A letter from Owen Security Solutions regarding COVID-19

To Our Valued Customers,

During this time of concern surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19), Owen Security Solutions would like to reassure our customers, employees, and communities that their safety and security remain our top priority, just as they have for more than 47 years.

We understand that our residential and commercial customers’ need for safety and security does not stop in times such as this, and we assure you that neither will our commitment. Owen Security Solutions’ installation, service, troubleshooting, and customer service teams are ready to respond to any customer needs that may arise.

Although our promise of excellence and dependability will not waiver during this concerning time, we have implemented safety measures to avoid disruptions to our business operations and are taking all possible precautions to ensure that each department is equipped to continue protecting our customers and their families around the clock.

We have taken additional steps to communicate with and prepare our employees to ensure we keep each other and our customers safe. Steps we have taken include:

• Informing employees of the importance of cleanliness and sanitation during this time to prevent the contraction or spreading of illnesses. We are also doing our very best to keep the entire company up-to-date with the latest information concerning the severity of COVID-19.
• Providing additional supplies needed to minimize risks, including hand sanitizer and disinfectant. We have asked every employee to participate in the disinfection and sanitization of their areas to minimize the transmission of germs.
• We have asked that employees be forthcoming with any information about any possible direct or indirect contact with COVID-19 and have encouraged them to stay home if they are not well or feel that they are at-risk.

24/7 Monitoring & Customer Care

We are happy to report that there have been no interruptions in the monitoring or dispatch services we provide to our customers.

We have asked all employees who may be unwell or may have had possible contact with the virus to stay at home. Additional sanitary and disinfectant supplies have been provided for our employees and they are encouraged to use them as often as necessary. We are also utilizing online tools to continue meetings, conferences, and training.

Sales, Service, Installation Teams

Our Sales, Service, and Installation teams have been instructed to proceed in the safest manner concerning the COVID-19 virus. We have provided each employee and vehicle with cleaning materials, sanitizer, and disinfectant for use before and after each stop.

We also ask that our customers who may be concerned about their health, have traveled recently, are feeling unwell, or may have been exposed to COVID-19 to please take the necessary precautions prior to their appointments or to call and reschedule their appointment.

As more information is released, Owen Security Solutions will continue to closely monitor and assess the safety of our customers and employees. We appreciate the continued support and promise to do our very best to ensure the confidence and comfort of our customers while keeping safety our top priority. Those around the world that are or have been affected by this virus are in our thoughts.

Home Security Solution for your New Years Resolution

How Smart Home Security can improve your 2020.

As we enter into a new decade, many will continue the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, break habits or save money; but, have you considered a resolution to better protect your home and family in 2020? The cold, rainy months of winter present a great opportunity to spend time inside and improve your home’s safety and efficiency.

Below are a few ways that a home security and smart home system can benefit you and your family in 2020.

Peace of Mind

Smart home security features offer homeowners peace of mind while away from home and/or family. Not only is a home with a monitored security system less attractive to potential burglars, the smart home features offered by Owen Security Solutions systems give you the ability to check-in on your home or loved ones from anywhere. 

The easy-to-use app gives you real-time access to live video, recorded clips, alarm status and smart home automation features. Instant alerts are sent to your mobile device when an  emergency or unexpected activity is detected, giving you the opportunity to confirm the need for emergency services or to verify an accidental alarm. 

The smart home feature can also allow you to remotely control your home’s door locks, in the event that a trusted neighbor or family member needs to access your home.

Save Money

A smart home security system can do much more than keep your family and home safe. Integrated technology, including thermostats, lights, leak detection, water shutoff valves and more, can be installed to also increase energy efficiency and reduce utility useage. 

Smart thermostats can save homeowners significant amounts of money on their monthly utilities, often paying for themselves in just a few months. Schedules can be programmed to automatically regulate your home’s temperature to an economic setting while unoccupied and readjust to your preferred temperature before you arrive home from work.

Lights can also be programmed on schedules, ensuring energy conservation and savings for your family. Don’t pay for electricity you don’t need! Customizable automations can be programmed to turn lights off when the home is unoccupied and turn them back on when an authorized person enters a defined perimeter or at a specified time. Never come home to a dark, spooky, scary house again! 

Leak Detection and water shut-off features are designed to protect your home in the instance of a burst water pipe, flooding basement, leaky appliance, etc. The integration for these devices is customized for each homeowner. These devices are programmed to alert homeowners to possible concerns when moisture is detected in a designated area. This often prevents extensive damage to the home and saves homeowners significant amounts of time, money and stress.

Save Lives

Smoke, heat and carbon monoxide sensors save lives, but only if someone is home to hear the warning. Otherwise, homeowners often aren’t aware of what has taken place until it’s far too late. This can include a total loss of valuables, family heirlooms and, sadly, family pets that may be unable to escape.

Choosing a monitored system with life-safety technology enables communication that can alert you of an emergency at your home while preparing to dispatch first responder services. 

Live Easy

Owen Security Solutions streamlines your home security and Smarthome features into one mobile app. Our goal is to integrate technology into your home and security system in a way that will make your experience easy, reliable, safe and fun!

Fire Safety for the Holidays

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and for many households this means traveling to visit loved ones, made-from-scratch feasts and fellowship with family. For most, these holiday festivities and memorable moments are centered around the kitchen, which means that keeping fire safety at the forefront of your mind during this hectic and joyous time is very important to protecting those you love.

According to data from the United States Fire Association , each year, Thanksgiving Day is the peak day for cooking fires in American homes. An estimated 2,000 Thanksgiving Day fires occur annually in residential buildings in the United States. The primary cause of these residential fires each year is cooking and, unfortunately, smoke alarms are often not present in 20 percent of these instances.

Here are a few additional facts from the National Fire Prevention Association :

• Ranges or cooktops were involved in the 62% of reported home cooking fires, 89% of cooking fire deaths and 79% of cooking fire injuries.
• Households that use electric ranges have a higher risk of cooking fires and associated losses than those using gas ranges.
• Unattended cooking was the leading cause of cooking fires and casualties. Clothing ignitions led to 14% of the home cooking fire deaths.
• Almost one-third (30%) of the people killed by cooking fires were sleeping at the time. More than half (53%) of the non-fatal injuries occurred when people tried to control the fire themselves.

Some holiday safety tips from Owen Security Solutions:

The first step you should take to protect your family and home this season is to be sure that you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home and outside each sleeping area. Smoke alarms should be replaced at least every 10 years to ensure proper working order, and batteries in smoke detectors should be changed every six months.

Never leave cooking food or in-use appliances unattended. Being present and keeping an eye on food to ensure that it doesn’t boil over, burn, or put anyone in danger is the best way to prevent possible injuries.

Keep your cooking workspace clear of any trash, combustible products, or flammable materials. Wooden utensils, oven mitts, towels and place mats can also catch fire quickly.

Be sure that you wear clothing that will not drape or be loose-fitting while working near fire or heat. Clothing fibers can melt to your skin, ignite, or get caught and cause unintentional fires, spills, or burns.

Children should be at least three feet away from cooking areas and any area where hot foods or drinks are prepared. Steam or splashes from these items could cause serious injuries or burns.

Always keep your kitchen stocked with a fire extinguisher. Type K extinguishers are specifically for grease fires and type ABC multipurpose extinguishers can be used for flammable liquids, wood, and electrical fires.

Never put water on a grease fire. Water could splatter the fire and cause it to spread much more quickly. Baking soda and a lid for the pan can be used to help deprive the fire of oxygen.

Turkey fryers should be kept outdoors and a safe distance from buildings or flammable materials. Never use these fryers in an enclosed area or on a wooden surface. Do not leave fryers unattended, use well-insulated mitts and safety goggles when working near the fryer, and keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Most importantly, ALWAYS ensure the turkey has thawed before putting it into the fryer. The National Turkey Federation recommends that turkeys thaw for at least 24 hours for every five pounds in weight.

We hope that these by following these holiday safety tips many more families enjoy a wonderful and safe holiday season with loved ones!

For more information on a home security system or life protection system and monitoring, please give us a call at 706.629.7398 or visit our website www.OwenSecurity.com.

For downloadable or printable safety tip sheets, visit the National Fire Prevention Association website.

Tips and Tricks for Halloween Kicks

SmartHome Halloween Decor & Ambiance at the Touch of a Button

Halloween is one of the most fun-filled holidays of the year! Cooler weather, colorful scenery and fun, fall family activities are all around; however, to really get into the Halloween spirit, you must set the mood! Here are a few tips for spooking up your home using the SmartHome features available right at your fingertips from your home security system!

Sights:

• Create an eerie ambiance with spooky lighting using your SmartHome automation system. Schedule both indoor and outdoor lighting to automatically activate at a designated time. Not only does this give you the chance to show your festive side, even when you’re not at home, it also helps to deter potential burglars or mischief by giving the impression that someone is home. 
• Rest assured that slyly using your mobile app to activate strobe lights, fog machines and/or electronic decorations as visitors approach your spooky setup will keep them on their toes and earn you a spot as one of the neighborhood’s best stops!
• Replace exterior and landscape lighting with festive colored bulbs, such as green, purple, orange or black, to add an ominous touch to outdoor decor without sacrificing the security of well-lit outdoor spaces.
• Check out this blog with photos for more GREAT ideas on how to decorate your yard with lights!  https://www.fromhousetohome.com/entertainingdiva/halloween-outdoor-lighting/ 

Sounds:

• Set the mood with superior spooky sounds through your Sonos Home Speaker. With high quality sounds and room-rumbling bass, your visitors will be thrilled and chilled with streaming sound effects, such as screams, squeals and evil laughs! Muah-ha-ha!
• Check out the MANY free sound effects at this great site: https://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/scary_halloween_sounds.shtml

Spooks: 

Use your Video Doorbell for “Tricks” and “Treats”. 

• Video Doorbell Cameras are the newest trend in home security and surveillance. These devices are programmed to alert the homeowner of movement at the door and allows them to see and record video as well as communicate using the two-way voice feature.  
• This Halloween, when your Video Doorbell alerts you to approaching Trick-or-Treaters, consider using the opportunity to give them a little fright! Using the two-way communication, send crazy sound effects or a personalized greetings as they approach your home and knock!
• The best part of this tip? The Video Doorbell will record the whole thing and you can continue to the tricks and the treats again and again until next year’s spooky season! 

Security:

• While your SmartHome system can help you achieve the eerie ambiance and decor you desire this season, its main purpose is to keep you and your family safe!
• If you plan on being away from home around Halloween, your SmartHome technology helps protect your home, loved ones and property.
• Help keep pranksters at bay by arming your home security system, using your system’s video surveillance features to keep an eye on your home and rest assured that our professional monitoring team is on standby 24/7!

Are you ready to get moving on making your home a SmartHome? Call us today!

Owen Security Climbs the SDM Top 100

Owen Security Solutions was recently recognized for climbing on the 2019 Security Distributing and Marketing Top 100 Report.  The Northwest Georgia-based company progressed from ranking number 94 on the industry-wide report in 2018 to its current spot at number 89 in the country for 2019.

This annual ranking is provided by SDM Magazine, which has been producing the report of the top 100 largest security providers in the country for the past 28 years. Each year, the magazine ranks companies in the United States that earn their revenue from the sale, installation, service and monitoring of electronic security systems, such as intrusion and fire, access control, video surveillance and related low-voltage systems, to residential and non-residential customers. The primary objective of this report is to measure and account the size of the market served by the nation’s 100 largest security providers.

Established by founder Gary Owens in 1973, Owen Security Solutions is a second-generation, locally-owned and operated company based in Calhoun, Georgia. Now led by owner Justin Owen, the company staffs more than 30 employees and serves more than 7,000 customers in the Northwest Georgia and Tennessee-Valley areas.

“I am so honored to be a part of this team and proud of everyone’s commitment to our growth while ensuring our customers remain satisfied and well taken care of ,” said Owen. “It is exciting to see what this team is accomplishing. We are grateful for our loyal customers and community support. We can’t wait to see what the next year holds for us.”

Owen Security Solutions is part of the Electronic Security Association, the Georgia Security Chapter, National Institute for Certification in Engineering technologies, the local Chambers of Commerce for the communities it serves, as well as a member of the Honeywell Authorized Dealer Program and the DMP Dealer Program.
For more information about SDM or Owen Security Solutions, please visit https://www.sdmmag.com/articles/96583-sdm-100-above-average and www.OwenSecurity.com.

Single moms need reliable home security

In today’s society, we see all different types of families. Some are blended, some are divorced, some are roommates sharing the rent.  With so many different schedules and types of families, it’s imperative that we all take the steps necessary to protect ourselves with a monitored security system.

We want to provide you with some safety tips to put in place to go along with monitored home security. Keeping you and your children safe is one of your utmost priorities as a parent and every little bit helps.

First, you need to make sure all entrances are secure and protected. This might mean having to change the locks to make sure someone with an existing key cannot gain access to your home. Adding deadbolts is also a good idea if they are not already in place. Once locks are setup/installed, be sure to use them. Leaving doors unlocked, even for a short walk around the block or a visit to your neighbor, can be tempting for a home invader. If you decide to hide a spare key around your home, make sure it is well hidden. Putting a spare key under the door mat or behind chair cushions defeats the concept of securing your home.

When thinking about securing your home, make a point of looking at each window, latching them tightly as necessary. Sometimes, kids may open a window on their own and not know how to secure them afterwards. Instruct your children they should ask permission before opening any door or window.

While on the subject of windows, do you have blinds, curtains or drapes to prevent unwanted eyes from peering inside your home? During the day, we all like allowing natural light to flood our homes. But, once dusk arrives, can you prevent prying eyes from seeing whether or not you are alone?

Next, consider protecting the information you make available about yourself. Locking down access to your social media is already something you should be doing. Changing your relationship status is a way to let friends and family know what is happening in your life, but if your profile is wide open, you are letting strangers know too! If you do not know how to lock down your profile(s), just watch a few YouTube videos and you will be an expert in no time.

If there is a change in your family structure, consider the importance of keeping that information private. Giving those around you information they don’t need could potentially put you at more risk, being viewed as vulnerable. Do not open yourself to the prying ears of those who like to prey on those going through an emotional time. We all need to vent and it is important to have a network of trusted family and friends around you. Be sure you know who is in that circle and who is not.

Speaking of friends, let’s not forget the four-legged variety. Having an inside dog (or two) can be a great deterrent to people who think you are an easy target. They will often growl or bark when anyone (or anything) enters your yard. Even if they are the friendliest animals to strangers, hearing the sound of a barking dog behind a closed door will make most criminals move to the next location. They don’t know the disposition of your pet(s) and are not likely going to take a risk. Plus, your dogs antics and barking will alert you. Be sure to always go to the window and look before instructing them to stop barking. Thank them for letting you know they saw something. You do not want to get in the habit of telling them to stop barking without looking. They are doing their job — keeping you safe and aware. You need to reinforce that behavior, not discourage it.

Finally, in our modern, internet connected age, having a monitored home security system is one of the best ways to create a safe environment for you, your kids and your pets. Installing indoor and outdoor cameras will provide instant visibility through your smart phone or tablet. When you leave, you can feel safe knowing your home is being monitored around the clock. To learn more about why a home security system is important, check out the following link.

At Owen Security Solutions, we want to help make sure you have a safe and protected environment. We would be happy to meet with you at a convenient time to go over many of our solutions for home security and monitoring. You can visit our website to learn more about who we are and how long we have been staying one step ahead of criminals and one step ahead of our competition. Keeping you and your belongings safe is something we pride ourselves in doing.