Most reputable Home Security Companies offer Home Alarm System monitoring packages that include Carbon Monoxide Sensors.  If you are looking for a CO Monitoring System that will protect your family and pets while you are away consider a monitored solution. The benefits of a remotely Monitored Home Alarm with CO Sensor is that if a centrally monitored facility such as those monitored by ADT Security will alert you and medical first responders in the event of a situation. If you return to you home to the sound of an Home Alarm System Alert and unconscious pets or loved ones it is too late.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an odorless and invisible gas that consists of one carbon atom bonded with one oxygen atom. Carbon monoxide is usually produced from the combustion of fuels that contain carbon, such as gasoline. Combustion often produces carbon dioxide, the well-known greenhouse gas, but in conditions where oxygen is of only limited availability, carbon monoxide forms instead. Carbon monoxide is toxic and can cause death in humans and pets if inhaled in high enough concentrations for prolonged periods.

The symptoms of mild Carbon Monoxide poisoning are headaches, dizziness and flu-like symptoms. Higher exposure can cause heart attack, degeneration of the central nervous system, and death. Carbon Monoxide can cause death in unborn children if their mother is exposed to the gas. There are treatments for exposure to carbon monoxide but prevention is by far the best approach to prevent Carbon Monoxide exposure.

The most common sources of Carbon Monoxide exposure are house fires, malfunctioning heaters or stoves, car exhaust, and propane or gas-fueled equipment like grills, stoves, generators, etc. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is the most common type of fatal poisoning in the United States, with more than 40,000 people per year seeking treatment in the US. About 500 people die each year from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in the United States, not including about 2,000 people each year who use Carbon Monoxide as a suicide method.

Prevention of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and exposure is a matter of responsible and informed use of fuel-burning equipment in the home and workplace. Learning how to safely operate grills, industrial equipment, stoves, etc. is a key element in any carbon monoxide strategy. It is of particular importance to ensure that fuel-burning equipment and heaters are functioning properly, and not to use the equipment if there are problems such as leaks. The first line of defense in a residential environment is a Carbon Monoxide Detector, installed near heaters or other gas-burning equipment. These devices sound a loud alarm if excessive levels of carbon monoxide are detected, giving residents of the home a warning that they should evacuate the area immediately.

Fortunately, Carbon Monoxide Detectors are widely available and quite inexpensive. Stand-alone models can be purchased for as little as $20, and can either use AC power or batteries. It is important to install and regularly test Carbon Monoxide Detectors, particularly in confined spaces or in areas that contain stoves, grills, or other common sources of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. It is especially important to remember that Carbon Monoxide has no taste or odor, and cannot be detected by unaided human senses - “I don’t smell anything” is not a reason to disregard a Carbon Monoxide Detector going off!

Once you’ve got a Home Security System installed, it is likely that you want someone to monitor the home alarm for you remotely. Remote home alarm monitoring is a process that can get complicated in the details, but the basic idea is straightforward: a Home Security Company monitors the signals sent out by your Home Alarm System, and either calls emergency services or sends out their own private security team if the alarm is triggered. Home Security Companies can also provide a wide range of additional Home Alarm Monitoring services on top of this basic service. Home Security Companies that sell home alarm systems and also provide a home alarm monitoring service and can offer a discount on the combined service.

Choosing a Home Security Company to monitor your home alarm system is a balance of costs and benefits. There are deals to be found, but for the most part, the more you pay, the more service there is. There are Home Security Companies that have rates as low as $9 a month, for an extremely basic level of service (basically, they will call 911 for you if the alarm is triggered). Companies with packages in the $20 to $40 a month range tend to provide additional services, like professional installers who come out and get your system in sync with their residential alarm monitoring service, offer multiple alert levels for your home alarm system. For example, your service can be set up so that a window sensor being burglarized only triggers an alert e-mail that is sent to your personal address. No emergency services are alerted and no help will be coming.

Having your home alarm system monitored is definitely a good investment. Most home insurance policies offer discounts for as much as 20% if you have a quality home security system with professional installation and home alarm monitoring. Be sure to inquire with your home insurance agent before selecting a provider, to make sure that the home security system and home alarm monitoring service you are buying are going to work for your insurance company. Reputable Home Security Companies will be glad to help you with that process.

In addition to the financial benefit, a home alarm monitoring service represents a definite upgrade in the security level of your home. A home alarm system by itself is helpful but it still leaves you up against burglars or who-knows-what once the alarm has gone off. The peace of mind in knowing that an effective and rapid response is just a signal away is very reassuring and very comforting for you and your family. The cost is moderate and the security benefit very high; it is definitely a worthwhile idea.

One of the most common errors in configuring a Home Security System is neglecting to integrate a driveway alarm and garage alarm, which monitors access to the driveway, the carport, and/or the garage. Many a criminal has won access to a home by “thinking like a car” - and exploiting this common security loophole.

Start with the garage door opener. Particularly if you have a keypad permitting manual access, be sure to change the factory code so that a well-informed burglar can’t simply enter one of the common presets and walk in uninvited. Keypads should be mounted under a motion-sensitive light, both to increase your security while you enter the code, and to spotlight any thief who tries to guess your combination. No thief likes to stand in a pool of light while suspiciously trying out code after code! Don’t forget that your garage door openers are just like keys to your house - don’t leave them in unsecured vehicles or hide them around your property! Clever burglars know all the hiding places - keep them secure, the same as with your house keys.

The garage door itself is often a serious weak point. Doors are made of lightweight materials, to make them easier to open and close (particularly by hand), but this also makes them vulnerable to a physical assault. Steel or plywood bracing on the inside of the door can provide a measure of additional defense against a straightforward breakthrough attempt. Wooden garage doors are very easy to break through, and you should consider a metal door replacement. Many garage doors are also relatively easy to force open, especially if they have a gap at the bottom where a crowbar can find purchase. Mortise locks and cane bolts can help slow down that type of breakin. One easy and inexpensive step to completely forestall such a breakin: drill a hole through the inside and outside tracks of the door on the inside of the garage, and padlock the door shut from the inside when you are home.

The carport is a generally open area, and as such is difficult to secure against intrusion. Instead, install a Home Security System with motion detectors and floodlights to ensure that any unwelcome visitor is at least made visible to neighbors and passing cars. Make carports less attractive to thieves by storing valuables like lawnmowers or tools in secure chests, sheds or other storage units, rather than leaving them loose in the carport.

Driveway security is relatively straightforward; barring a gate, there isn’t much you can do to keep people off your drive, but you can be made aware of anyone who does enter. Home Security Systems equipped with Motion sensors, weight plates, and other passive devices are excellent ways of triggering your home security system and alerting you that there are unwanted guests.

Home Security Systems can secure your home and family as well as your home office. Ask the operator of a home business what they worry about, and the odds are good they’ll tell you it’s making it to the next payday, finding new clients, or just keeping the kids from driving them crazy during the workday. What these small, scrappy entrepreneurs have forgotten is that their home business needs security, just like a business operating in a more commercial setting. Imagine what would happen if a burglar took the computer you keep all your client information on, or took the file cabinet containing your tax receipts and forms - on April 14. Even the loss of a relatively minor item like a printer or fax machine can throw a wrench into a business that could take weeks or months to recover from. Home Security Systems with 24/7 monitoring are an economical way to secure you home office.

The first step in securing a home office is to get control of the perimeter. If you do not have a home security system in place, then definitely consider adding one, with special emphasis on the part of your home dedicated to your business. Depending on your needs, it might be possible to alarm and secure only the business part of the home, but that often isn’t practical. Security begins with the physical - check the doors and windows of your home office to ensure that they are heavy duty and up to the task of preventing intrusion. Hollow-core bedroom doors are no obstacles to anyone serious about breaking and entering. If your office is on the ground floor or basement, it’s worth investing in a high-quality window lock and/or a barred security system. Home alarms and home alarm monitoring are also a worthwhile investment. Don’t forget smoke alarms and, depending on your budget, fire suppression systems - a fire can wipe you out just as easily as a burglar can. Check your electrical systems to ensure you aren’t putting an excessive load on electrical circuits meant for a lamp or a TV, but which are instead supporting two color lasers and four PCs.

Once the physical environment is taken care of, make your home business more robust and trouble-proof. Ensure that all of your critical electronic files and documents are backed up to a secure offsite location. Web sites that will maintain your file libraries remotely have excellent unattended backup software; this investment of a few dollars a month could literally save your business after a disaster. Remember that a backup system that isn’t used is no better than no backup system at all - automate your backups, and periodically check to see that your backups are actually being written to the remote location. Store copies of paper files in an offsite location - you can do this cheaply by boxing up copies of your critical paper documents once a month and swapping storage space with another home business owner in the same state. (Don’t use someone in the same town or even worse, neighborhood - you don’t want one natural disaster to take out both offices.)

Have a backup plan for disaster, whether a burglary, a fire, or a flood. This can be as simple as having an emergency credit card and a standing reservation at a neighborhood office building that offers temporary rentals, or can be a complete and sophisticated emergency recovery plan. Remember that failing to plan is planning to fail!