Author: Joker

First off cameras do not provide security they only record events. They can be useful in conjunction with an alarm system, but don’t think that cameras add any level of security.

Another thing to think about cameras if they are using Wi-Fi they are vulnerable to several different attacks & unless they are able to record both locally as well as upload they could be taken offline with no clips uploaded. Off the top of my head the attacker can use a deauthorization attack & keep sending it & that will keep the wireless devices offline while running the attack. They could run a jammer & jam everyone nearby. There are likely other attacks I don’t know about off the top of my head.

If you use a hard wired camera is going to miss out on the vulnerability of the wireless connection. If it doesn’t have battery backup & internal storage it could be defeated by power loss, unless it has a backup power of either UPS or a generator.

If your security panel is based on an outdated operating system you have any vulnerabilities that has. I know of at least one brand of panels that are using Android 9 which was discontinued by Google a very long time ago so I don’t think anyone should be using that panel. Since Android is updated so frequently & most people want to use the same alarm system for 10+ years I don’t think Android should be used for the OS on an alarm panel. Now if the hardware is new enough it might be able to use Linux so long as it updates regularly for many flavors of Linux.

Another thing to think about is the frequency the brand of panel you are using uses as almost no currently installed security systems use wireless sensors with no support for wired sensors. Several of the most popular frequencies are 319.5 MHz, 345 MHz, 433 MHz, 915 MHz, or 2.4 GHz. Others might exist that I don’t know off the top of my head. If you are with an alarm company that is known to use one frequency you might want to go on eBay & purchase signs for a company that operates on a different frequency than what you have installed, it doesn’t add a huge amount of security but some thieves may make a mistake.

The problem with wired sensors at this point is they are hard to install after the drywall is installed making the install take longer. If the wires are damaged they are generally not easy to replace the wires either. If it is a large building I can understand installing wired sensors. To my knowledge most if not all security systems have a device that can convert wired sensors to wireless.

Now if your security system includes automation I suggest using automation that uses Z-Wave instead of either Wi-Fi or ZigBee. The main reason I suggest Z-Wave is in the USA it uses the 908.4 MHz & 916 MHz which being a lower frequency they can travel through more nonconductive material as well as avoid the over populated 2.4 GHz that is used for both older Wi-Fi standards as well as Bluetooth. If you live in an area where you have neighbors really close it is going to cause you interference issues. Since the amount of data needed to tell home automation devices to do don’t need much the lower frequency is not going to be an issue.

I know most people who store solar & wind energy in batteries. Would storing it in something else like compressed air or a water tower.

I was thinking with the storage of compressed air or water tower to use small generators in individual rooms, although I don’t know the cost of using a large generator instead of several small ones. Another idea I had, was to use vehicle alternators with an inverter next to them for any AC needs, with this I would keep it as DC for USB ports with a DC voltage regulator of course.

I’m not sure the space needed to do this or if it would even be feasible in anything other than a new house.