Security at Home Is More about Peace of Mind
By Bill Primavera
The Home Guru
The memory is still implanted vividly in my mind, as is that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, when I think about the day I entered my country home in Putnam Valley and realized there was an intruder in the house. I heard some quick movement in a back room, but either out of fear or just not knowing what to do, I stayed transfixed for a few seconds. Then, when I went timorously to investigate, I found no one there, but one of the French doors to my deck was wide open, and I could see that the frame of the door had been broken through.
Set far from the road and surrounded by trees, no one would ever have known that this intruder, who obviously was on foot, had broken in. I made three calls, one to the police, one to my carpenter, and another to the first home security company I found in the yellow pages. But the damage had already been done: my personal space had been violated by a stranger.
“When someone buys a security system, it is not as much for protecting themselves against burglary as it is for peace of mind,” according to Trevor McEnaney, general manager of Knight Security Systems, based in Somers.
As the third generation of his family to offer security systems to homes and businesses in the region, Trevor grew up knowing the subject thoroughly, so I met with him to find out what was new on the market. But he was able to tell me about the very beginnings of the industry as well.
In the mid-1850s, New Englander Edwin Holmes bought a patent for an electro-magnetic alarm and invented the first viable burglar alarm system. He introduced it to New York, where both business and residential break-ins of wealthy peoples’ homes were on the rise at that time. Holmes’ alarm system was very simple in design. Doors and windows were fitted with magnetic contacts and electrical wires that connected to a large bell. The opening of a door or window would complete the circuit that would make the alarm ring.
This simple system improved greatly with the later introduction by Holmes of the central monitoring system, still used today, and the purchase of the company at the turn of the century by AT&T which linked alarms by phone lines to fire and police departments. But compare the early systems to the progress in the past 50 years with wireless motion detection and sophisticated monitoring devices that now protect against all the invisible risks that can be equal in effect to a fire or intrusion, such as carbon monoxide, the failure of a furnace and a resulting drop in temperature, and water from a burst pipe.
And, as our population ages, there is more attention to the protection and independence of elderly people with a personal emergency response system. Also, security is now zoned in a home so that when an issue occurs, the central monitoring station knows exactly where it is. Add to that video surveillance, and a home security system today is a total information hub.
Wireless technology eliminated the need for costly hard-wiring, and now security systems with a company like Knight can start as low as $400. After that investment, the monthly fee for central station monitoring is about $20 a month. Of course, elaborate systems for larger homes with many different features can run into the thousands of dollars.
Statistics show that only 15 percent of homes in the United States are equipped with security systems, but in our area of Westchester and Putnam, Trevor estimated that 30 to 40 percent of us have them. Interestingly, burglars know that new homeowners wait from two to four years to install a system, and the chances of a break in are highest right after a home is purchased.
Experts say that thieves do exactly what we do when we come home: they head for the bedroom where most of us keep our valuables. They also know all the clever hiding places, such as the freezer, under the mattress and in the cookie jar. They prefer to take cash and small, easy to carry things they can turn into cash, such as jewelry, silver, and cameras, but certainly TVs, VCRs and stereos get their fair attention as well.
Believe it or not, most burglars enter through the front door, while 32 percent choose the back door, and 22 percent enter through a first floor window.
But home security systems, especially with all the new technological advances, can be smarter than burglars to offer peace of mind to homeowners. For instance, Trevor pointed out that his company now offers Total Connect, a service that allows subscribers to interact with their systems via cell phone or computer. “It’s pretty cool technology,” he said. “Now you can arm or disarm your system from across town or across the world.”
For more information about the offerings of Knight Security Systems, visit www.knightprotect.com, or call 914-232-0003.
Bill Primavera is a licensed Realtor® (PrimaveraHomes.com), affiliated with Coldwell Banker, and a marketing practitioner (PrimaveraPR.com). He can be emailed at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or reached directly at 914-522-2076.
Follow him on Twitter for housing market updates at Twitter.com/HomeGuruNY.