October 17, 2006
Low-cost Home Security Solution for Apartments
If you live in a house, you can get whatever type of home security system suits you (anything from a barking dog to a full-scale video surveillance system with sirens is possible), but when you're a renter living in an apartment or someone else's house, your options are more limited. You can't start drilling holes into the wall and installing cabling between the studs. Even those big barking dogs may be out. The Laser Shield Security System* is an option for renters who want to feel secure whether they are home or not.
The Laser Shield system uses passive infrared to keep an eye on the premises. There are not a lot of wires to run in order to get it online. It plugs into an existing phone jack and a standard wall outlet (there is a battery back-up on board in case someone tries to yank the plug or there is a power outage). In the event of an emergency, it can make noises, flash lights, and call the Rapid Response Monitoring Service (the price of monitoring will cost you about $20 a month; this kind of service is typical with most security companies). The unit is available at Home Depot, CompUSA, Sears, and many other retailers which sell home improvement products.
*Paid link
