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Part III: Home Security
Intrusion Deterrence
Of course, intrusion detection is only useful if your security system takes
action in response to events. Typically, security systems kick off several
different types of responses: intrusion deterrence, alerting, and recording
evidence. This section covers intrusion deterrence mechanisms that will
hopefully scare away the potential intruder.
Silent alarms are good for catching an intruder in the act, because they notify the
authorities while making the intruder feel like they have successfully broken in
without activating an alarm. I’m more interested in my own safety than getting a
criminal off the streets, though, so I’d rather scare an intruder away than catch
them. If you would prefer a silent alarm, you can skip this phase of the project.
1. Install light switches
Simply turning on lights is an effective mechanism of deterring an intruder,
because it lets them know they’ve been detected. If all you do is turn your
lights on, the intruder could theoretically continue to explore your home.
However, he probably wouldn’t, because he would think he had either
tripped an alarm or that someone was home.
The simplest way to turn lights on from a software-based security system
is to use X10 lamp switches and X10 wall switches. These can be triggered
either by the intrusion detection mechanism directly, or by a secur