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Security
Concerns...
One of the
greatest benefits of managing your own Integrated Home is that you can
place yourself in charge of securing your family & possessions.
But having said that, there's room for latitude here - not
everyone wants to be responsible for something that's potentially
pretty serious. If you have a monitored alarm system, or a
professionally installed system, I'm not about to recommend you rip it
out and "do it yourself."
When we're
talking about security, everyone has their unique factors to
consider: your own personal tolerance for risk, the safety
(or lack thereof) of your neighborhood, or whatever other reasons you
might have for owning a security system.
If you
have serious concerns for your family's safety, I might consider myself
reckless to recommend anything less than a monitored high-quality
system.
But
- if you're like me (and have boundless arrogant
confidence in yourself) - and if you DO
happen to be ready to dive in and do something on your own, ... well,
there are some pretty cool options open to you.
The
technology of security can be applied in various creative
ways.
1.
Typically the first goal is to make it as difficult as
possible for an unauthorized person to enter your home
silently.
2.
The second goal would probably be to deter someone from
even considering a break-in in the first place
(maybe this is actually the first goal?).
3.
The third goal would be
to "nail that sucker" if he tries!
Depending
on what you want to spend, how hard you want to work/think, and what
kind of reliability you need - there are at least a couple of ways you
can accomplish these yourself.
The
simplest and possibly least expensive way is with an X10
based security system. These usually involve
battery powered door & window sensors which communicate to the
main panel via RF. When an alarm occurs, X10 signals can
trigger lights to flash, sirens to sound, or whatever else you're
prepared to do with X10. They're extremely simple to install
and set up. The particular X10 system referenced in the link
above also has a voice dialer built in which can call you, a neighbor,
and/or police (check with them first!) in the event of an alarm
condition.
The
Drawback? - reliability. If your batteries go bad... well,
that's it. Still, if you need a security system right
now, it's not a bad way to go.
I've
always been a fan of the good old-fashioned hard wired
systems. They really don't need to cost that much (I'm
somewhat partial to Caddx
since it's so easy to interface with the JDS equipment) and their
reliability/dependability is superior.
Well,
now. Either of these approaches can make it difficult for
someone to enter a secure area silently (goal #1). But what
about convincing a would-be burglar that your
home isn't a good target to begin with?
One of the
easiest and most effective deterrents is adequate lighting at night,
and so you don't burn up a lot of bulbs (and your wallet), you could
make use of a simple X10 Sundowner . This would work well
with any X10 based
system you might have for automatically turning on/off lights based on
darkness.
Another
novel idea is the Robo-Dog
barking alarm. It's designed to give the distinct
impression that - well, something
is home after all.
Finally,
you need to prepare for the possibility that someone just plain isn't
afraid of your lights OR your dog, and that he/she fully intends to be
in and out of there before anyone responds to the alarm.
"Nail
that sucker" with a camera or webcam.
Time-delay VCR's are the typical industry standard approach to this
(same stuff they use in a lot of stores) - but they can be sort of
pricey. I'm kind of fond of the newer webcam
applications. There are several manufacturers who produce
what you might need for this, but I'm most familiar with Ivista's
Inetcam hardware/software package.
Ivista's
product lets you select a field of view in the camera to monitor for
motion & it can upload images to your PC or a remote web site
if there's a break-in. A fairly cheap subscription also lets
you check in remotely to your personal video webpage so that you can
see what's going on at home!
One other
approach is to use a "standard"
CATV camera and a digital
DVR (prices
have dropped a lot lately) - or run the cameras through a card
on your
PC, and get the same functions for less money.
If
you're more serious about your security/automation
applications and want to do some advanced stuff ... USE
THESE:
1.
Stargate/Stargate
Lite
2.
Caddx
NX series security panels
3.
Webcams
Essentially
my recommendation (if you're ready for it) is to add the Stargate for
maximizing your security design. With the Stargate interfaced
with Caddx you can add some serious intelligence to your home's
protection. Program your own voice auto-dialer, control
lighting based on almost any conceivable event, play .wav files to warn
intruders that they're under surveillance
... Man, just use your imagination!
Meanwhile,
you could also consider checking into "Integrating the Smart
Home and its Owner" for a thorough overview of the home's
different subsystems and how they can be interfaced with JDS Stargate.
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