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An alarm system removes the element of surprise and danger associated with a burglar breaking into your home at night UNANNNOUNCED while you are inside sleeping. TheMOST IMPORTANT usage of a residential alarm system is when you are the most vulnerable, which is when you are asleep. No physical harm can occur to you if you are away from your residence while it is being burglarized.</li>
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Upon returning home and disarming your security system, even from a very brief absence while you were at the corner convenience store, the alarm keypad will immediately indicate to you that: "While you were gone nothing happened" or "BE CAREFUL - - Here's what occurred in your absence". The alarm keypad's warning message will prevent homeowners from walking into the home and confronting burglars who may still be inside the residence.</li>
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My reason Number 2 is especially important for homeowners who don't have interactive notifications from their alarm panels being sent to their cell phones advising them that an alarm has occurred at their home. Additionally, some homeowners have "local alarm systems" that are not subscribed to monitoring services while others have monitoring by a telephone line that the burglars have cut before entering the home.

I don't like the over-usage of the word "protection" within the alarm industry, especially when it is applied to security systems. "Protection" is best obtained from armed security guards with trained attack dogs.

Alarm systems cannot guarantee "protection" to homeowners, which you have clearly indicated. Alarm systems reduce the risk of being victimized and in your own words are "an early warning system which notifies the authorities".

You've made an excellent recommendation that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors should be installed in all homes. While they could be stand-alone devices which are not connected to the alarm panel, you've pointed out the advantage that a monitored smoke detector could save the life of a pet in an unoccupied home, which most people may not recognize.

Additionally, a monitored smoke detector may enable the homeowner to receive additional discounts on their home insurance policy, (on TOP of the 5 - 10% rebate that you indicated was offered for having an alarm system), since the Fire Department is dispatched SOONER by the monitoring station staff, when the fire is still smoldering. If the smoke detector is not monitored, the Fire Department might only be called when the neighbors see the flames gushing out of the home's windows and roof.

One the greatest unmentioned advantages of a monitored smoke or carbon monoxide detector is that the home's siren(s) which are connected to the alarm panel will ALSO sound if a smoke or carbon monoxide detector is activated, in ADDITION to the alerts produced from the actual detectors. There will be much more NOISE inside and outside the home with a monitored smoke detector connected to your alarm panel, which helps ensure that people will be awakened if the fire breaks out during the night.

Home automation and energy reduction through an interactive alarm system is relatively new, so it is great for you to point this out to your readers. Only a few short years ago, home automation would have cost thousands of dollars!

The biggest benefit of "tying"' your alarm system into your home heating system is that the temperature in the home will be reduced automatically every time that the alarm system is armed in AWAY mode. It will be automatically raised when you return home and DISARMthe security system.

Instead of heating your home when it's empty, the interactive system lowers the temperature for you since it "knows" that everyone will be AWAY! This can add up to substantial savings in a year.

Thanks Amy for another GREAT article!