My wife is a sales person at ATP Alarms . I heard her recently speaking with a person on the phone that had expressed some interest in a home security system. They had a security system installed in their home when they built it 12 years ago, and wanted to have it monitored again. As a security professional, she naturally wanted to number one make sure this client was safe, but when I heard her compare security technology to dog years…it got my attention.

“For every year a dog’s age is, figure its 7x to compare to the age of a human” she said. “It’s the same with your security system!” then she made her point…”So your home security system is like 84 years old!” When I thought about this, I realized how true it was.

Computers, cellphones and even cameras have come such a long way in such a short time. 10 years ago the flip phone was revolutionary and today it can be found on a shelf in the Smithsonian Institute. The laptop that was $3000 from 10 years ago is now far behind technology wise than a $300 laptop found in stores today.

Fast forward to now. How great is it that the subject of home automation is not just a theme in the futuristic cartoon, “The Jetsons”, now it’s a reality that many Americans enjoy today. Systems like The Lynx 5100 or The Lynx Touch can tell you the weather and traffic as you arm the system on your way out of the house, a pretty cool feature for those people on the go. Armed with standards like a smartphone, iPad or PC a person can not only arm or disarm their security system remotely; they can unlock the door, adjust the thermostat and even turn the lights on or off. The nifty product Total Connect by Honeywell can even send you a text, email and a video clip of the event happening at your place in real time. I didn’t see that on The Jetsons!

Innovations in communication between the home alarm system and the monitoring stations have also come along way. With the new GSM cellular radios, a security system no longer depends on that land line, which still costs upwards of $40 dollars a month. Wireless accessories are now available for nearly all layers of security, smoke detectors, heat detectors, CO detectors, leak detectors, outdoor motion detectors even outdoor cameras can all be purchased in the wireless version.

My wife would have been happy to monitor her clients existing system, but the client decided they deserved the upgrade and the result was another satisfied customer.

The post Security Technology in Dog Years appeared first on ATP Alarms.