Benefits of Electronic Locks for Your Home

Everyone wants to feel safe and secure in their home. On the other hand, in the bustle of modern society, convenience is more important than over. Fortunately, electronic locks satisfy both of these needs. Here are a few reasons to consider electronic locks for your home.

Increased Security 

Picking electronic locks is much more difficult than picking mechanical locks. Burglars and other intruders are always looking for easy targets. If all your doors and windows are protected by electronic locks, they can't find a quick and uncomplicated way to break in.

Lower Cost 

Since electronic locks are so durable, you won't have to replace them as often. In general, electronic locks save you money because they are more resistant to corrosion and rust. They also don’t need to be rekeyed by a locksmith--you can simply change the passcode or access permissions when necessary. 

Increased Convenience 

With an electronic lock, you can enter your home with a PIN or keycard, so you don't need to carry around a physical key. This is a practical solution for homes with multiple residents. For example, families with kids don’t have to worry about the kids losing their key. These locks allow multiple people to access the home without needing a key and can even be programmed to automatically unlock when the resident is nearby.

Greater Control 

A locksmith can recommend an electronic lock that allows you to easily add or remove users, change codes, and track who has accessed your home. Many smart locks let you set temporary passcodes for contractors, babysitters, and other visitors. By having this level of control, you can enjoy peace of mind and prevent unauthorized entry into your home.

Enhanced Aesthetics

Homeowners are increasingly choosing electronic locks due to their convenience and style. They can enhance the beauty of your home without compromising on security. There is an electronic lock out there for everyone, whether you prefer sleek and modern or something that has a more traditional design.

Conclusion

Electronic locks can be a great choice for many households. Enhanced security and convenience are just a few of the features they offer. Consider upgrading your locks to take advantage of these benefits.

Ways to Improve Your Home's Security and Prevent Intruders

Everyone wants to feel safe in the comfort of their own home. While you may not like considering that criminals could break into your house, the fact remains that home invasions are a present reality. This why home security plays such an important role for family safety. Below are a few strategies you can use to improve your home’s security and prevent intruders.

Add Surveillance

While people in the past may have assumed that real-time security camera surveillance was prohibitively expensive, this is no longer the case. With high-tech cameras being more accessible than ever, adding some to certain vantage points around your home is cheaper and easier than you may think. These cameras give you the ability to see live feeds from anywhere on your smartphone. Not only is surveillance great for peace of mind, it also could be enough to ward off intruders entirely. Because of this, when placing cameras, make sure to put a few in obvious places. 

Secure Your Doors

The entry points most criminals use are the most obvious ones, doorways. Make sure your front door and all other doors to the outside are properly secured. As is, most front and back doors are very easy for criminals to break into. Consider spending a little extra money to up the security through the installation of things like deadbolts, strike plates, and maybe even smart locks. There are entire businesses dedicated to maximizing the security of your doors, such as Plano Overhead Garage Door. Keeping your entry points secure is essential to maintaining home safety. 

Secure Your Windows

The second common entry point for criminals is a home’s windows. Most homes have windows that could be broken into with little effort. Because of this, securing them is worth the extra mile. Something you should consider for windows on the first floor of your home is security film. This film is resistant to being shattered and will make your windows virtually impossible to break. Adding security bars is also an extra step you may want to take. In regards to both your doors and windows, installing an alarm system will give criminals a good reason to flee if there is a break-in attempt. 

Family safety and wellbeing is the number one concern of homeowners. Secure all entry points into your home and add surveillance cameras to make this goal a reality. 

Guest Post - 5 Clever Home Improvement Tips & Tricks to Make Your Property More Secure

Your home is your safe haven where you can relax and enjoy life the most. However, some people are just looking for the opportunity to disrupt your peace and grab your valuables. If you don’t make any improvements to your property’s security, experienced burglars will find their way inside in minutes. 

So, how to make burglars and criminals avoid your home or at least work hard for their score? Here are a few home improvement ideas that will make your property more secure and less desirable for criminals: 

Advertise your dog

A dog is one of the best burglary prevention tools. If you have a family dog, no matter how small or big, it can alarm you and your neighbors and help in the defense of your property in many ways. No matter if your dog loves all visitors, even those who choose to come through the back window, or if your pup barks when someone gets too close to your door, do your best to show the world that you have a four-legged buddy in your yard or home. 

To trick burglars into thinking your dog is big and scary, place a large water bowl next to your door, hang a spiky collar somewhere nearby and get a ‘danger: beware of dog’ sign for your fence. Criminals won’t try to check whether you have a dangerous dog or not, and many will just skip your house altogether. 

Install new doors

The doors and windows that came with your house originally are most likely super flimsy and easy to open for burglars. It’s time to make an upgrade and invest in doors and windows that will require more than a credit card to be picked. What you can do to boost the security of your most vulnerable entry points is to install ANSI/BHMA certified door locks and consider using more than one deadbolt. Next, you can grab a window tinting film and use it on your windows to make them harder to shatter. And finally, provide your doors with a larger strike plate and longer hinge screws. 

Install a safe

Let’s say criminals manage to break in after all—the least you can do is complicate their job of clearing out the place. Burglars know all the most common spots where people keep their money, jewelry and other valuables, so you need to do something different. Make sure your most valuable things are secured in a safe. The best safe is bolted to your floor and wall, so there’s no way someone can just pick it up and take it out of your house. If you have a decent-size safe, you can keep all your cash, bonds, jewelry, important documents and even valuable electronics when you go on vacation.

Install a home security system

If you’re serious about your home security and want to make everyone in your house feel safe, then investing in home security systems is the way to go. Most quality home security systems with CCTV have motion detection sensors that when activated, start recording and send notifications to your email. And if you combine surveillance with an alarm system that activates inside the home and calls authorities when triggered, your home will be properly protected. 

In case someone breaks in, they will soon be surrounded by authorities, caught by the neighbors peeking through the windows and checking the loud alarm sound, and even captured on camera. Even if they manage to run away, they will be easily identified and brought to justice. Home security systems are not cheap, but they are worth every cent.   

Do some landscaping

Landscaping is actually a pretty amazing security feature and a cheap one at that. Criminals usually want fast access to your interior, and they don’t want to be seen in the process by neighbors and passersby. Most burglars simply get in through the front door, but they also choose windows. Make sure these two entry points are clear of bushes and trees so they feel completely exposed. Vegetation might look very pretty around your entrance or under your windows, but it provides a perfect place for suspicious people to hide. 

What you should do is trim all vegetation near entry points or choose to plant short thorny shrubs that will leave anyone who gets too close maimed. If you have any motion sensors or motion lights, focus them on landscaping and the lower perimeter of your property. 

In conclusion

With only five security ideas, you can make your home completely undesirable for burglars and allow yourself to feel much more secure than before, so don’t hesitate to invest some time, money and effort into these easy home improvements. 

Written by Mike Johnston

How to Prevent a Burglary + 14 Statistics

We partnered with a home security company for this post. The opinions in the post are honest. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views. We are excited because we know you will love it.

Burglaries are a frightening idea for any homeowner. 

We take time and care to build our homes to be our safe space, so the thought of someone entering and potentially taking your possessions is enough to inspire fear and worry. 

However, understanding the patterns and behavior of burglars can help you avoid falling victim to a burglary yourself. 

14 Burglary Statistics

We dig into recent burglary statistics that can shine a light on when and how burglaries often occur. 

1. Burglaries happen once every 30 seconds on average in the U.S.²

2. Most break-ins occur between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.³ 

3. The FBI reported 290,909 daytime burglaries compared to 195,884 nighttime burglaries in 2019.²

4. A household member is home during roughly 28% of burglaries.⁴

5. Most burglaries occur during July and August, while February is the month with the least amount of burglaries.⁵

6. 34% of burglars enter through an unlocked front door.⁴

7. 23% of burglars entered a home through a first-floor window.⁴

8. 22% of burglars entered through a back door.⁴

9. Second-floor windows were the least common form of entry for burglars, with only 2% of home break-ins occurring this way.⁴

10. 100% of convicted burglars surveyed said they knocked on the front door of a home before breaking in.⁶

11. The average burglary lasts 10 minutes or less.²

12. 50.1% of the 761,712 burglaries reported to the FBI in 2020 were conducted by someone known to the victim, such as a family member, acquaintance, or significant other.⁷

13. A survey of convicted burglars found they avoided homes with a large dog.⁶

14. Homes without a home security system were 300% more likely to be burglarized.⁸

Tips to help prevent a break-in

While break-ins can still occur even at the most well-protected homes, there are a few steps you can take to safeguard your abode and your belongings. 

• Keep your vacation plans to yourself: Announcing vacation dates can be a major tip-off to a burglar that you will be out of your home, giving them the opportunity to break-in while you’re out of town. 

• Install a home security system: A home security system, or even a camera security system or yard sign, can greatly deter burglars. Plus, a home security system can be a way to save a bit of money on your home insurance premiums.

• Hang a “Beware of dog” sign: Dog owners can hang this sign to alert potential burglars that you have a dog that could make a break-in more difficult. 

• Keep the radio on: A battery-powered radio can make it sound like people are home and cause a burglar to re-think entering your home. 

Being more aware of the tactics and motivations of burglars can help you keep the things that matter most to you safe and where they should be.