Home security can be a significant investment. Paying several hundred dollars for an entry-level system is normal. But every new sensor and security camera you add increases the total price. And if your system comes with monthly subscription fees, your expenses continue to climb month-after-month. Have you ever wondered why?
Surveys have shown that cost remains an issue for many people who have not yet invested in home security. It would be worth investigating whether people understand what they are getting for their money. The equipment itself comes with an obvious price tag. But what is a customer really getting in exchange for those monthly subscription fees?
Cloud Storage for Videos and Stills
Installing video cameras presents a homeowner with options relating to the data that those cameras generate. The options are:
- No Storage – Images are streamed for live viewing through an app, but no video or stills are stored anywhere. It’s live only.
- Local Storage – Videos and stills are stored locally. A camera usually has an embedded storage card with limited capacity.
- Cloud Storage – Videos and stills are sent over the internet and stored in a secure cloud environment. They can be accessed through a homeowner’s account.
The benefit of storing video and stills is being able to investigate things after the fact. Maybe you want to know what triggered your motion sensitive lighting the night before. Or worse yet, maybe your home was burglarized and now the police are looking for any evidence that will help them find the perpetrator.
Having no storage capabilities limits a security camera’s effectiveness. Monitoring the system still keeps a homeowner aware of what is happening in the moment, but all past events are lost with the time. So for my money, storage makes sense. The question then becomes, local or cloud?
Local storage is limited in terms of capacity. That’s just the reality. There are workarounds, but some homeowners prefer hassle-free cloud storage instead. Each homeowner needs to decide for himself whether cloud storage is worth paying for.
Around-the-Clock Monitoring
A bigger portion of the monthly subscription fee goes to cover around-the-clock monitoring. Take a Vivint system for example. Vivint Home Security customers pay a monthly subscription fee in exchange for their systems being constantly monitored from a remote location.
Trained security personnel are alerted the moment a system triggers any sort of alarm. Whether it is a sensor detecting motion, a camera identifying someone approaching the front door, or even the possible presence of smoke or carbon monoxide, a trained expert is ready to spring into action.
The benefits here should be obvious. They include:
- 24-Hour Coverage – Professional monitoring offers 24-hour coverage by default. A homeowner can still monitor his system as well, but he doesn’t have to. There is always someone doing it for him.
- Informed Responses – Training qualifies a professional monitoring agent to make informed decisions when alerts come in. A trained professional is better equipped to distinguish between a genuine emergency and a false alarm and respond to emergencies appropriately.
- Crime Deterrence – Criminals are not big fans of monitored home security. If they happen upon a house displaying placards of a security company known to provide monitoring, they are more likely to move on to another target.
No doubt that monthly monitoring fees add up over time. And for some homeowners, fitting them into the budget is legitimately challenging. But if a homeowner can afford it, paying for monthly monitoring is definitely worth considering. A homeowner gets an awful lot for the amount he pays.
Other Cost Considerations
The majority of a customer’s monthly subscription fees go to cover monitoring services. A smaller portion covers cloud storage. Yet there are other cost considerations. For example, consider the cost of the equipment and installation.
Vivint offers free professional installation with every system. They recently introduced a new pricing structure with dramatically discounted equipment costs for customers willing to sign a multi-year monitoring agreement. Under such an agreement, part of the fee paid for monthly monitoring offsets the lower price of the equipment.
This sort of pricing structure makes a lot of sense. A security company can sell the equipment either at-cost or at a price designed to generate a minimum amount of profit. Throwing in monthly monitoring allows them to make back what they wouldn’t make on the equipment, plus more on top of it.
System Upgrades and Customer Service
Yet another cost consideration is the customer service and upgrades a homeowner expects. With a system from a company like Vivint, you would expect everything to work. You would also expect the company’s customer service department to step in and make things right whenever something goes wrong. All that costs money. All of it is supported by monthly subscription fees.
On the other hand, consider a DIY system from a company like SimpliSafe. You can install a SimpliSafe system and forgo both monthly monitoring and cloud storage. You pay only for the equipment. But if that equipment fails outside of its limited warranty, you are pretty much on your own. Customer service can’t help you much.
It’s a Risk-Reward Thing
Paying a monthly subscription fee for home security boils down to a risk-reward scenario. If you don’t want to pay the fee, you can invest in a system that doesn’t require it. But you are accepting certain risks at the same time. You are risking equipment failures and configuration problems for which you’ll get no help. You’ll also have to handle monitoring on your own.
By the same token, a monthly subscription comes with certain rewards. You get all the help you need when something goes wrong. You have the assistance of trained professionals to monitor your home. Would you rather save the money and take the risks or spend the money and enjoy the rewards?
There is no right or wrong. Both choices are legitimate. But now, you know what you’re paying for with those monthly subscription fees.