Any person that lives in a region which is prone to getting hit by a hurricane ought to do all that they can to protect themselves and their homes from these potentially deadly tropical storms. In fact, a category 1 hurricane with winds of about 75 miles-per-hour is usually capable of ripping down tree branches and sending junk whipping through the air. Category 2 and 3 storms can tear roofing shingles away from roofs and can cause a great deal more damage. Once you begin to experience the winds exceeding 130 miles per hour that come along with category four and five hurricanes, it’s likely you’ll experience devastation regardless of how incredibly well you plan in advance.

Perhaps you might ask yourself why you should undertake the effort and expense to utilize hurricane shutters to protect your home when a major storm can certainly still cause major damage? The response is simply that, by taking some common sense steps, you will be better equipped to minimize the harm which could result from the extreme hurricane winds.

There are several components of hurricanes that have the potential to cause damage. These are serious tropical storms which are often followed by what is called “storm surge”. Storm surge, where waters rise extremely fast and have enough force that they can wash away even the well constructed homes, are, in fact, the leading cause of fatalities in most hurricanes. Significant wind gusts that sweep down electric power lines, remove one hundred year old oak trees from the earth and cause extreme devastation on entire residential districts are another major component of a hurricane. Tornadoes, with their heavy wind gusts that can exceed 200 mph, can be spawned in the middle of the much larger hurricane. Read the rest of this entry »

Advancing technology is making more and more sophisticated home security equipment available to the average person to help them keep their home and family safe and secure. There are a lot of choices to make when setting up a good home security system plan, and here are some of the top security system components that should be considered as you do:

1. Having a basic alarm system that is triggered when someone opens an outside door or window is a great start, but there are ways for experienced burglars to get around such a system. So a very good secondary line of defense in case of a break-in is having motion detectors installed in every room of the home. They can be located in one of the ceiling corners so they are not obtrusive and can have a good view of the entire room. If you are way from home, these are great tools to detect a home intrusion because of the motion inside the house and sound the alarm as needed.

2. Alarm system monitoring services are another significant upgrade to the standard home alarm system. A monitoring service will be connected to your alarm by phone line and if the alarm is triggered they will first attempt to contact you as the homeowner on a predetermined phone number to be sure that the alarm has not been accidentally set off. If they cannot get you they call the local law enforcement to investigate the situation. Read the rest of this entry »

After a crime has been committed, many people wish that they had taken better steps to protect themselves and their belongings. But the best time to think about home security is before the crime happens, not afterward. By planning ahead you can take steps that reduce your chances of being a victin of crime in the first place. Here are 5 steps that you may wish to consider to improve your home security and personal safety:

1. Many accidents occur at home and lives are often lost due to fire, gas leaks, and carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s amazing how many people have been victims of these kind of dangers, and yet much can be done to protect yourself in advance. Most fire and smoke detectors are very inexpensive but effective ways to help warn of dangers before they get out of control, or at least so that the homeowner can get out quickly and save their life. The same can be said of natural gas and carbon monoxide detectors too. A few of these placed throughout the home will keep silent guard for you and help increase your personal safety from these dangers. Just remember that the best detectors cannot be effective if you don’t keep the batteries for each unit fresh so that it stays in good working order.

2. Install a home security system that will monitor all the doors and windows in your home and sound a loud alarm when someone is breaking in. You may even want to subscribe to an outside monitoring service that will call local law enforcement after making sure that any alarm that is triggered is not a false alarm. There are several quality wireless home security systems available that you can even install yourself quickly and easily. Read the rest of this entry »