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Home security sensors (of the contact and infrared, motion-detecting varieties) and wireless security cameras are easy enough to install that you could really learn everything you could need to known in a couple of hours of web-surfing. Installing a home security system has ceased to be the monstrous hassle it was just a few years ago, when the technology had recently emerged and was hard for anyone without a good understanding of electronics to work with. With everything simplified down to the point that you can install systems without ever needing to know anything beyond the contents of the product instruction manuals, getting a good home security system is not something to be put off indefinitely, as just another bullet on that lists of things you never get to. For anyone that's seriously interested in the safety of their family, their possessions and, indeed, themselves, getting a good home security system should qualify as a top-level priority.

Creating a Hollywood-style spy camera inside a teddy bear, a toy, or a paperweight is one carnival trick that's become very easy to perform. You can set these covert wireless security cameras up as an integral part of your home security system, even if you know no more about computers than your typical 7-year-old Asian kid. Just drill a hole in the underside of the device you're using to conceal the camera, cut a lens hole, drill another hole in the surface on which you plan to keep the ornament (for the power cable) and voila, you're all set. If the feed cable is a USB, then the camera doesn't even need to be wireless - you can power the device and retrieve information simultaneously. Note that you can save a lot of money on storage space by using basic motion detection software, which will activate the recording function on your cameras, thus eliminating the need for constant recording.

There's no reason why you shouldn't have your wireless security cameras activated by motion detection devices, home security sensors that require none of the disk space called for when recording footage. UWB (ultra-wideband) radar sensors are one such form of home security sensor. They function by bouncing a signal over a fixed range. If the signal returns more quickly than usual, the sensor reads this as indicating motion, and sends your home security system into high alert. Passive infra-red (PIR) sensors operate by a similar principle, only by sensing infra-red radiation instead, activating when an object of sufficient heat move across their visual fields.

These technologies have been in use for quite some time. Indeed, one of them is indubitably responsible for flicking the light in your driveway on when someone walks across it. As a side note, the sensors have also been very well-refined in order to prevent false alarms, such as those resulting from a cat or small dog walking past a sensor. 'Pet-immune' home security systems utilize PIR detectors fitted with a mirror or lens modified so as to stretch the heat blip created by moving objects. Through some clever manipulation, these mirrors magnify the blip produced by a human, and reduce those of a do or a cat. If you have the money lying around, it's also possible to find wireless security cameras equipped with the software to discriminate between animals and humans in a similar fashion.

If you plan to install a home security system incorporating wireless security cameras and home security sensors all by yourself, there are a few important considerations you'll want to keep in mind. One is location. Ideally, cameras and sensors should cover those areas through which an intruder will have to pass in order to access the house. So doors, windows and skylights should be first. Be more concerned about those entry points that are off the street and shielded from public eyes, as they're the ones morel likely to be used by intruders.

The other, most crucial question in this business is - who exactly is going to monitor your home security system? It's no good having an alarm system if there's no one around that's paid to respond to it, and respond quickly, with due diligence and a bit of fire power. If you aren't signed up with a security company, the best your system could do is scare intruders away with a loud siren, or perhaps even call the police with a looped recording requesting their assistance. Neither of these methods is as foolproof or reassuring as actually having a security company, like Chubb or ADT, at your beck and call. Security companies will often install any of the aforementioned home security system components - home security sensors, motion detectors, wireless security cameras - at low rates for new customers that sign security contracts with them.