Conventional home security strategy focuses on detection of security breach into the home. However, this approach has several faults:
- Focus is on being reactive to a breach rather than proactive preventing one. Focusing on prevention decreases the likelihood of property damage and loss and also increases the likelihood of apprehension. If the alarm sounded when the criminals are outside the house they are much more likely to leave the scene immediately. Even if they stay, the advance warning means that there’s more time for law enforcemnt to respond.
- As soon as a criminal breaks in to your house, they are afforded protection from the views of your neighbors and can no longer be seen.
- A resident’s property includes their home and the lot their home sits on. As such safety and security is just as important outside one’s home as it is inside. Wouldn’t you want to know if someone is hiding on your front porch ready to assault you upon your return? When you are at home, wouldn’t you want to know when an intruder is outside your home rather than once they are inside your home?
These thoughts led me to the idea of creating an outdoor home security system. The general idea was to have outdoor motion sensors outside the house trigger the alarm when motion is detected outside the house. This would offer a preliminary line of defense around the house, much like the use of moats around castles in medieval times.
I started pursuing the idea of an outdoor home security system several years ago but did not have many successes. Outdoor conditions present a unique set of challenges. Conditions are much more dynamic (sunlight, small animals, moving trees, etc.) and are therefore much more likely to create false alarms. In addition, outdoor motion sensors require power and also require wiring to transmit signals back to the alarm system. Lastly, electronic devices don’t typically do well in wet, outdoor environments.
After several failed attempts, I thought that I lacked the expertise and industry knowledge to make this happen. However, when I ask my alarm system company to implement this solution they were just as clueless as I was. Fortunately, technology has progressed over the years and this idea is now truly feasible.
Stay tuned.
