Becoming a home security system expert: how to use wireless security cameras and home security sensors

Getting a home security system is not something to put off for the future, to jot down on that list along with getting fit and picking out a great outfit for your cousin's wedding. It's something that should qualify as a top-level priority for anyone seriously concerned about their own well-being, that of their family and that of their personal possessions. These days, installing a home security system is far from being the colossal hassle it was in previous years, when the technology was still fresh and adequate knowledge confined to those with an understanding of sophisticated electronics and complicated, arcane computer user interfaces. Wireless security cameras and home security sensors, of both the infrared and contact variety, are sufficiently easy to install that you can learn all you need to know in an hour of web-surfing. What's more, they're cheap enough to make the cost-risk equation a real no-brainer.

Even if you're only about as good with a computer as the average 11-year-old, odds are you'll be able to set up your own, personal wireless security camera system. Simple motion detection software can be downloaded off the internet (check out http://bit.ly/T8KF6), ensuring that your cameras only record when there's actually something going on in front of them. Concealing a wireless security camera in a desktop ornament, like a paperweight, teddy bear or clock, is as simple as removing the intended housing's components and drilling a couple of holes (one for the lens of the camera, and another for the feeder cable to power the device). Wireless webcams, it seems, are getting smaller with every passing day, even as the quality of the footage they're capable of producing increases to dramatic, even superhuman levels.

Another way to emulate this effect is by incorporating home security sensors into your system as the means to activate the recording function. For instance, contact sensors function by creating a circuit between two contact pads. When these pads are separated (which, with the usual arrangement of the device, would be as a result of a window or door being opened) that circuit is disrupted, a disruption which in turn signals the central home security system hub to which those sensors are connected and setting the alarm sounding. Alternatively, you could make use of motion sensors. There are two primary varieties of motion-activated home security sensors, UWB (ultra-wideband) radar sensors and PIR (Passive InfraRed) sensors. The first are activated when the radar signals they emit, which are sent over a fixed distance, are returned more quickly than normal (meaning that an object has gotten in the way and blocked the signal). The latter 'sense' motion when any sufficiently hot object moves across their cone-shaped detection field.

This technology has been around for a fair span of time - indeed, UWB sensors are most likely the sensors that activate your porch light when someone walks across the driveway. In the case of PIR home security sensors, the technology has actually evolved to the point that some sensors are 'pet immune'. They utilize a lens or mirror designed to vertically stretch the image of areas closer to the sensors. The result of this is that cats and dogs produce significantly smaller 'bogies' than humans, and thus don't activate the alarm. It's possible to purchase wireless security cameras programmed so as to function in a similar manner.

If you plan to install a home security system incorporating wireless security cameras and home security sensors all by yourself, there are a few important considerations you'll want to keep in mind. One is location. Ideally, cameras and sensors should cover those areas through which an intruder will have to pass in order to access the house. So doors, windows and skylights should be first. Be more concerned about those entry points that are off the street and shielded from public eyes, as they're the ones morel likely to be used by intruders.

Perhaps even more importantly, you'll need to think about the monitoring of your system. If you're going fully independent with your system, the best thing you could possibly do is install a loud alarm siren to be activated upon intrusion, or, if you're really willing to go the extra mile, an automated telephonic system to contact the police with a looped, pre-recorded voice message. Neither of these options is as effective as being signed up with a good home security company. Home security companies, such as ADT, offer better response times than police in most parts of the world. Furthermore, if consulted from the beginning, such security companies will install your wireless security cameras and home security sensors in a fully integrated home security system that they'll be responsible for monitoring - which, for a relatively small fee every month, will really be the ultimate assurance of peace of mind.

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