Every holiday season, millions of people make long trips to visit friends and family scattered across the country.
It's a wonderful time to restore connections that may have faded over the passing year, to catch up and share food, presents and warmth.
This also means that millions of homes are left unattended during the time of the year when the environment itself poses financial and structural threats to every home.
The winter season means, of course, below freezing temperatures.
For homes, this means that pipes are in danger of freezing which can, in turn, lead to those pipes bursting open and flooding a home, causing a great deal of expensive damage in a very short time.
Should a family be away for a week or more visiting relatives, it's easy to see how much cumulative damage a burst pipe could cause.
Many home security systems can be equipped with two devices that can end such a disaster before it gets out of control: freeze sensors and flood sensors.
The devices are a part of the alarm system which means that, if you've chosen to purchase a monitored alarm system, those sensors being triggered will alert the monitoring service that there is trouble at the residence.
In a situation where a basement is rapidly filling with water, this could easily save a huge amount of money in repairs.
A freeze sensor will register trouble should the temperature in the home drop below a certain threshold.
This may occur because the heating system has failed-the combination of a failed heating system and frozen pipes is a frequent winter disaster-or because a door or window has opened or been opened.
In either case, of course, the open door or window will trigger the intrusion alarm, adding another layer of security.
Even if a failed heating system doesn't cause such extensive damage as would be caused by frozen pipes, the potential for serious destruction is still present.
Plants can easily wither in a cold house, pets that may be alone for long stretches during the day can be endangered and, if the heating system is still receiving fuel such as natural gas but not combusting it, a deadly, disastrous situation could be unfolding.
Having a home monitored for such hazards goes a long way toward preserving the owner's peace of mind, especially when they're far away.
Having the monitoring service there to coordinate the response ensures that a qualified, professional organization is making sure the correct action is taken quickly and thoroughly.
If you already have a monitored alarm system, inquire with your provider to see if freeze and flood sensors can be added to your existing system.
If you're considering installing a security system, make sure to ask the providers you're considering if their systems have the capacity to include such devices.
While an alarm system is the best way to guard against threats such as theft and vandalism, sometimes they also protect against threats that come from the inside.