indoor cameras

Before buying more equipment, make sure you know how many home security devices each control panel or hub can accommodate at once. Also, if you’re installing add on equipment, ask about any additional fees such as extra cloud storage for security camera footage. If you’re not buying the security gadget upfront, ask about the leasing price and any additional terms. One thing that is necessary is a professional monitoring option, which is available on all of the best home security systems. These monitoring plans require monthly subscription fees that vary in price, but they are still cheaper than traditional home security plans. Further, having a monitored security system installed in your home also qualifies for a discount on most home insurance plans, which can offset some of the cost of the subscription fee. In my experience, the discount on my home insurance covered about 25 percent of the subscription of an average plan, but your mileage may vary depending on your location and the size of your home. The system will work without a professional monitoring plan, but SimpliSafe offers two no contract plans that include both police and fire department alerts. The basic $15 per month plan supports all of the SimpliSafe’s sensors, has 24/7 monitoring, and cellular backup in case your Wi Fi network goes down. The more expensive $25 per month plan adds the ability to control the system from your phone, unlimited backup recording for SimpliSafe’s cameras, and smart home integrations. It’s a little frustrating that SimpliSafe gates the smart home integrations and smartphone app behind its most expensive plan, For example, you can create rules to have the lights turn on when motion is detected, have your doors unlock when a smoke alarm goes off, and have a camera begin recording when a sensor is triggered.Some systems store recorded video locally on an SD card or a solid state drive, while others offer cloud storage.Locally stored video is a good choice for do it yourselfers on a budget, but you have to be careful not to overwrite video you may need later.Cloud storage makes it easy to store and access recorded video, but it can cost hundreds of dollars per year depending on your subscription.Some systems offer both cloud storage and local storage, and some provide a dedicated storage drive that gives you DVR capabilities with time lapse recording, which makes it easy to find a video event that took place at a specific point in time.All of the systems we've tested feature an app that lets you use your smartphone as your command center to arm and disarm the system, create rules, add and delete components, and receive push notifications when alarms are triggered.Most apps also allow you to do things like view live and recorded video, lock and unlock doors, change thermostat settings, and silence alarms.Some apps will even use your phone's location services to automatically arm and disarm the system according to your physical location.The more expensive systems usually come with a wall mounted panel that acts as a communications hub, with a touch screen display that allows you to do everything the app does.The display lets you communicate with a professional monitoring service when an alarm is triggered and view video from any of the installed security cameras.While many systems use wireless components that are installed using double sided tape, some high end systems use components that require professional installation. but it’s less expensive than a traditional security system and can be canceled and restarted at any time.