Admittedly, I'm more interested in a solid house than in bells and whistles that can break down and become outdated, but a security system isn't something upon which I'd spend money. Consider: A security system won't stop burglars from breaking into your house. It'll just alert the police that it has happened. Most burglaries happen FAST, and by the time the police arrive, the crooks are already gone. You MIGHT have pictures of the thieves, but more likely they'll have been smart enough to cover their faces. The biggest thing a security system is likely to give you is a discount on your insurance. Do the math and see how long it'll take you to "make back" the upfront cost of installation, and make an informed decision. And I would NEVER go for the type of system that has visual monitoring inside my house. Do I want the people at ADT (or whatever) knowing when I'm home? If I were a thief, I'd get myself a job at ADT and call my thief-friends, saying, "Hey, the Johnsons are gone. Here's their address." The poster who commented that everyone lives in a "safe neighborhood" . . . until something happens is right. Anyone can ride through your safe neighborhood -- even if it's gated. My oldest child was good buddies with a kid who lived in a gated community, and I never had any trouble driving her over to the friend's house . . . and getting in without help from her friend's grandparents. If I can do it, certainly a dishonest person can figure it out. Instead of spending on a security system, I'd look into the low-tech methods of home security, which are more likely to PREVENT the burglary: - Focus on a good, solid front door: Not too much glass and a deadbolt lock. Though they're lovely, avoid sidelights; they open you to danger in two ways: 1) a thief can break them, reach in and open your deadbolt. 2) if you have only a 2x4 between the door and the sidelight, a strong thief with a ram of some sort can break it and enter your house. Also choose a door that's visible to the road -- avoid plans that place your front door "deep" in a cave-like entry, and avoid landscaping that hides your door from the street. Though you want a strong front door, it's not the place the thieves are most likely to break in: They don't want a nosy neighbor to see them busting down a door, and they don't want the damaged door to sit there all day declaring, "A crime has been committed here!" - Don't neglect the back door. Thieves like to ring the front bell to see if you're home, but they're then likely to go around the back (where it's more private) to break in. Plus your back door is more likely to be a sliding glass door or a French door. Sliding glass doors are pretty thick, and it takes a strong thief to put a piece of firewood through them -- though it is possible. French doors tend to offer less security. Lots of people have good, solid deadbolts on the front door . . . but less security on the back door. And if you have a privacy fence (or a deep covered porch) in your back yard, the thief can probably go about his business in comfort, knowing that the neighbors aren't going to see him breaking your windows or back door. No matter what you do, your back door is probably your weakest point -- and we have to balance comfort and light with security concerns. - If you have an attached garage, put effort into that entrance. An experienced thief LOVES to get into a garage (probably through a man-door that has only a piddly little lock) because then he can take his time breaking in through your kitchen door. No neighbor will see him in the privacy of your garage! No lie: My in-laws bought a house that had ONLY an interior door -- yeah, just like your bedroom door! -- separating their kitchen from the garage. They changed that before they moved in. The point: Be sure your garage is just as secure as your house, and you have a deadbolt on your kitchen entrance door. - If your doors are secure, the thieves are likely to go on down the road to someone else's house, but don't neglect your first-floor windows -- especially if they're the tall type that a person could potentially step through easily. Be sure they're locked. Plant sticky-bushes like Holly or roses under them to make thieves reconsider entering that way. Or consider decorative bars, though that could constitute a fire hazard. - Do you own a ladder? Be sure it's locked up in your shed or garage. Don't offer thieves a way to get to your (often less protected) upstairs windows. - Try to plan your house so that your big-screen TV isn't visible from the front door (i.e., through sidelites or to a person who might be delivering packages). Don't give thieves a reason to choose you. - A safe inside the house will deter even experienced robbers. They want to get in and out of your house quickly. They're wise to ideas like hiding your money in the freezer, and they know that if you have a safe, it's probably in your master closet . . . but they're going to grab your electronics, guns, medicines . . . and GET OUT rather than wasting their time with a safe they probably can't enter anyway. A safe set into the floor or built into the wall can't easily be carried away to be opened later at their leisure. A safe is relatively inexpensive, and it's a one-time cost. - Automatic lights are inexpensive to install (the one in my pantry cost about $15, though exterior quality would cost more) and don't require monthly fees. No thief wants lights, and a light coming on suddenly inside the house and outside the house might convince the would-be-thief that someone is in the house (even if they aren't opening the door). Most thieves want in and out of the house FAST, and they don't want to meet any homeowners. - Plenty of studies have shown that a dog is the best deterrent to a break-in. Not everyone is interested in owning a dog and not every dog is a real deterrent, but just the presence of a dog will make many thieves go on down the road to another house. - If you have lots of nice steal-able stuff, increase your insurance. It's all replaceable. Most of the time people who rob individual homes are small-time crooks who are looking for things that're easy to sell: Electronics and guns. And drugs. LOTS of home burglaries are committed by people who are on drugs, and they'll clear out your medicine cabinet. But few home robberies are personal: That is, few robbers specifically know that you have ______, and they're going to come steal it. - Consider putting up fake cameras or fake security system stickers. You can buy some fairly good fake things that'll deter the thieves, and that's the real goal. Remember: Most robberies are crimes of opportunity. Most of us will never be targeted specifically; rather, the thieves will look at a row of houses and pick the one that looks easiest. If you offer some solid resistance, they'll move on to easier pickings. And most robberies are FAST -- less than 10-15 minutes.

My experience is limited to government security and A/V systems where the two could not "touch" each other. I recommend you meet with 2-3 people who specialize in whole house automation. This is an area that can easily cost as much as a house. There are numerous variables involved which will be largely determined by your budget and personal taste. Questions include: are you videotaping your camera coverage (and what is your time coverage) and how many cameras do you plan to use? A/V can cover even more areas as well -- large screen TV and/or projector, home theater lighting control, multi-zone & multi-control (i.e., separate audio sources) speakers, etc. And then you get into remote control of your house via the internet. HVAC, webcam viewing, and home lighting control are some of the more popular ways of monitoring a home from afar. The best way to save money with your builder is to have the system specified with a detailed layout design before the first stud goes up. The builder needs to know what you plan to do. You should also meet with your builder's electrical sub as early as possible to determine if he/she has any experience with wiring these kinds of systems. You may need another sub if the electrician is inexperienced or uncomfortable with performing the work. Your costs will soar if you have to go back into ceilings, floors, and/or walls after they are finished. You can certainly save by doing some work yourself but you want to stick to what you know to avoid holding up the builder and incurring costs greater than your labor savings. Good luck...

Trudy I have some experience with this - from my first house where I paid ADT to install the security system and my new house where I installed the security system myself. If you pay a company like ADT to do the security system - they will typically want to sell you additional separate smoke detectors that are connected to and monitored by the security system. These detectors are seperate and not connected to the smoke detectors that you need per your building code. Way back in 1993 when we had our first house built - the building code only required 1 smoke detector per floor. So we added 1 additional smoke detector on the second floor, and only that detector was monitored by the security system. The other 3 house detectors per code that were not monitored by the security system. I questioned why the security company did not use the house detectors I already had and was told they could not. It turns out they could have BUT the alarm companies make a lot more money selling you additional sensors. Fast forward to 2007 and my new home. I got so frustrated paying ADT to service my system ($400 for a new key pad!!) that I decided to do the security system myself. This time the building code required us to have 10 smoke detectors for the house - yikes! So there was no way I was going to have 10 of those plus another few for the alarm system. It turns out that if you find the right alarm company - there is a little interface board that can montior the signal used my your home smoke detectors to alert each other when there is an alarm. Ever wonder why or how all you house smoke detectors go off when one (like the kitchen) detector goes off? Code requires house smoke detectors be hard wired in a chain - and that is done using 3 conductor wire - either 14/3 or 12/3. Two of the wires are for 120 volt power but the third wire (the red one) is used to carry a low voltage signal that allows all of the detectots to know when any one of them is outputting an alarm condition. If you tap into that signal your security system can monitor you home smoke detectors - with no additional smoke detectors needed. Now here's the catch. I was told (but I never verified this) that you can't pass the building inspection if you have a low voltage wire that is tied to your house smoke detectors and running to your security system. So I added that feature immediately after I moved in. So you can either have two sets of smoke detectors (one just for the house and one set for the security system) or find a security system company that will tie in your home smoke detectors to your security system after you move in. The circuit board to provide this interface is tiny and very inexpensive (maybe 20 dollars in parts & labor to make one). This intreface board is the size of 4 postage stamps and it goes into your security system box. You run a pair of wires to the very first house smoke detector in the chain (usually in the basement). One lead get's tied to the red wire, one to neutral (white) - this is the way the alarm system will sense the 9 volt signal on the line. Another pair of wires from the little interface board goes into you security system as a monitored alarm zone. Most alarm contollers have a special zone set up just for fire alarms. Whenever any house smoke detector goes off, a 9 volt signal is sent down the red wire from that smoke detector to trigger all other detectors to sound off. The security system interface board will sense this voltage (key here - without reducing the load on that red line) and send an alarm to the security minitoring company. Hope that helps.

In our latest build, I concentrated on: 1. Wiring, for now and the future. Upgraded as far as we could go-CAT6 (alas, residential fiber not yet affordable, 2 years ago) and made sure that we planned for things we wanted as well as what, perhaps, a future buyer might want. We are with Google Fiber, currently, but all fiber networks can work with this wiring. We'd lived through the "intercom" stage (early 80s) and wanted nothing like that. Control panels swerve all systems, are out of the way and except for an additional alarm system panel (panic room? :) ), none is in the master, nor is any of it visible. The whole house could be run by apps, for those who have the appetite for apps. I don't... Most importantly, we did the planning before the walls went in. 2. Concentrated on not putting in anything that might become obsolete, fast. At one point, our low voltage guy recommended a built-in iPad, to run the house. Lol- NO! 3. Put 240V in the car area. Electric cars are becoming more and more something people want, and are common in my city. HAH! We decided to test the technology, soon after move-in. Got an EV. Our public utility paid for half the costs of the station/install. We're having a blast with the car, and Federal credits made it stupidly affordable. Now- the Utility told us that if we sell too soon OR go solar, they "might" ask for their money back. Understandable because... 4. Made sure that solar is a reasonable option, without tearing our house apart. Go back to #1- it all matters, works. We're have a great rating for solar (because of design) and can easily do it. Didn't do it with the initial build, because that technology is rapidly changing. 5. Nest Thermostats- we have them. Took a minute for me to understand the programming, but it works great. 6. Made sure that our HVAC system had the best, cleanest and easiest to operate technology available. Without an app, it works with our windows, even, to prevent the "fogging" that happens when it's 100 degrees outside and 72 inside. Also works to control humidity in our really humid climate. 6. Not what you'd think of as "technology", but we have a very natural possibility of a third story rooftop deck. We don't want it (I HATE holes in roofs- problems abound, even in the best of cases), but somebody else might. So while the walls were open, we took the time to have a tiny bit of engineering, a bit of steel reinforcement installed, and presto! That space is ready to go, for anybody who wants to do it. All of this was done at really affordable prices, since it was planned for, installed in the beginning. All of it wrapped up in a really nice, long-term Builder's Warranty. Not nearly as affordable if you don't do it and then discover you want "more". That, then, becomes a type of a remodel remodel- hell on earth, for me! The only thing we installed that could become obsolete are ceiling speakers. We love music, and it plays through our home a lot. Can hook to the TV, so a football game (or movie) sounds like a home theater, without all the mess. Eh- the speakers could become out-of-date, but they're there, so a quick switch out and off you go.