What is Alarm Monitoring and How Can It Protect Your Home?
“Without monitoring, a home alarm is just a glorified noisemaker”
According to available resources:
Only 1.9% of people would call the police if they heard an alarm, with 60% ignoring it completely.
60% of burglars will avoid houses with a security system.
The rate of household burglaries tends to be highest in summer.
Some water leaks cost less, some more, but the average water damage claim is around $6,900.
Smart home technology today allows us to detect intrusion, water leakage, gas leakage, or fire just when it has started, when the damage is still small. The system will send us a notification the moment it detects something unusual at our home so that we can react immediately and prevent larger damage from happening. That process is called alarm monitoring and it helps us significantly.
Self-monitoring vs. professional monitoring
Most home security systems notify us on our mobile phones, one way or another. Whether they send us an SMS, give us a call (a bit old-school), or send us a notification on our smartphones, if we are the sole ones expected to react, it's referred to as self-monitoring. However, if the same signal is forwarded to the alarm monitoring station of a certified security company, it is known as professional alarm monitoring.
The most crucial distinction lies in availability during that critical moment when a swift response is essential, as well as the level of authority.
We cannot guarantee that we will be available 24/7. Even though most of us keep our phones on and within reach, we may be sleeping, traveling, or in situations where our phones are on silent or our attention is elsewhere, such as in a meeting. It's worth noting that 99% of the messages, phone calls, and notifications we receive during those moments can be addressed later, but the urgent one may not.
This is one of the primary reasons why people opt for professional alarm monitoring – the monitoring service remains available 24/7, even when we are on a plane, sound asleep, or temporarily preoccupied. Another crucial factor is the level of authority. Since alarm monitoring companies adhere to defined alarm verification procedures, when they contact emergency services, the authorities treat these alarm calls with higher priority and urgency.
The standard professional alarm monitoring procedure
When the alarm monitoring company receives an alarm from your home, in most cases, they won't immediately contact the police, fire brigade, or dispatch a security guard to check on your property. Their initial step is to attempt to contact you to verify the alarm. They may even try reaching out to your trusted contacts, individuals whom you have provided to the security company as a list of people who can validate the alarm at your home. If you are unresponsive or if you confirm the alarm, only then will they proceed to contact the relevant emergency service or dispatch their guard to assess your property.
However, depending on the priority level of the alarm, the verification procedure can be bypassed. For instance, if you have multiple sensors installed in your home, and within a minute, alarms are triggered by your "window open" sensor, "intrusion in the living room," and "intrusion in the hallway," the likelihood of a genuine alarm at your home is quite high. In such a scenario, the alarm monitoring company may decide to immediately contact the emergency service without first attempting to reach you.
On-demand monitoring options with Zuluhood
The need for professional monitoring service varies based on factors such as your home, neighborhood, lifestyle, and the level of peace of mind you desire. Some individuals prefer their homes to be monitored 24/7, every day of the year, while others may only require that level of security when they are far away and unable to respond quickly or know they will be unavailable (such as during a vacation, when they are more than 3 hours away from home).
Recognizing the diverse demands for professional monitoring, we have developed a solution to accommodate all the aforementioned preferences. With on-demand professional alarm monitoring available through the Zuluhood app, you have the flexibility to choose whether this feature is activated every day of the year or only when you leave your home for more than a day. The choice is entirely up to you.
Zuluhood enables you to connect different sensors installed in your home, even if they are not from the same manufacturer. For example, you can monitor a Ring doorbell, an Ezviz camera in your backyard, and a Nest Protect fire detector, all under the same service. Additionally, if you have multiple homes with different security setups, you can manage them within the same service.
It's important to note that the alarm monitoring service is performed by authorized security companies that are capable of providing this service for your specific home location. In the Zuluhood app, you will find a list of these authorized providers, and when you wish to activate their alarm monitoring service, you will need to accept their service terms, define the monitoring period, and click on the "Activate" button.
As we collaborate with local certified monitoring centers, the availability of the service depends on the location of your home. This summer, it will be accessible to all homes in the United States, as well as in Europe, starting with Germany and Croatia.
For all pre-registered users, professional alarm monitoring is free for a duration of 2 months.
Another noteworthy feature that Zuluhood introduces is that any alarm forwarded to the alarm monitoring company cannot be closed without them providing feedback to you within your Zuluhood app. This ensures that you are kept well-informed about their response timeline, the manner in which they reacted, and the specific actions they took while processing your alarm.
This level of transparency allows you to stay actively engaged throughout the alarm monitoring process. You will be promptly notified of when the monitoring company initiated their response, giving you insight into their timely actions. Moreover, you will have visibility into the precise steps they undertook to address the alarm, enabling you to understand the thoroughness of their approach.
What type of alarms can be monitored with Zuluhood?
Learn more about the types of alarms that can be monitored with Zuluhood here.