Many motorized windows and skylights come with small rain sensors and close automatically when the weather turns bad and drape controllers can be configured to open and close depending on the time of day or position of the sun. Alarm There are several alert or notification options available as well. The traditional siren is still part of most security systems, but surveillance cameras can give a home's occupants a view of what is going on from the relative safety of their bedrooms. Remote telephone and notification devices can be added to most security systems to ensure that everyone who should know there is a problem can be found and notified. Autodialers , for example, dial phone numbers and play a prerecorded message alerting someone that there is trouble.
Many systems can call several locations until the homeowner is found and enters a security code.
More advanced systems offer the homeowner the ability to hear and even see what is happening inside the house in real time. When checking in from a computer, the view from strategically placed cameras can be seen via the Internet or a direct dial-up connection. When these devices are part of an integrated home system, all of the home's systems become more effective. Arming the system on the way out could close all the windows, lock the doors, set back the thermostat and draw the shades . Information gathered by the security system can be used to improve the performance of other home systems as well.