[shitloadofbooks]

I had 2 (stolen) cars pull up out the front of my house and 6 teenagers swarm my house (whilst several stayed in the cars) in Brisbane, Australia.

I was notified by the motion alarm in my driveway and then my front door and was able to hit the Siren button and scare them off.

Without that, I would have had 6 "armed" intruders inside my house with myself+partner+4 year old.

The camera system prevented the crime being far more serious than it would have been (both cars+valuables stolen and maybe a stabbing or 3).

[magicalhippo]

We just got new windows in our home, replacing aging double-pane glass with newer, much better insulating triple-pane glass. However there was an option to get added sound insulation and my SO is sensitive to noise, we added that.

I was also considering the safety glass option, given that we had a porch door with "all" glass (just a small wooden frame). I'm a distracted and clumsy at times so I was worried about running through the glass in the door. After talking to the window manufacturer, I learned that I didn't need the safety glass option since the extra sound insulation meant the construction was laminated, hence acted much like a laminated safety glass.

Haven't tried to break them yet, but after helping getting them mounted (about 50kg for a 1x1m window, heavy!) it seems to me it'll take some effort to get through them. Proper anti-burglary glass is likely much better, but wouldn't surprise me if a group of teens would struggle.

Anyway, wasn't my primary consideration but I sleep slightly better at night compared to the old windows which could easily have been shattered with a simple rock, including the porch door.

edit: Also sleeping much better due to the sound insulation. The triple-pane does most of the damping I imagine, but between them it was a vast difference. I had three ~10 yo boys running around screaming (or playing as they'd say) 10m from my wall, and once I closed the new window to my room I could barely hear them. Not at all like the old windows.

edit 2: We also got the option for IR blocking, it adds just the slightest blue tint but cuts 60% of the IR. Made a massive difference in keeping especially the living room cool during summer.

[treyfitty]

You’re a salesman’s dream. You bought into all these features that are incrementally dubious in value, but magnitudes higher in price.

[hcfman]

Super cool! I have a proactive security system as well and can also set off alarms. I've set this up for other people, but it seems that people tend to stop with setting up the detection system and I've yet to see someone I know take it to the response stage.

Inspiring, thanks for sharing!

[mixmastamyk]

Woah are things out of control down there? Sounds like GTA Los Angeles.