What are important things are to be measured before choosing a good security system for your house?

The ratings of the business itself. Many security companies out there but only a few really reliable ones. I used to have a security system in my home and had to constantly come home for false alarms and such. Do some real research on some companies before you decide ! My big mouth Basset hound is my security system now !

There are so many major and minor things to consider I could write an hour long list. Primarily you want a system that will provide the best coverage. A system that is installed correctly and professionally. A UL certified monitoring station. Most companies farm out their monitoring to a large monitoring agency. You may live in New York but your system is monitored by a company in Nebraska for example. Nebraska calls the NYC police who may or may not respond. Some city and municipalities have ordinances that vary when it comes to police responding to "intrusion alarms". Most if not all municipalities require you to register your system and pay a yearly registration fee. The fee plus fines for false alarms go towards reimbursing  police departments' budgets for false alarm responses.

When designing a system or reviewing a system designed for you take into consideration the following:  If you have a pet such as a dog or cat you should avoid motion detectors. Yes there are motion detectors that can be adjusted to allegedly compensate for height, to avoid a dog  / cat walking by and for weight / mass. They do exist however it takes a highly trained and experienced professional to install such a devices so they will not produce false alarms.  Also remember cats like to climb and jump. That action would negate any adjustment. The use of glass breaks would be better suited. Another myth is you only have to install sensors on the first floor and basement of a house. Not true. Burglars have ladders and will use them. In  most cases, unless you are specifically targeted because you have valuable treasures (coin collections), (a ton of real expensive jewelry) you burglar will be the guy or gal who kicks in your front door. Knowing the local police response time to a home alarm is about 8 minutes at best he or she will run in and snatch what ever they can carry out to the parked car or van. TVs, VCRs, small appliances etc,  If there are two one will run to the master bedroom and first check the top drawers of the dressers, under the bed and top shelf of the closets. That is where most people hide or store their most precious possessions. Go outside and walk all around your house look at it first as if you locked yourself out and need to get in fast. Secondly step back and imagine yourself a burglar and look at how you would get in regardless the breakage.

Last but not least, for now, double check your contract. The bottom line is the security companies make their money off the recurring monitoring fees. The equipment is not that expensive. The contacts put on doors and windows are purchased wholesale for about 45 cents each. Your cost per window is about on average $125. Same ratio holds for most systems. Monitoring is the pot of gold. Your first three years will be at one price. When you renew the cost will go up.

When you get an intrusion alarm system if nothing else spend some money on a monitored smoke detector at least one.  And, for Pete's sake if you get one use it.

Sorry this is so long. I actually held back. LOL