Home security surveillance systems have come a great distance during the past 20 years and, as the frontline of technology has moved, so that the prohibitive price tags on their more sophisticated parts have fallen away. Things like nanny cameras have come out of the domain of the rich and famous, and become affordable for ordinary folk with day jobs. The same is true for motion detector alarms and door and window alarms.

Window and door contacts: inexpensive and straightforward to install.

You will be able to find contacts, the twin magnetic elements used to make door and window alarms, for under $4 at most hardware stores. Magnetic alarm contacts form a circuit, which is broken when a door or window is opened, an interruption which in turn signals for your alarm sirens to sound and the police to come a-running. Door and window alarms are so straightforward to install, you might just as well take the task on as a DIY project - a little silicone and some wood glue and you'll be feeling safer in almost no time in any way.

Motion detector alarms: inexpensive and highly effective.

Since contacts guard your doors and windows, you should consider them the first line of defense for your home security system. Next on the list should be motion detector alarms. These, too, are relatively cheap. There are one or two different technologies that permit for motion detection. Ultra wideband radar (BWR) detectors emit an inaudible signal over a fixed range. If that signal rebounds back earlier than expected, the BWR detector knows that something has moved across its view, and trips the alarm.

They measure the infrared light that radiates from objects within their fields of view. In this example, the term 'passive' is used to indicate that PIR detectors don't really emit a beam of infrared light ( you'd need to pay quite a bit more for that ), but just passively accepts inward-bound infrared light.

Nanny cameras: confidence wherever you are.

NNanny cameras have probably developed the most out of all home security surveillance systems - their photographs can be viewed online over your cell phone, allowing you assurance even when you're over continent away. Simply install decent webcams covering topical parts of the house, and you'll be able to see not only your baby but also whatever the nanny could be doing with the house while you are gone. The information from your nanny cameras can be streamed to an online storage cluster, and stored for days, weeks or months ( depending on how much you're prepared to pay for the advantage ), allowing you to review events long after they transpire.

It's as simple as using your motion detector alarms, along with your door and window alarms, to turn on your webcams, so that they're only switched on when there's actually something going on in the house. There is an assortment of software engineered to integrate home security surveillance systems that allows for this, and countless brands of security camera come equipped with motion detection right out the box.