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tag: Environmental Sustainability

Developing a Security Strategy

Environmental Sustainability

Developing a Security Strategy


It is a widespread belief that home and business security is a passive endeavor; once you have your security system installed you're automatically protected. Two recent incidents in NW DC and Fairfax, VA, however, tell us otherwise. In NW DC a home was recently burglarized by way of a skylight and in Fairfax burglars gained access to a home by cutting the power lines and removing the security system's back-up battery.

Each of these incidents was not the first of its kind in the neighborhood. Several homes have been penetrated through skylights on the 1700 Block of S St NW in recent months. Likewise the Fairfax burglary, the 24th of it's kind since the beginning of May, seems to be the most recent in a series of robberies targeting affluent Indian-American families in the area.

So, what can you do to protect your home or business?

1) Install sensors at every susceptible entry point--not just doors and first floor windows. Many of the homes burglarized on S St. were outfitted with alarm systems, but none had sensors on their second-story skylights. You can also arrange for Urban Alarm to call you when the batteries on any of your sensors are low or if the sensors are malfunctioning and we will help you quickly repair the problem.

2) Arrange for Urban Alarm to alert you when there is a power outage in your neighborhood. If an intruder disables a power line or removes the battery from your alarm system, our Central Monitoring Station will register the incident as a general power outage. When Urban Alarm receives this signal we can call you to verify the power outage and make sure your alarm system hasn't been tampered with.

Overall, crime trends in the DC Metro area show that it's time to be more aggressive with business and home security. Urban Alarm will work with you to develop your personalized security strategy and ensure that you have the highest level of protection.


Posted on November 20, 2009
Tags: Security Resources, Video Surveillance - CCTV, Alarm System Tips, Retail Security, Residential Security, News and Announcements, Environmental Sustainability, Community Security


Going Green with your Alarm System

While the big attention is on solar and other "green" technologies, how you set your thermostat is still one of the biggest factors in your total energy consumption.

Programmable thermostats have become a mainstay for conserving money and energy. The are well suited to people who are out of the home on a regular schedule. But with more and more people telecommuting and keeping atypical hours schedules don't work as well as they would for the 9 to 5 set.

Integrated home systems and home automation allow various systems to communicate with one another. And, an Alarm System used properly is in a unique position of knowing when you are home or away. Companies like GE, Alarm.com and others have taken advantage of this by offering optional thermostat control modules.

Alarm.com's web interface for viewing temperature history and setting an energy efficient temperature when the system is set to "away" is impressive and effective. It, however, has limitations. It is only available on the GE Simon Alarm Panel which is best suited for apartment and smaller homes and it can only control one zone. The GE Concord panel, which accounts for 80% or more of the panels we install is not supported by Alarm.com's thermostat control. GE does offer a less interactive but similarly effective modules which can adjust temperature when the Alarm System is set to "away". And other products and system designs can accomplish significant energy savings and environmental impact (e.g., water use, lights, appliance control).

GE and many other alarm systems integrate with X10, a home automation standard which we will write more about in the future.

The GE Simon Panel is a compact and self contained panel which can transmit signals over a phone line or wirelessly via Alarm.com. We have seen some good applications for it in server rooms where it keeps track of who is going in and out. The Alarm.com thermostat module can send alerts when the temperature goes above or bellow set thresholds. This can also be useful as a separate system (or sub-system connected to whole house system) for wine cellars and art collections.

Environmental sustainability and how Alarm and Integrated systems can benefit energy consumption efforts will be an ongoing topic for us in our BLOG.

Posted on January 17, 2008
Tags: Environmental Sustainability


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