How I Use My System: Jeffrey Kahn

Jeffrey Kahn, COO for Wayne Alarm Systems, based in Lynn, Mass., started with the company in 2011. He has known Wayne's president and CEO Ralph Sevinor for years, “I was at a company called Ultraguard Protective Systems, and we used Wayne as our monitoring center.” Security Systems News talked with Kahn about the system he uses at home.

What kind of system do you have?

I have a Honeywell system including a GSM radio for communication. We use it all the time. I have pets, so I don't have any interior protection. The design of my house is such that if I just do all of my doors and vulnerable windows [which I've done]—I'm good. … I've had a system for the better part of my career, in one [form] or another.

Why this particular setup?

At the time we had it all done … I was working sales—I worked a lot of nights and I needed to make sure that my family had protection while I was out. … When [my] kids were young, the chime was a terrific option to have. Outside of that, I've always used Honeywell, it's a great name … [it's] easy to use.

What is one aspect of your security system that you wouldn't want to live without?

The smokes and the carbons are the most important part of my system, as far as I'm concerned. The radio, having the cellular as a backup, is a great feature to have. The fire/life safety stuff is the most important for me.

Where do you see security going next? What are some big trends?

Home automation has been a big part of what our industry has been trying to implement for upwards of 10 and 15 years. It was always a lot of talk—that definitely is not the case anymore.  … [And] home automation is still not near where I think it's going to be. … Now that [younger generations] are operating on their phones, I can see, over the next 10 or so years, that the home automation part's going to be unbelievable. That's really what I see.