Inexpensive Home Security
Nowadays security is no longer a choice, but a necessity. Crushing poverty in the country has led to increasing desperation, which in turn has increased cases of burglaries and home invations.Most people employ a security guard to look after their building. This works for the most part, but there are limitations there too. For instance, a security guard cannot cover all angles of a big building at the same time. Furthermore, the guard is human and could doze off at any critical moment. He could even be cornered under the barrel of a gun, and forced to stay quiet.
That is where security gadgets come in. For those who can afford a security guard, it's absolutely worth it to have one. Human eyes should be complemented with electronic surveilance systems as well.
Surveilance systems can range from simple PIR sensors, to fullbrown security cameras with video recording capability.
Security cameras cost more, and may not be affordable to everyone. However, with just a few thousand Naira, one can have a fully working security setup with floodlights and siren.
Nothing scares a burglar like a noisy siren. Add a bright light to that, and the thieves would be scampering for safety like cockroaches. A PIR motion sensor is what triggers the siren, as well as turns on the bright light. So in a quiet dark area that a thief thinks he can sneak into, bright lights and loud noise suddenly go off. That is bound to discombobulate the intruder into immediately aborting his sinister mission. A thief running from a scene is mission accomplished for the homeowner, even if the thief is not caught.
Types of gadgets
PIR sensor for existing bulb
This is for a situation where you already have existing security lights, and you just want to add motion sensors to them. So instead of your security lights staying on all night, you can wire PIR sensors to them. The light bulbs would light up only when people approach your building. The sensitivity can cover meters away.A simple PIR sensor like this can cost as little as N3,000. So with a paltry N3k, you can control your existing lights. Any thief who move closes to your building would see lights magically switch on. The intruder would think the lights were turned on by somebody who has detected him. Also, lights expose a thief. That may be enough to send the thief running away.
Some floodlights come equipped with their own motion sensor. But if you wish to purchase one without a sensor, you can just wire the above PIR into it.
The wiring is very simple, as shown below,
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX4GTHVUkas
Alarm siren horn
Lights are great, but there's nothing a burlar hates like an alarm siren. The last thing a thief wants is to call attention to himself.
You can wire a motion sensor to a siren, just the same way the lights were wired above.
Both lights and sirens can be wired together also. So that lights and sirens switch on switch on simulataneously.
I have seen prices of standalone sirens ranging from N1,000 to N100,000+. Some sirens are bundled with strobe lights for even more dramatic effect. With a price of N1k, anybody can afford it.
Solar lights
The motion sensor and siren we looked at above have one downside. They rely on external power. If the building has no power, then the whole system would not work.
One elegant solution is solar security lights. These are self-contained units comprised of a solar panel, battery, motion sensor, and LED lights. An all-in-one inexpensive package.
The device is self-powered with a rechargable lithium battery. It is also weather-proof, and can work in rain, hot sun, cold or hot nights. The body are made of materials with the necessary IP rating for all-weather use.
Since the battery is only sparingly used, it could last for many years without any maintenance. The solar panel charges the battery everyday that there is sunshine.
What I find most interesing about these modern devices is the price. They come in all shapes and sizes, with current prices starting from N5,000 upward.
Advancement in technology has changed the landscape of home security, making it affordable for everybody. There is no excuse not to have one of these gadgets installed to protect a home from burglars.
In this era, there is not need to spend hundreds of Dollars for a home security system. Even with US$10, one can have something that spookes, and deters a burglar at night. They even come with settings that makes them work in the daytime as well, if that is what you want.
Many other home security options exist, such as those equipped with GSM capability to be able to alert someone via a phone call. In addition to the motion sensor we looked at, many types of sensors also exist like cooking gas detectors, smoke detectors, CO2 detectors, door/window sensors, water leakage sensors, vibration sensors, glass break detectors, temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation, balance, and so on. There are dozens of them.
Many of the gadgets also come with remote controller.
You can gravitate from regular security system above, to full-blown smart home automation system, and IoT. The sky is the limit.
If you are a Linux enthusiast, there are free and open source softwares dedicated to Home Automation, like Home Assistant, Domoticz, openHAB, Freedomotic, and many more.