easily controlled and monitored from your smartphone
- Sends notifications when you are away from home
- You can easily set up the system all by yourself
Cons
- The main drawback is that not all of these security systems are reliable deterrents – it will depend on the type of components you buy and where you choose to install them
- They can be expensive acquire depending on the components you choose
- Just like a GSM dialer, whether or not you are alerted will depend on your area’s mobile network signal
Conclusion
The need to secure your home is probably more important now than it has ever been.
For example, when you order an item on Amazon, the delivery guy will leave it at your doorstep if they don’t find you at home. If you don’t have a door camera and an active alarm in place, thieves will make away with your stuff.
There are a lot of home security solutions in the market today, but you might want to begin with the most basic ones –
- smart deadbolts
- smart locks
- burglar alarms
- and window guards.
Smart deadbolts and smart locks are more of convenient products than real deterrents although they go a long way to keep the home safe in some situations.
If you want to protect your home against burglars, you will definitely go for a burglar alarm.
Window security guards do two jobs – they prevent an intruder from breaking into the home through the door and also prevent small children from falling out of the home through the window.
