Are Home Alarm Systems Worth It in Apartments and Gated Communities?

Many homeowners in apartments and gated communities feel secure by just having boundary walls, security guards, and access registers to protect themselves. While these are good, these items protect only the entire property; they do not protect you. Someone can check the gated community, there typically won’t be a way to monitor who is at your door, on your balcony or in your home, therefore a home security alarm is a very good option for preventing theft or robberies.

In an apartment, there are a few common entry points that are not considered; the front door, access to your balcony and the service area of the apartments. Home security or alarm systems concentrate on these entry/ exit points. Door sensors and indoor motion detectors can ensure that if any doors or windows belonging to your home or any movement occurs in your home will generate an immediate alarm. Society guards cannot see every apartment in the complex; therefore, if you are relying upon their help, your home is at risk.

It is a common belief that break-ins don’t occur within a gated community. However, there are a number of burglaries that do occur during the business day while the homeowner is at work, away from home on business, and even while the family is travelling or away from home. There are also instances where an employee (such as a maintenance or cleaning person) may have misused their access into a gated community. A properly installed home security/ alarm system can provide protection from all of these occurrences.

Apartment complexes pose a significant risk in terms of fire and smoke safety. Many apartments share walls, electrical wiring and sometimes even gas lines with each other. Even a small fire in the kitchen can quickly spread from one unit to others if it is not detected quickly enough. Smoke detectors and heat detectors located in your home can help to detect fire hazard at an early stage of development and send alerts to the monitoring centre even if you are not at home or do not respond. In multi-storey apartment buildings, having early detection of fire hazards can greatly improve safety for both your family and neighbouring residents.

In addition to fire safety, many residents choose alarm based security over surveillance systems because alarm based systems do not require constant monitoring. For example, if your front door is opened (by an intruder) or motion is detected inside your home, there is no way for the gated community security team to know unless you call to report it. If you have a monitored home alarm system, when the sensors are activated at your property, notifications will go to your monitoring centre, as well as to your mobile phone. This allows trained personnel at the monitoring centre to verify that the alert is valid and take appropriate action, even if you are out of town, in a meeting, sleeping, or located in an area with no network coverage.

Finally, residents often choose alarm based security systems because they provide more privacy than surveillance systems. Today’s alarm systems typically use motion detectors, door/window contacts, and smoke or heat detectors to help keep your apartment secure.

Electricity outages and internet disruptions occur frequently in a lot of apartment complexes. A reliable burglar alarm should remain functional regardless of whether the burglar is creating rustling sound or has no access to the power grid. An alarm that has a backup battery has a method of communicating to an outside monitoring centre, so whether your home has a way to turn on the lights and you can connect to the internet, you will have your residence monitored.

Modern burglar alarm systems can also be useful to those who are currently inside their residence during the day and must stay within their normal routine. Many security systems offer selective arming, which allows the user to leave a designated part of a building protected, while they have mobility in their daily activities within the building. By having a burglar alarm system that has selective arming features, the residents are able to feel secure and maintain their daily routines as normal, without interruption.

The other difference between monitored burglar alarm system in apartment buildings and the traditional burglar alarm systems that are used in homes is the monitoring effectiveness of systems used in apartment buildings. An audible alarm (siren) is a great detecting tool; however, an alarm that is monitored by a team of trained personnel is more likely to be discovered/inputted by the personnel/developers, than a siren on another floor or a neighbouring building. If your apartment building has a monitored burglar alarm system, you can rest assured that every alarm signal that is generated from your apartment or the neighbouring unit will be automatically sent to the monitoring station to assess the alarm signal. Even if you cannot be contacted immediately for any reason, your monitoring company will be able to take action to address your situation in a timely manner, and follow established escalation processes to ensure an adequate response is achieved and that you are kept safe.

We provide residents with home alarm systems for security, and peace of mind. Some of their products and services include smoke/heat detectors, indoor motion detectors, and door/window sensors which connect to professionally monitored alarm systems. Their main focus is early detection and privacy-focused protection as well as concurrent monitoring for home security versus closed-circuit television surveillance. 

As a result, installing a home protection system in an apartment or gated community is 100% worthwhile from an individual, family, and community risk perspective. The alarm system watches over what is important inside your residence to ensure that you are safe while the neighborhood or community protects the periphery. Alarm systems complete the safety net in shared living spaces; therefore; they bring you assurance that perimeter security by itself does not offer.