Whether you are a remote worker or not, choosing a security system to protect your home is an important investment. Before you purchase one, there are five main things to consider. This blog post takes you through each of them so you can decide on the best outdoor security system for your home!
Location
There are two parts to this! When choosing a location for your security system, you first have to think about the space you want the system to cover, and then where you can place it to effectively secure that area.
First, decide on the larger location that you want the security system to cover, such as the driveway, front yard, or backyard. This is especially helpful to consider if you have an alley behind your house, or don’t have lighting on one side, so you know exactly which areas you want to secure.
After you figure out the area you want the security system to cover, you need to choose a place to mount it. Common places for security cameras include the side of the garage, near the peak of the roof, or directly above the garage door.
Power
After you decide on a location, you can determine the type of power you’ll need. There are two main types of outdoor security systems: wired and wireless.
For a wired security system, you’ll need to mount it near electrical wiring and a junction box, which can limit the options of places to put it. However, once it’s installed, they’re usually very low maintenance.
Wireless systems are battery powered, so once you put the batteries in, you can mount it wherever you want. However, make sure to choose somewhere fairly easy to access, since you’ll need to change the batteries and/or change the system.
Lights
This is an important one! Not all security systems have lights, but the lights alone can serve as an extra measure of security. Simply having a motion-activated light is enough to discourage most people from trying to break into your home or vehicle. It’s the lowest level of protection, but it does provide a deterrent for potential troublemakers.
It’s helpful to know whether you want motion-detecting lights on your security system, so you can choose the right one! If you live in a well-lit area, lights may not make much difference, but if your neighborhood is pretty dark at night, or if you live outside of town, a security system with motion-activated lights can make a huge difference.
Camera
Cameras are great for giving you information about what’s going on outdoors and providing an extra level of security. They can also be helpful if someone were to break into your home or vehicle, or even just for things like vandalism, because you can turn the camera footage into the police as evidence.
Storage
If you choose a security system with a camera, the next thing you need to consider is where you want to store the video footage. There are options for storing it in the cloud with a paid subscription service, or storing it locally on your computer or phone.
If you store the footage in the cloud, it’s usually available for 30-60 days, which is nice, although you can’t access older footage unless you download it onto your device. Local storage offers more privacy, but you’ll need to use a memory card to store the camera footage, which means you’ll also have to change out the memory card when it fills up. This can be frustrating if you happen to have a break in, vandalism, or another incident, but the memory card storage was full, so you don’t have any camera footage for evidence.
There are pros and cons to both cloud storage and local storage, which is why it’s a good idea to consider where you want your security system camera footage to be stored!
Those are the top 5 things to know before investing in a home security system!
So far the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro is the one I am using and enjoying.