Professionally Monitored Home Security Systems: The Best Protection

The world we live in can be a dangerous place. According to FBI statistics, a property crime occurred in the U.S. every 4.4 seconds in 2018. The National Fire Protection Association reports an average of just under 400,000 property fires in the United States each year, resulting in approximately 3,000 deaths and 12,000 injuries annually—and billions of dollars of property damage. And the American Lung Association estimates that carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is responsible for over 50,000 emergency room visits and hundreds of deaths each year.

Naturally, you want to do everything you can to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your property from these dangers. Smart home security systems can provide an excellent defense against the threats of break-ins, theft, vandalism, fire, CO poisoning, and water damage—plus make your life easier in many ways. And professionally monitored home security systems provide even more comprehensive, around the clock home safety and security.

For bare-bones home security, you can purchase a completely unmonitored home security system. These systems contain some of the components of professionally monitored home security systems, but lack many of the features, convenience, and safety that professionally monitored systems provide.

Truly unmonitored security systems may contain security cameras and/or sensors that detect motion or the opening of a door or window, setting off an alarm when triggered. Because potential burglars are often deterred by the presence of visible security cameras or the blaring of an alarm, this could help protect your property from theft.

If you have security cameras installed, you will be able to review the footage later to see exactly what happened. You can also share the footage with the police to help identify (and hopefully convict) the culprit. However, unless you’re home and hear your alarm sound, you will have no way of knowing what’s happening in and around your residence.

Self-monitored security systems, on the other hand, can provide mobile notifications if your intrusion sensors or security cameras are triggered. You may even be able to view your video camera feed on your phone or laptop. You can also install home automation components as part of a smart security system, enabling you to monitor, and in some cases, control lights, locks, thermostats, smoke alarms, flood sensors, and other devices remotely.

The downfall of self-monitored security systems is that if there is an emergency, you have to contact emergency services yourself. There’s no backup if you miss a notification, aren’t able to dial out due to poor cell reception, or are incapacitated by intruders, smoke inhalation, or carbon monoxide poisoning.

Although various security systems offer some defense, professionally monitored home security systems provide protection and peace of mind that cannot be matched by other options.

Imagine that you’re away from home and it’s only protected by an unmonitored system. A small electrical fire ignites, and your smoke alarm begins to sound. There’s no one to hear the alarm, no one to call the fire department, and your home may burn to the ground before anyone even realizes it’s on fire.

Now imagine that you have a self-monitored security system with a smart smoke alarm installed. When the smoke from the fire triggers the alarm, it also sends you a mobile notification. Ideally, you receive the notification, call the fire department, and they arrive to put out the blaze before it consumes your home.

But what if you don’t receive the notification? Maybe you’re in a meeting with your phone on “do not disturb,” you’re driving in a rural area with no cell service, you’re on a long flight, or your phone’s battery died. There’s still no one to acknowledge the alarm or call 911.

In the worst-case scenario, you are home when a fire starts but you and your family are asleep. The fire spreads rapidly and by the time you hear the alarm, you’re incapacitated by smoke or otherwise unable to call for help—and perhaps unable to get yourself or your family out of the house safely.

In another scenario, a dangerous buildup of colorless, odorless carbon monoxide incapacitates you while you are sleeping, and you can’t call 911.

If you have a professionally monitored home security system with environmental sensors installed, once your smoke and heat sensor is activated, the monitoring service will be notified and attempt to call you. If you answer the phone, provide the pre-arranged code word, and let them know that you have everything under control, that’s the end of the matter. But if they call and you are unable to answer the phone or provide the code word, they immediately dispatch emergency services to your aid, potentially saving your life and your home.

And that carbon monoxide scenario? Frontpoint professional monitors call emergency services immediately if a smart CO sensor is triggered. Because CO poisoning is so deadly and likely to incapacitate people in small amounts, the service will send emergency responders to your home immediately, without attempting to reach you via phone.

With a comprehensive professionally monitored home security system installed, you can rest easy. Regardless of the emergency—break-in, fire, flood, or carbon monoxide leak—emergency services will be dispatched if necessary. Whether you’re home, across town, or hundreds of miles away, your home has protection even if you’re asleep, have your phone off, or are on an airplane. 

Frontpoint’s professionally monitored home security system uses a small tabletop hub as its central command center. The hub is controlled by a keypad, with the additional ability to manage the system via a website or mobile app. In addition to the circuitry necessary to control the system, the hub contains a cellular radio, a siren, and a 24-hour backup battery. The other components of the security system communicate with the central hub, which uses its internal cellular radio or Wi-Fi (it can switch back and forth) to communicate with the monitoring center.

If one of your security system’s door or window sensors is triggered, a signal is transmitted to the hub. There is a 30-second delay before the hub sounds the alarm, giving you ample time to disarm your system if you were the one who triggered the sensor.

There is another 30-second delay following the alarm that gives you one more chance to disarm the system before the hub sends a message to the monitoring center. Once it receives the message, the monitoring service will attempt to contact you using two phone numbers that you have provided. Again, if the service is unable to reach you, or you answer but are unable to provide the code, they will dispatch the appropriate authorities to your home.

The system works in basically the same way for almost all types of sensors you install, such as door/window, motion, glass-break, smoke and heat, and flood. The only differences are that intrusion sensors must be “armed” to trigger an alarm, while environmental sensors are always ready to signal an emergency. And again, CO sensors spur an immediate call for emergency services from the monitoring center.

Professional monitoring costs a little more than self-monitored systems, but the higher cost is more than offset by the greater convenience and faster reactions to emergencies that it provides.

Smart home security systems not only send notifications to your professional monitoring service whenever the system is triggered, but they can also send a range of immediate notifications directly to you—however you would like them.

You can set your system to provide various alerts via text or email whether your system is armed or not. The alerts can be set to occur for specific times or specific sensors, or both. This can be useful if, for example, your kids disarm the system when they arrive home from school, but you still want to be notified if they leave the house or open the door for friends.

Frontpoint’s wireless, battery-powered security system communicates over a cellular network—which means it keeps functioning even if your power goes out, the Internet goes down, or your phone lines are cut. Frontpoint’s Hub is also “smash-proof,” so that even if an intruder destroys it during the system’s initial 30-second delay, it will still have sent a signal to the monitoring center.

You can rest assured that you have professional backup in case of an emergency, no matter what.

The monitoring service knows when your system is armed, and they know immediately when a sensor is triggered. Once the latter occurs, monitoring professionals place your system into a status knows as “pending alarm.” If they don't subsequently receive a “system disarmed” signal, they will assume that the system has been compromised and will treat it like an intrusion or another emergency.

Security companies that offer do-it-yourself (DIY) installation along with professional monitoring and excellent customer service provide convenient, affordable, and safe installation. There is no need to have a professional come out to your house and no installation fee. Frontpoint’s system comes pre-programmed and doesn’t even require tools to install most components.

With a professionally monitored home security system, you may also receive discounts on your homeowner’s insurance. According to Consumer Reports, installing a professionally monitored home security system could shave 4 to 8% off your premium. Adding traditional smoke alarms might provide an additional small discount, while more insurance companies provide larger discounts for monitored smoke and heat sensors.

Frontpoint offers different packages to meet your security needs, whether they’re simple or complex. But all of these options are professionally monitored home security systems—meaning that they provide superior safety, security, and convenience.

Are you interested in learning more about how home security systems can protect you? Learn how some residents have scared burglars away safely using security cameras with two-way audio.

Frontpoint keeps homes safe whether families are there or not. We've been revolutionizing the home security industry for over a decade. And we're just getting started. To shop DIY home security systems, check out our Security Packages. If you have questions or would like to discuss a quote, contact us at 1-877-602-5276.