OHIO — As a society, we rely on technology more than ever before and usually don’t realize just how much until we don’t have it.

What You Need To Know

  • The power outages in northeast Ohio impacted many things from refrigerators to stoves, furnaces, and even home security systems

  • Customers and their homes can become vulnerable during power outages

  • But there are backup options to keep your security system running during power outages 

  • Battery backups can keep your system running for a few hours to a few days 

When customers don’t have power, they can become targets for thefts and break-ins. Dan Leahy, sales manager at ProTech Security, says if you have a security system, there are ways to prevent you from becoming vulnerable during a power outage. 

He recommends always having battery backups. Depending on the size of your security system, the batteries can get you through a few hours to a few days, and you can replace them as needed because most systems alert you when the battery is getting low. 

“Most of these systems are communicating via a network connection through your internet or with a cell backup,” Leahy says. “When it's network connected and that power goes out, that communication is gone. So with that battery backup, that cell communicator can still communicate out to the central station and the police to let them know if there are any issues. So that's certainly, you know, you want to have the battery backup and then you want to have the, the cell communication or some type of communication backup.”

He says to think of your security system in the same importance category as large appliances like your furnace and your air conditioner. You always want to get annual checkups to make sure everything is ready to go when the power unexpectedly goes out. 

“The best thing is stay on top of it,” Leahy says. “Providers like us, as well as other companies in the area, do a great job of offering service plans or, you know, hey, we'll come out for an annual service call and just check the system, the health of the system and make sure, because there's really a lot of good options. It's just a matter of staying on top of it as a homeowner. I know we have a lot going on as homeowners, especially in a time of crisis this week but certainly, staying on top of an important system like your alarms is something you want to do annually.”

Leahy recommends you check with your security provider to come up with the best backup plan for your home.

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