This post is sponsored by Guardian Alarm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
After seeing several friends deal with break-in’s and burglaries in their homes, my husband and I started thinking about getting a home security system. Seeing the damage and hearing about how fearful these incidents left them, were the catalyst to us making the decision to have a home security system installed. With summertime, we knew that we would be traveling more and also wanted to ensure the safety of our family as well.
When deciding on an alarm system, we chose Guardian Alarm. Guardian Alarm is a home security company that has been a prevalent, well-respected security company in the midwest for years and especially known for their customer service. What I love about Guardian Alarm is that they provide more than just home security services, but also home automation with high tech apps that can monitor your home, adjust heating/cooling, turn lights on and off and more. Add in the life safety aspects of safeguarding against fire, carbon monoxide, flood and medical response and I was sold. Guardian Alarm was our one stop-shop for all things home security and safety.
Below are just a few of the reasons that we decided to get a home security system:
Protect Our Family and Valuables
This one is a no-brainer and the reason that most look into a home security system. When it comes to protecting our family and home, taking steps to be proactive and thwart off intruders is a must. Home security and alarm systems are a great deterrent to would-be intruders. Having an alarm system is a great way to alert you when home that someone has entered to give you enough time to hide as the authorities are contacted. When away, the alarm will be enough of deterrent to cause intruders to quickly leave.
Motion sensor in the corner to monitor 3 entry ways.
Lower Home-Owners Insurance
This was a bonus that we didn’t expect. Most homeowners that have a security system will receive a 10 to 20% discount on their homeowner’s insurance! While you will be paying a monthly fee for your security system, the homeowners insurance discount can make it a win-win!
Carbon Monoxide & Fire Protection
I love having professional protection and notification against deadly, odorless carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is undetectable by human senses so having monitors is an absolute must. With Guardian Alarm, you are immediately notified when carbon monoxide or smoke is detected as well as having the peace of mind that emergency personnel will be notified too. Another great aspect with this monitoring is that it is great if you have pets at home. If an alarm is going off when you are not home, you are still aware of issues and can get your pet the help they need.
Deter Crime
Homes with security systems and signs that show that your home is protected, is a huge deterrent to would-be intruders and in the prevention of burglaries.
Real-time Monitoring
I love having security cameras that I view when not home. It gives me peace of mind when we are vacationing that I can pop on and see that our home is safe. Another great bonus is the option to view cameras when we have a babysitter with the kids. We can login to see that our children are safe and happy and ensure that the sitter is doing their job correctly.
Remote Access
I love the option of being able to turn on or off lights when we are not home or even adjust the thermostat. It’s great to be able to walk into a lighted home and have the security of knowing our home is safe (we simply plug our lamp into a wi-fi enabled switch that allows us to turn it on via an app). One of my favorite options with remote access is that we can control the locking or unlocking of our door with the use of the app and keypad that was installed. This is a great option if your kids forget or lose their keys or if you need to give someone access into your home (for example, if you’re unable to get home to let out or feed a pet). I can simply open the app on my phone and remotely unlock the door.
Peace of Mind
There is a great sense of peace of mind knowing that we have a security system. There would be times when I’d be coming in late at night or while my husband was gone on a work trip that I would have a sense of unease prior to installing our security system. With the system I can feel secure in the thoughts that our home is safe and that I’ll be alerted if there is someone trying to enter (or who has already entered our home). When gone on vacation, we feeling secure in the thought that our home is safe and protected.
Our Installation Process
Our installation process with Guardian Alarm was super easy. To begin, we had an agent come out to take a look at our home to determine our needs and give us pointers on what we could do to secure our home better. We discussed our concerns and needs and set up a plan of action from there. Mike, our agent, did a great job of explaining the system we would receive and answering all of our questions. We set up a day for a technician to come over to install the system (this generally takes a 1/2 day so prepare to be home for the duration).
On the day of installation, Keith, our technician installed our touchscreen keypad near the most used entry point in our home. Guardian Alarm uses a wireless system that requires the use of your Wi-Fi so be sure to have that handy. Once that was installed, they secured all doors and some windows of our choosing with sensor locks that alerts the system (when activated) that a door or window has been opened.
Installation of our motion sensor.
I love this aspect, especially as we have basement windows that have always worried me as a point of entry, especially at nighttime if we were upstairs in our bedrooms. The door sensors are also great for ensuring me that my oldest isn’t sneaking out of the house when I’m laying his younger sister down as they alarm will alert me that the door has been opened.
The keyless entry is SO convenient too. Most days my hands are full and I’m scavenging the bottom of my purse or diaper bag for the keys, so being able to enter a code into a keypad is so much easier. Plus, being able to remotely lock/unlock is great when we may need to let someone into our home remotely (or if we forget to lock and turn on our alarm system.
I love having the interior camera. It’s s fun to logon when the kids are being babysat to see what they are doing or to just see what our pooch is doing when we are gone. It can easily be moved which is great depending on what our needs are. When vacationing I like to have it viewing our driveway and front door to see if anyone has been to our home.
Guardian Alarm did an amazing job of walking us through the process of learning how to use our system and the app. I love that the system is wireless so that there aren’t wires all over the place not do we need to have everything connected to an electrical source. The app is my absolute favorite as we can do just about anything from it: turn on/off our alarm system, turn on lights, adjust the thermostat, using our video camera remote to pan the room, and so much more.
Do you have an alarm system in your home?
These are fantastic reasons to consider a security system. I especially appreciate that it will alert you to carbon monoxide when you aren’t home. I certainly don’t want my pets getting ill. I also like that your homeowner’s insurance may go down.
We had one when I was a kid and it gave me such piece of mind. Now that I have my own family, it’s more important than ever.
This is really informative. There are a lot of pluses to a security system, but I didn’t know much about them. Thanks for sharing!
I also have keyless entry and LOVE it. So convenient!
This looks like a real all-in-one system. It has everything to keep your family safe and protected.
I like the idea of being able to see what’s going on when you are not home (even though I don’t have kids/pets). Sounds like this system is working out well for you.
Sounds like it’s really given you peace of mind 🙂 We just have keyless entry (no security system) and appreciate the convenience while the kids are somewhat independent.
I’ve heard good reviews about Guardian Alarm. Peace of mind when you have young children at home is so important. The remote entry feature seems like a great bonus especially if you need to let a friend or relative in when you are away from home. Or maybe lock yourself out of the house … not saying I’ve done that 😉 LOL
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[…] The wireless and wifi security system was a major comfort in allowing my husband and I to sit back and relax knowing that our home was protected through the security system, cameras, sensors and even fire and carbon monoxide protection (you can read all the great benefits of a security system here). […]