The holidays mean travel for many families. Whether it’s across the country for a few weeks to visit extended family or just across town for the night to celebrate a particular occasion, people love to get out of the house during this time of year. For celebrants this means nostalgia, closeness with their families and friends and good times that make the coldest months of the year seem a little warmer for a while. For burglars, this means empty houses and lots of them.

Leaving your home unattended for long stretches of time poses particularly grave risks to security. It bears mentioning that no one should put off a good time out of fear. The best remedy for fear is preparation.

Prepare your home for your extended leave by putting lights on timers or setting your ADT alarm system to turn on the lights at various times if it can accommodate this. Remember that it gets dark early in the late part of the year, so you should schedule them to turn on no later than 5:00 p.m. in most of the US. If it gets dark earlier where you live, adjust accordingly. If possible, set different lights in different rooms to turn on and off for short periods to give the impression that there are people moving around the house. Good burglars are not put off by watching a house for a few days to see if there is actually traffic in and out of the house or just timers.

Think like a detective. If you’re going to be gone for a long while, have a neighbor pick up the mail, but not just to make sure you don’t have a box of overflowing bills and letters. Snow holds footprints for a long time. Having someone walking through the yard daily makes it look a lot more like the house is occupied.

Make certain to tell your alarm company that you’ll be out of town for a few days. If you use your mobile phone to communicate with them, give them an extra number in case service is spotty at your destination. If anything happens, they’ll call you immediately, so it’s imperative that they’re able to reach you if needed.

Remember not to turn down the heat too low or you risk frozen and bursting pipes and the associated damage. Good alarm systems incorporate heat, smoke, flood and freeze sensors that enable the alarm company to keep an eye on the environmental condition of your home and to be on the lookout for any warning signs.

And, of course, after you’re all packed, ready to go and heading out the door, remember to arm your alarm system on the way out. You’ll be amazed at the peace of mind you’ll have knowing that you’ve taken care of all the variables and put a little extra effort into dissuading thieves from thinking your home constitutes an easy target of opportunity!

If you work with a top home security company, you do not have to worry about dealing with more than one company for all of your home security needs. Today’s top home security companies look at all areas of home security.

That means that not only are they offering protection from burglaries and break-ins, but they also offer smoke and heat sensors, carbon monoxide detectors, water sensors and freeze sensors. These are upgrades that a homeowner should consider.

Sensors play an important role for homes, businesses and for government agencies. They convert a physical parameter, such as temperature, into a signal that is electrically measured. In home security, when a sensor is triggered, the homeowner and the proper authorities are notified.

Smoke sensors pick up the presence of smoke in a home or building. Fire prevention officials know that when there is a fire, it is the smoke and not the fire that kills more humans. That is why smoke sensors are important for early warning and to save lives. They come in very handy when residents are asleep at night. If there is the presence of smoke, a sensor can wake the residents so that they can leave the home and be safe.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, colorless, poisonous gas. It is as thin as air, so that makes it even harder to detect. The Journal of the American Medical Association says that carbon monoxide or CO2 is the leading cause of accidental poisonous deaths in the United States of America. Carbon monoxide kills hundreds of people in the United States every year.

A house can be invaded with carbon monoxide from faulty furnaces, gas stoves, gas fireplaces, automobiles in attached garages and more. When a person has ingested carbon monoxide into his or her system, the results will seem like the flu at first. There will be headache, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, confusion, rapid heart beat and more. The end result can be damage to the tissues, which blocks the oxygen needed, and then death. Carbon monoxide detectors can provide an early warning before the poison builds to a dangerous level.

Water sensors are another upgrade that homeowners of security systems should think about. If there is water leakage in your home, water sensors can trigger you. They can help in the laundry room, basement and other places that have the potentional for water damage. They can alert you so that you can fix the problem before extensive damage.

These are sensors that are also useful for property such as cottages or other locations where you are not present year round. They can notify you of leaks, broken pipes, cracked foundations, storm flooding and more. They are especially beneficial to people who live in flood zones.

Freeze sensors are also offered as an upgrade. They can give a homeowner an early warning sign about the potential for freezing temperatures that may result in burst pipes. They work well for people who live in areas that are susceptible to freezing.