Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of your family or business. At Alert1One we understand you want peace of mind that an intruder won't harm your property or family. With an Alert1One monitored security system in place, it's like you have a guard on-duty around the clock.

Home invaders tend to search for less challenging targets than houses equipped with an alarm. Statistics show that more than 65% of burglaries on houses equipped with burglar alarms are deterred, incomplete, or totally defeated, which proves that, in most cases, they can act as a useful deterrent.

Businesses lose billions of dollars to theft and vandalism each year. These losses aren't limited to the loss of merchandise and equipment. They include the disclosure of personal information that customers trust you to keep private. Many companies also experience a significant amount of loss from internal theft. As uncomfortable as it might seem, you need to make sure you can protect your business from employees who find new meaning in "taking their work home."

With an array of devices to detect intruder motion, note changes in room temperature, and notify local authorities, Alert1One security systems provide all the tools you need to protect your home or business, and it may be more affordable than you realize. Once you choose the right system, Alert1One will set up in as little as a single day, and show you how to use it.

When a home or business owner considers a monitored alarm system, it's usually for one of two reasons. Either they're getting a system installed for the first time, or they just experienced a loss caused by robbery, vandalism, or a break-in.

Monitored alarm systems help deter intruders, discourage break-ins or theft, and ensure safety. Composed of a series of devices that detect unauthorized entry, a monitored alarm sends a signal to a central monitoring station when an intruder is detected. These nationwide monitoring centers provide continuous service, 24/7/365, and will alert local police to dispatch authorities to the scene as necessary.

Standard Alarm Equipment
All of the standard alarm equipment will cover your needs as a homeowner looking to ensure safety for their family and property. Businesses may have additional needs for which there is more specialized equipment. To see the standard alarm equipment, click here.

A basic monitored alarm system includes:

Control panel. (For the home and businesses) This is the “brains” and power source of the entire alarm system. The control panel is connected to all other alarm components, including a standard phone line or other communication system (ex. cellular or cable).

Motion detectors. (For the home and businesses) Also known as passive infrared (PIR) detectors, these devices sense changes in infrared energy levels when an intruder is present, even if no break-in is detected. They are typically installed indoors at walls, doors, windows, and air ducts.

Door and window contacts. (For the home and businesses) These magnetic devices are placed along door jams and window frames and trigger the alarm system when opened.

Glassbreak sensors. (For the home and businesses) Also referred to as "audio discrimination," these sensors convert the acoustic shock waves of glass breaking into an electrical signal and set off the system.

Sirens. (For the home and businesses) Loud bells, horns, and/or strobe lights can be installed inside and outside your property to draw immediate attention to the intrusion.

Signs and decals. (For the home and businesses) We will furnish you with signs to post on and around the property, warning potential intruders that an Alert1One monitored security system is protecting you.

Security keypads. (For the home and businesses) These are installed inside the main entrance of your property and allow you and your family or employees to activate and deactivate the system with the push of a few buttons. A digital display notes whether the system is armed or disarmed. Additional keypads can be set up and installed in other locations throughout the structure, either by another exit or in a master bedroom, so you can easily activate the system.

Access Control/Card Readers. (For businesses) Keypads are common for single door security access (primarily homes) and less expensive security systems. They're easy to use but less secure, since users have a tendency to write down the entry code or to "lend" it to others. They also don't provide detailed audit trails unless you provide each employee with an individual code. You can read more about Access Control by clicking here.

Another point to consider, how secure do you need the system to be? A basic system usually features a keypad or swipe card. Higher security applications may require multiple means of authentication (a card and thumbprint, for example) and include more redundancy. They're also more expensive.

If you need a way for authorized users to identify themselves and/or unlock the door, card readers are the most popular option in commercial access control. They're easy to use, and when cards are lost, it's a simple matter to deactivate them and issue new ones. They can also be combined with photo IDs for additional security.

• Proximity cards, which can work from one inch to three feet from a sensor, are the most common. Because there's no contact between the card and reader, they're very reliable and suffer little wear and tear. They're also inexpensive. A specialized type of proximity card is the automobile tag, which allows access to a parking facility without requiring the driver to open their window or get out of the car. Automobile tags can work at hundreds of feet away from a sensor.

• Magnetic stripe or barcode cards can be a money-saving option if you already use one of these technologies for employee ID cards.

• Biometric systems rely on physical characteristics of the users for identification such as fingerprints, handprints, or even retinal scans. They are by far the most secure methods of access control. However, they are also considerably more expensive and can seem invasive to employees forced to use them constantly. They're also very unreliable outdoors, so they're not good for exterior security access.

• Smartcards carry larger amounts information on the card itself, such as employee records or spending account balances, instead of just an ID number that references a database. They get some good press but haven't made much progress into access control — yet. In the future, as costs decrease and interoperability between different types of systems increases, their popularity may rise, but for now they remain a niche solution.

Locks and gates. (For businesses)  You'll also need locks that the security system can control electronically. The two main options for locking standard doors are electric strikes and magnetic locks. Electric strikes are generally cheaper and are better for free exit doors. They're also more appropriate for standard wooden or steel doors. Magnetic locks are better for aluminum and glass storefront doors, as well as for controlled exit situations and emergency exits.

Often, door hardware will include sensors that know when a door is open and can send an alarm signal if the door is opened without clearance. Systems can also sound an alarm if a security access door is propped open for a specified amount of time.

For restricting vehicle access, there are several options. The most secure are full garage-door openers. Almost as secure are various types of gates, sliding or swinging, depending on available space, move aside to let a vehicle into a parking lot. More common and much less expensive are barrier arms of wood, plastic, or metal that simply control the flow of traffic into a parking facility.

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