Are you safe in your home? Are you a prisoner in your home? The answer depends on how threatened you believe yourself to be, and how elaborate you feel your home security system needs to be.

The “basic” type of system typically consists of hard-wired exterior doors, a motion detector or two, and an interior audible siren for an installation cost of approximately $1000, plus $25 – $30 a month for the monitoring service which, when an alarm sounds, contacts the authorities and the contact designated by the homeowner. Some companies offer limited hardware at no cost for a contracted period of time, and then charge for the monitoring service plus any add-ons. Those “extras” expand your security options, but of course also add to the total cost, which can amount to several thousands of dollars.

John Brabitz, retired Deputy Director for 911 in Dauphin County and now owner of Central Penn Security Systems in Harrisburg, explains the more elaborate systems use high-tech motion detectors not only register an entry, but also narrow the suspicion of who (or what) is entering by measuring body heat, mass density, and motion.

Then there are sophisticated “glass breaks,” which Brabitz says are available at three levels.

“A ‘single’ technology is the simple audio response when a window breaks,” he explains, “but it can be combined with measuring the low frequency impact of something hitting the glass, along with the simultaneous actual breaking of glass. The point is to be able to distinguish between an unwanted intruder, and a small animal, a ‘thump,’ or a wine glass hitting the floor.”

Don Smith, president of Smith Security and Surveillance Systems in Harrisburg, adds the newer systems use zones, rather than one loop wired around the house, making it easier to isolate the problem.

“One system I have requires answers to 999 questions,” he says, “dealing with such things as the timing of the delay (before the alarm sets off), the length of the siren ring, whether the zone is for fire, panic, medical emergency, or a burglary, and so forth.”

Other bells and whistles include “supervised” wireless systems that work much like a garage door, sending an intermittent “okay” signal back and forth from the control panel to the house access point; 45-degree angle motion detectors; and closed circuit television, which Byron Ensor, president of Electronic Systems Integration in Shiremanstown, says is becoming more affordable for the homeowner.

“Due to the reduced price of processing chips, you can get a small black-and-white TV for $150 –$200,” Ensor points out. “It’s easily installed outdoors and then hooked into your TV’s ‘line input.” So, for example, from the TV in the master bedroom, you can see who’s outside.“

Ensor notes that the latest trend is in computerized “integrated” systems, which he claims should really be “interfaced” systems.

“The issue is fault tolerance,” he explains. “If you tie together your lighting, temperature control, and security field panels in one system that’s accessed from your PC, if one of those panels fails, you’ve lost the whole system. But if you integrate separate field panels in your Windows-based software, if one panel fails, you still have the others”