Deciding whether or not to equip your home with a whole-house generator is a lot like gambling. As in, “Is this the year we’re going to have an extended power outage? And, even if we do, is it really worth the expense of a whole-house generator?”

Those are fair questions, and ones we can’t answer for you. All we can do is remind you of the several benefits and added peace of mind such an investment would provide:

• In the event of a power outage, your generator would turn on automatically and remain operational until the public power supply is restored.
• Whole-house generators are powered by your home’s natural or propane gas supply. That means no messy refills, and no running out of power.
• Whole-house generators also are super quiet, another advantage over portable generators which whole neighborhoods can hear.
• With no loss of power, you won’t have to worry about food spoilage, loss of warm or cool air (depending on the time of year), or loss of lifesaving medical assistance for any family member connected to electrically-operated equipment.
• When public power is restored, your generator will shut itself off automatically.

And now for the home safety angle. When just one house or an entire neighborhood goes dark, thieves take notice. If they see a lack of electricity and no signs of lit candles or beaming flashlights, it’s like leaving a welcome mat out for them. A whole-house generator will relieve you of that concern, as well.

Here’s something else to consider when it comes to the protection of your home and family. With a security alarm system from Now Security Systems, a sudden loss of power will not render your system useless.  Quite the contrary. Our systems include battery back-up power; plus, any breaches of security are reported to our own monitoring center via radio technology vs. the phone lines. Which means we never lose contact with your home or system.

For more information on how we can help protect you all-year long, contact Now Security Systems today.

When the first day of school rolls around, one thing parents are sure to have ready and “just right” is their children’s backpacks: exactly what they need, maybe a little more, but never too much.

As a dutiful parent, you no doubt even test the weight before expecting to start lugging around something that might be too heavy for their tender age and shoulders.

But here’s the thing: nothing is ever the same after the first day of school. So, unless you remain consistent in helping them remove what you need to see nightly, unpacking leftovers from their lunch, pulling out and reading homework assignments, etc., before long a backpack starts to feel like it’s filled with rocks.

Backpacks that are too heavy for kids can cause problems like back and shoulder pain, not to mention poor posture.

That’s why, when searching for your child’s new backpack, you should pay special attention to:

• Ergonomic design
• The correct size: never wider or longer than your child’s torso and never hanging more than 4 inches below the waist
• Padded back and shoulder straps
• Hip and chest belts to help transfer some of the weight to the hips and torso
• Multiple compartments to better distribute the weight
• Compression straps on the sides or bottom to stabilize the contents
• Reflective material for after-dark safety

Here’s what not to look for: an overly roomy backpack. Because the more space there is to fill, the more likely it WILL be filled. That, in turn, leads to a parent-child discussion about what really needs to be carried back and forth to school, and what’s better left behind.

For added around-the-clock safety at home, we invite you to contact Now Security Systems to help ensure the 24-hour safety and security of your home and family. After all, that’s what we do best.

As a parent or guardian, there’s nothing seasonal about caring for or worrying about your kids. It comes with the territory, and it never goes away.

And yet the changing seasons present their own unique challenges – situations you’d be much less likely to face any other time of year. And that’s true of summer just as it is fall, winter or spring.

So, from the home security team here at Now Security Systems, we offer these 4 child-safety tips for everyone’s benefit:

Going to the Playground.

Before walking to driving to your favorite playground, fill a backpack or similar conveyance with the core essentials:  sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, sunglasses, a hat, band-aids, an antiseptic, water, and snacks.

Playground equipment.

Once you’ve arrived, visually inspect the swing sets, jungle gyms, and other trappings to ensure they’re securely anchored in good repair – especially if you don’t often visit this playground. Look for a cushioned surface beneath and around play spaces that consists of sand, rubber mats, pea gravel, or wood chips. Also, limit the amount of time your child spends in direct sunlight, even if they’re lathered up in sunscreen. And don’t forget to touch the bare surface of metal slides. If they’re too hot, they can burn bare little legs.

Visiting a friend.

If your child is allowed to have a playdate at a friend’s house with or without your presence, you’ll want to know as much about the lay of the land as possible. How much direct supervision will there be. Is the host child sick or suffering from a communicable disease or cold? Are there certain foods or beverages your child is not allowed to ingest? How about pets – does your child have known allergic reactions. We all want to encourage the social side of your children, but without putting them in harm’s way.

At a public pool or lake.

It all starts with setting very clear and rigid ground rules. First, remind your kids not to dive or jump into shallow water, run on wet surfaces, or engage in any roughhouse near or in the water. Do not allow your child near or in the water without adult supervision, even if a lifeguard is on duty. Bring an extra supply of sunscreen with you to reapply when they come out of the water, even if the sunscreen claims to be water proof.

What about when your kids get a little older and gain extra measures of independence – do you stop worrying about their safety then? Of course not, and that includes in and around your own backyard pool. Tweens and teens still need adult supervision, no matter how much they might protest. One additional way to keep an eye on them is with one or more outdoor video surveillance cameras carefully and constantly monitored by Now Security Systems so the proper action can be taken at the first sign of trouble – especially if your own attention is even temporarily averted.

For more information or a free in-home security evaluation, contact Now Security Systems today.

As parents, it’s easy to get so wrapped up in getting your kids ready for a day of swimming that’s easy to neglect one essential step: reviewing important water safety tips with them in advance. And that goes for poor to excellent swimmers – and anyone in between – alike.

Consider the following:

• Always watch your children around water.
• Gather towels, toys, sunscreen, and anything else you might want or need before allowing your child to enter the water. If you must leave for any reason, take your child with you.
• Do not permit young children to swim in streams or canals.
• Consider installing a door alarm to alert you when a child has opened a door that leads to a hot tub or pool.
• Always have a life preserver and a phone near the pool or hot tub in case of an emergency.
• Use Coast Guard approved life jackets instead of floaties for your children, but remember that even with a life jacket, a child can still drown if not properly monitored.
• Increase your chances of saving a life by becoming certified in first aid and CPR.
• Enroll your child in age-appropriate swim lessons. And if you don’t know how to swim, it’s never too late to learn.
• Always swim with a buddy.
• Do not swim if you have been drinking alcohol or are taking medications that can make you drowsy, light-headed, or impair your ability to make sound decisions.
• Wear a life jacket when boating.
• Swim in designated areas and try to stay close to areas monitored by lifeguards.

Are you fortunate enough to have an outdoor pool, even if it’s the kiddy variety? Here at Now Security, we can help enhance the safety of all family members by installing one or more video cameras so you can keep an eye on pool activities even when your indoors or not at home. To learn more, and how video surveillance can become part of your home security system, contact Now Security today.

Does your kitchen look more like the set of a 1980s sitcom than the sleek, efficient, and stylish hub of your home? Maybe you’ve considered giving it a facelift, but just aren’t sure where to begin. And, given the investment required, it’s not something you want to jump into uninformed.

Before you hire a contractor and start swinging that sledge hammer, here are some things to consider.

• Budget – This may seem like an obvious starting point, and yet many kitchen remodeling projects go over budget, sometimes by thousands of dollars. Factor “surprises” into your budget, especially if you’re opening walls or changing the footprint of the space.
• Stated Reason – Are you updating to make the space work better for you or is your primary concern greater resale value? If it’s the latter, consider speaking with a real estate professional about what upgrades buyers in your neighborhood are looking for. You want to make your home desirable without going overboard.
• Use – How does your household use the kitchen now, and what more could you do if you had the space and the means? If you’re a frequent entertainer, maybe an open layout, a large French-door refrigerator, and lots of prep space would make entertaining easier and more enjoyable.
• Style – Do you prefer a modern look with simple lines and sleek surfaces or is traditional more your style? If your dream cabinets, counters, and flooring are out of your price range, look at alternative materials that still deliver the look you want for a fraction of the cost.
• Storage – Even a small kitchen can have tons of storage space if you make the most of the space you have. Upper cabinets that reach to the ceiling can hold seasonal or special occasion dishes, platters, and other items. A small rolling island or cart offers extra prep space and storage, while a small bistro table with a drop-down side offers casual dining for two.

Any time you have a significant amount of work done inside your home, it’s a signal to burglars who pay attention to such things that here is a family of means with items worth purloining. They’ll see the extra cars and vans parked outside your home, sometimes for weeks at a time. Which means that before you launch your next remodeling project, make sure your home security equipment is functional and up to date. And that the company that monitors your system is as fully responsive to your needs. For a first-time system or a home security upgrade, contact Now Security Systems today for more information or a free in-home security analysis and proposal.

If you listened to everyone who said “do this because it will increase your home’s resale value,” you’d never stop spending money on your home.  And you wouldn’t come close to recouping your total investment.

That’s why doing something to increase your home’s resale value, while generally a good idea, should rarely if ever be your sole reason for making certain improvements.

Let’s say, for example, you live in a neighborhood where no one’s heard of tankless water heaters. But you have, and you want one. Is it worth the added expense and/or will it yield a higher resale price for your home? Impossible to say with just that much information to work with. Therefore, go ahead and purchase that tankless water heater if you think it’s the best hot water solution for your family, and its impact on eventual resale value determine itself.

On the other hand, let’s say you are actively planning to sell your house and you have a set budget for making improvements before putting it on the market. According to HGTV, these are the projects that typically deliver the greatest return on investment:

1. Minor bathroom remodel
2. Landscape improvement
3. Minor kitchen remodel
4. Exterior improvements
5. Attic bedroom conversion

You know what else adds value to your home? A home security alarm system! It increases the desirability of your home and property and often is a deciding factor when a buyer is faced with a choice of which home to place an offer on.

What’s more, home security systems are considered a valuable addition to your home by insurance companies. In fact, many of them offer up to a 20% discount on your monthly premiums.

Whether you’re selling or staying put, contact Now Security Systems today to learn more about how a carefully installed and monitored security system can add value to your home, and peace of mind for its occupants.

If you have a wall that’s too small for furniture, or is positioned in a high flow traffic area but makes little if any decorative statement, maybe you’ve just given up trying.  After all, you might reason, do you really want to hang up more family photos or “whatever” just because you have a space to fill?

Well, it’s for just such spaces that gallery walls first came into being:  a place where you can make an important creative statement about who you, something that means the world to you, some place memorable you’ve visited, and so on. Here are a few tips and suggestions to get you started.

Get inspired: Half of the fun of a gallery wall is gathering and locating a collection of items you love! Not quite sure what that might be? Search the internet, Pinterest, magazines, and even your own photo albums. Figure out what strikes your fancy, and then do a little more research on the specifics.

Get personal: Once you’ve picked your theme, don’t just buy all your items at a home décor store – nothing terribly personal about that!  Instead, add personal touches, like old family photos, family heirlooms, or have the whole family pick items that represent them and their part of the story.

Get focused: Pick a statement piece, something that is on the larger side that will draw people’s attention, and make the focal point of your gallery wall. Then use other pieces to elaborate on the central theme. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box, as not every focal point has to be dead center. It can be wherever you want it to be.

Get creative: When choosing the items for your wall, try to vary them in size, type, and texture and yet make sure thy complement one another and the overall theme. Also, keep in mind that too many small items will get lost, while several larger items would tend to  make the wall feel overwhelming or busy.

Give it life: First lay out the design. You can do this on the floor or a table, or trace the items on paper and move the pieces around until your satisfied it’s just what you want. This will help ensure that once you start adhering things to the wall, you’ll only have to do it once.

If you have valuable items as part of your Gallery Wall, we advise you to not make it viewable from the outside.  Otherwise, it could serve as a neon sign to burglars, screaming “look what’s waiting here for you.”  Don’t already have a home security system?  Then today’s a great day to contact Now Security Systems for the added protection every family needs for true peace of mind.