Protect America is a home security company that caters to the do-it-yourself crowd. Because you will be your own installer, you won’t have to pay anything for installation. Plus, activation is free, too. Instead, with Protect America you finance the purchase of equipment which is broken up into monthly payments.
As long as you remain a customer of Protect America, all of your equipment is protected by a lifetime warranty. The warranty covers most situations such as defective equipment or damage caused by intruders. Unless you intentionally damage the equipment, you won’t have to pay to have it replaced.
Something you’ll want to keep in mind is that Protect America isn't a typical security company with monthly contracts. You’ll be locked into a three-year contract, so if you wish to end your service early it may be expensive. However, since it’s a DIY system, it’s a flexible system in the sense that you can bring the system if you move frequently but still want to be protected.
Like a lot of other companies, Protect America purchases its equipment from Alarm.com. They’re a trusted seller with a solid track record in the industry.
Most customers are interested in a basic package to cover some of the essentials in their homes. With Protect America, a basic package will include a control panel, motion detectors, and door and window sensors. This is enough to monitor the main entryways into a home.
More elaborate home security systems can monitor virtually everything in a home. Flood sensors, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors are all available as well. Some of these services will cost you an extra fee per month, but the added peace of mind knowing that your home is protected against fires, floods, and gas leaks even while you’re away is worth it.
In addition to these products, Protect America offers equipment to cover everything else at your home:
Freeze sensors are also available. A freeze sensor works by continuously monitoring the temperature in your home. If the temperature falls below a certain range, the freeze sensor will notify you. This is usually caused when the heating system in your house fails and if it’s cold enough, it can cause the water pipes to freeze and even burst.
For control panels, Protect America offers a couple of options. The entry-level control panel is the Simon XT which will provide your system with basic functionality. The other is the Simon XTi which is a touchscreen control panel. The XTi more closely resembles an app on your phone so it’s easy to use, but you do need to have the Protect America Silver package in order to buy it.
Home automation is an increasingly popular way to manage your home while you’re away or at work. Z-wave technology and the X10 standard are easy to use ways to link the lights, alarm systems, and other devices at your home together.
The Protect America control panels let you manage everything based on the conditions that you can set. For instance, when you trigger the garage door opener with your in-car button, you can also set the lights inside to come on so that you don’t need to feel around in the dark for a light switch.
It’s not just lights that the control panel can manage. If your home is empty during the day while everyone is at work, you can set the alarm to automatically activate and lock each door after you leave and the thermostat to lower the temperature. Then an hour before you get home, the thermostat can automatically turn the heat back up to your desired setting. This can save you money every month on your energy bill without keeping the house colder while you’re home.
Z-wave is a popular communication protocol used by many companies that allows devices by different manufacturers to communicate with each other and integrate into a common network. Amazon Alexa, Ring doorbell cameras, and Nest thermostats are a few examples of products that utilize Z-wave technology and will work with a security system through Protect America.
If you’re out of your home, you can still exercise total control over your system through the mobile app. The alarm system, lights, security cameras, and your heating and cooling system can all be managed directly from your phone. You can even unlock your doors with the touch of a button to let friends or family into your home. It’s compatible with both iPhone and Android, so it’ll work on any modern smartphone.
You can also configure the app to send you text messages or notifications based on certain conditions, such as low-temperature alarms or motion sensors being activated. This way you can be sure that you never miss anything going on at your home. Don’t be discouraged if the app works less than perfectly; it’s always being improved to include more features and more reliability.
Security cameras are a great addition to any home security system. They are an effective deterrent because most home burglars pick the softest target they can find. If they see your home is protected with cameras, chances are they will move on to the next house.
The cameras offered by Protect America are very capable. Unlike a lot of residential security cameras, they offer features such as two-way audio and night vision that is powered by infrared LEDs. The cameras shoot in 720p resolution at 25 frames per second, which is high definition quality. With the built-in two-way audio, they can double as an intercom to scare off intruders or talk with family or guests at your home if necessary.
The installation process for the cameras is very easy. After plugging in the camera, install each camera through the app. That’s it! You can watch live feeds on your phone anywhere you have an internet connection and you can configure it to save records if you have a cloud storage account.
One thing to keep in mind with the cameras is that the field of view may feel a bit narrow, coming in at 60 degrees. This is alright for watching a specific area such as corners or doors leading into your house, but if you wish to cover a larger area then you may need two or more cameras with overlapping coverage so there are no blind spots.
The camera features don’t stop there, though. The security of your data is just as important as your physical security at home. 128-bit AES encryption protects the software and data on the cameras and storage, so you can rest assured that the data is virtually unbreakable.
Like we mentioned before, the installation and activation of your service with Protect America won’t cost you anything. Instead, you’ll pay a monthly fee that covers the financing of the equipment that you purchase. Protect America offers five levels of plans which we will go over shortly, as well as having each level available with either landline, broadband, or cellular delivery.
For the delivery method, you’ll probably want to go with cellular delivery. Newer homes may not necessarily have a landline active, plus it is vulnerable to physical damage by intruders if they cut the wires outside. Broadband utilizes your existing cable connection and is more reliable than a landline option, but again shares the same vulnerabilities.
Cellular is the best choice because it also comes with mobile access and is the most reliable method. It’s the same price as going with the broadband option but has the extra benefits to push it ahead.
Because Protect America requires a three-year contract, it can be expensive to end the contract early. However, if you change your mind you can cancel within the first three days of your contract and still receive a full refund. If you cancel within the first 15 days, you’ll be able to cancel your contract without a fee but you will still need to pay for the first month of having your services monitored.
Protect America also has a price match program for new customers. If within the first seven days of your contract you find another company that offers “the same amount of wireless home security systems” as Protect America, they will match the price for you. It might not end up being a large difference in price, but any extra discount is welcome.
Being able to install your own security system can save you a lot of money because you won’t need to hire an electrician or security technician to do it for you. The instructions that the system comes with are very easy to read and use but Protect America also offers phone support if you run hit a snag and need some professional guidance from their technicians. Knowing that there is a trained expert just a phone call away helps you breathe a bit easier.
Redundancy is an important part of any security system because it ensures that the whole system will continue working even if one part goes down. With Protect America, your information is sent to three separate monitoring stations. If the first station is unable to contact you, the second or third station will automatically take over.
When an incident does happen and Protect America is called into play, they will first try to make contact with you. Depending on the information they give you, or if they are unable to reach you at all, they will immediately alert the appropriate emergency services. Even if you are incapacitated in some way, they will still get you the help you need.
Protect America offers five different plans depending on the amount of coverage you are looking for. If you are curious about the costs, please contact Protect America directly so that you will have the most up-to-date pricing. Here are the available plans:
Like we mentioned before, the XTi touchscreen and video access are only available if you choose the Silver package or a higher package level. Each of these five levels is available with the landline, broadband, or cellular delivery option.
Keep in mind that the delivery option you choose will also determine other features that you have available. If you want to have the video and home automation capabilities, you will need to choose either the broadband or cellular option. Since pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days, the cellular option is your best choice.
Choosing to include fire and video monitoring will both add an additional $10 per month to your service contract. Fire detection and prevention is a leading reason for homeowners to purchase a security system, so paying specifically for that on top of the rest of the system may seem excessive. However, Protect America does match competitors prices so you may be able to save a little extra money that way to balance it out.
Since you’ve entered into a three-year contract with Protect America, depending on how much time you have remaining it can be expensive to exit the contract ahead of time. You’ll have to pay the remaining balance on all of the equipment if you want to cancel your contract before it officially ends.
If you do stay with Protect America for the entirety of your three-year contract, then you will be able to continue it with monthly renewals instead of another long-term commitment.
Since that can be expensive depending on the plan you chose, try to remove any extra features that you don’t use or need. This way you won’t have to pay a large penalty all at once and your monthly bill will also be lower.
Protect America may also allow you to transfer your contract to another party. If you know someone who is also in the market for a home security system, find out from Protect America if they will qualify to take over ownership of your contract.
Protect America offers a considerable amount of equipment and security for a reasonable price. Being able to set up your own system can be a big money saver and the cross-compatibility of their products with other companies can let you expand a basic security system to manage every aspect of your home without needing to spend a commensurate amount of money.
While the long contract length and additional costs for fire and video monitoring may feel excessive at first, remember that the system is easily scalable with plenty of other benefits that we’ve discussed.
Yes. Because you are in a sense financing the purchase of the equipment, Protect America will want to make sure you are a qualified customers
Moving to a new residence won’t affect your contract. Protect America can provide you with a moving kit so that you can move your security system to your new place. Just don’t forget to inform them of the new address once you complete your move.
It is. The sensors are designed to ignore small animals under 40 pounds which will keep you from getting any false alarms. If you have larger animals, check with Protect America to see the latest products they have that are pet-friendly.
You are. The control panels all come with a battery backup to ensure they keep running in the event of a power outage.
They won’t. Since this is a do-it-yourself configuration, you’ll be responsible for choosing the level of protection you need as well as installing all of the equipment yourself. Protect America won’t need to visit your home at all. If you’re not sure of what package is best for your house, you can always call Protect America and consult with them over the phone.
Yes, you can. Whether you have an iPhone or Android phone, you can download the app. This lets you monitor everything at your home from the security cameras to the thermostats, and you can control the lighting too. The app won’t add any additional costs to your contract, either.
Make sure that Protect America is a company that can suit your needs before you sign a contract with them. They do offer flexible plans for a wide range of applications, and for most residential customers will be a solid choice.
