Electrical Security Measures

Locked doors protect you, your family, your possessions, and your home. But, any ingenious burglar with a pick set or a bump key can disable most locks within a few seconds. So home security at the intermediate stage has fallen to the home electrician. 

A survey was done of former burglars to find out the kinds of things that were off-putting to them when they approached a house to rob. Here are some of the electrical deterrents burglars don't like:

Motion-activated security lights

These are a nasty surprise to any burglar who thinks they will be able to sneak around in the dark to case out your home. Suddenly, not only is he not in the dark anymore, but many motion-activated lights also trigger an alarm. Sure, you might think it the lights were triggered by a coyote in your backyard--but because the lights are on, you can see. Try a Heathco White Bayside Mission Style Lantern ($25) or a Heath/Zenith Shaker Cove Mission-Style for something that looks more like an attractive fixture than a security light.

Burglar hating rating: 26%

Closed-circuit cameras

These can be set up under many applications. Because of Smart home devices, even your front doorbell can be a security camera. If you buy a Ring or a Skybell, you already have a photo of the burglar before he even pretends to ring the doorbell. A lot of thieves who see these devices turn around and walk away as soon as they see you own one.

Also, many homeowners set their motion-activated security lights to trigger their security cameras. So, a burglar will go from sneaking around your home to being the star of your home security movie.

Burglar hating rating: 22%.

Burglar alarms

Burglar alarms can be either professionally installed or self-installed sensors for doors and windows, as well as motion sensors. These are easy to install. The system can then either be monitored by the homeowner or a security company. If the homeowner tracks their own, the alert for a tripped alarm usually comes in on their cell phone. In the case of a professional monitoring company, they will first try to contact the homeowner to determine if it was an accident, and then send law enforcement. Either way, an ear-splitting alarm is usually also triggered. Burglar hating rating: 11% Why so low? Because burglars tell us response to these alarms is almost always too slow to catch them, and the noise is more annoying than anything else.

Burglar hating rating: 11%

Final Note

One of the ratings we saw was the deterrent percentage burglars give a barking dog: 15%. If a barking dog can deter 15 % of all burglars, we wonder why more motion-activated security lights aren't set to trigger a recording of a barking dog.

When you need a licensed electrician for commercial or residential electrical needs, call Zimmerman Electric at 310-378-1323.