In the mid 1970's an alarm system for the average residential home would cost you between $2500 to $3000 dollars, that's for the average home. Today that translates to about  $12,000 dollars.   Indeed, home security equipment use to be a luxury item but as technology improved times changed.  Now the average Joe can buy a home security system for as low as one hundred dollars, while a surveillance system starts at $500 dollars.

          House alarms date back to the early 1900's and were expensive to install, while video surveillance dates back to the mid 1960's when police started to mount cameras in public places.  Back then surveillance equipment was used primarily by the government, a business, or a very wealthy person.  On the other hand, alarm systems were a bit more common but still exclusive to the first class.

          Ralph Winn has been in the home security business for over 35 years.  He started off as an installer for Honeywell.  Winn remembers installing alarm systems for some high class clients, one client was John Wayne.  “As I recall, Wayne paid between 6 to $7,000 dollars.  The house was huge.”  The actor owned a one-story, 10 room, 7 bath ranch house on Balboa Island, California.  Today to install Wayne's house it would cost about $27,000 dollars.  Wayne was far from the average person and likely had more valuables and more need for an alarm system than the common man. 

          Why are prices today so low?  There are a couple of answers to that.  The first answer is technology.

  As technology improved prices went down.  Technology prompted a variety in products, including wireless alarm systems which made it more convenient to cut out the third party installer and do it yourself.   Also, because the market filled with a wide range of systems, companies offered a variety of deals. 

          The second answer is installation companies got cheap.  To install Wayne's house workers secured every door and every window.  They installed numerous motion detectors, a fire alarm, and a carbon-monoxide detector.  Today companies like Brinks or ADT will come in and install a motion detector in the front door and back door, then on to the next house they go.  The companies will sell the alarm system installation package at a bargain price focusing on quantity not quality.

          So what is a luxury item today?  In some cases expensive and fancy surveillance equipment, but the most recent toy for the home is a “smart home” system.  A smart home can control not only your alarm system, but your heating and air conditioning, your lighting and appliances, plus much more.  The smart home can be activated and controlled (depending on the kind of smart home you install) by a computer, a phone line, your voice, a remote, even your cell phone.  Smart homes have been priced anywhere from a couple of thousand dollars (extremely low end) to $100,000 dollars.

          A smart home offers security.  By using a smart home, you can program your lights to simulate in home activity when you are away.  You can program your TV and bedroom lights to turn on during your normal bedtime hours and the routine can be set up to change on weekends.  To protect against break-ins, you can position web cams at home entrances and install an alarm system that uses heat and motion sensors to alert you and a remote security company in the case of an intruder.  But while a smart home is cutting edge right now and mainly for the rich, technology and competition will surely bring the price down in the years to come.