Home Security

Over the centuries, home security has morphed from a muddy moat and a drawbridge to video surveillance cameras that can pan, zoom and automatically follow a shadowy figure in near darkness. In between, there has been lots of other stuff.

 An early form of home security, and one that some people still prefer, is an alert dog with a resounding bark.

Another low-tech form is a timer set to turn lights on and off, giving a house that lived-in look.

More modern methods include exterior lights that have motion detectors set to bathe would-be intruders with high-intensity illumination.

Various companies offer services that use sensors on doors and windows to alert the company if an entry point is violated while the system is on. With such systems, the homeowner arms the alarm when leaving the house or at night — and then uses a keypad to disarm it. Some of these services automatically send a recorded message to the local police when tripped; others place the call to the service, which then calls the authorities.

Sensors are available to alert a homeowner to smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, breaking glass, water leaks and backed-up drains. Communications between the home and the security company can be hard-wired through the home phone system or use a cellular connection in case the phone lines are cut. Power is provided from the home supply, though many systems have a built-in battery backup.

In recent years, video surveillance has gone more mainstream. Both indoor and outdoor cameras can be set to monitor comings and goings; the cameras can be hooked up to a VCR or a digital video recorder, and the images can be viewed on monitors (some allow for several images to be seen simultaneously or in sequence).

Some video surveillance cameras can pan, tilt and zoom; some have infrared lights that allow images to be viewed in darkness; some must be hard-wired to the controller box; and some work wirelessly.

While early video surveillance systems connected to a recording device that often wound up showing grass growing or the moon gliding through the sky, newer systems have detectors that start recording only when someone or something nearby moves.

The Internet is now used to monitor homes from just about anywhere on the planet. In addition to remotely monitoring any video feed coming from installed cameras, homeowners can also monitor and adjust various home systems. A homeowner, for example, can be alerted when pipes in his vacation home are about to freeze and burst. Heating systems, lights and even the security system itself can be turned on or off from the office, the vacation home or even from a car, using portable hand-held devices or laptops and a wireless broadband connection.

 

Source : The New York Times, Jay Romano, Jan. 8, 2008

 

 

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