Four Things to Consider While Shopping for a Biometric Fingerprint Safe
Are you shopping for a biometric fingerprint safe? Having a biometric fingerprint safe is a great way to protect your valuables from theft, as well as protecting your household from items that could be dangerous if they got into the wrong hands (such as medication or firearms).
However, since biometric fingerprint safe industry has exploded in recent years, there are now more safe manufacturers than we can count, which might make your search for the right biometric fingerprint safe overwhelming. To help you to this end, we’ve put together a guide to finding the best biometric fingerprint safe for your needs.
Four Things to Consider While Shopping for a Biometric Fingerprint Safe
- Think beyond just keeping people out of your safe.
Of course, the primary function of a biometric fingerprint safe is to keep anyone who doesn’t have your fingerprint (read: everyone) out. However, in order to truly protect the irreplaceable documents and valuables in your home, you should also consider how good your safe is as protecting its contents from other factors like flood and fire. The technology available in the home safe industry makes it more affordable than ever to get a safe that can be in the middle of a fire and keep the interior free of flames and even heat.
At a minimum, you should look for a safe that is fire proof for at least one hour, which will protect the contents of your safe for enough time for fire personnel to extinguish the fire. If you plan to store documents or valuables that are particularly delicate, it’s a good idea to consider a higher fire rating than that. - Figure out your budget before you do any safe shopping.
Your goal is going to be getting the best safe for your needs within the price range you can afford. Biometric safes come in a vast range of prices, and so it might be difficult to determine what features are worth the money to you until you understand how much you can spend on it. Once you determine your budget, it’s easier to look at the options and find the one that fits your budget and needs. - Future proof your safe investment.
Your valuable-storage needs today may not be the same needs you’ll have in the future. When shopping for a home safe, consider the size of the goods you are needing to protect, and round it up a bit, so you don’t have to start over with a new safe if your needs change down the road.
While looking to the future while choosing your home safe needs, you’ll want to consider the “where” in addition to the “what” when choosing a size. Yes, you want it large enough to accommodate everything you want to protect, but you also need to make sure it will fit in the location you’ll be storing it at.
If you plan to put your safe in a walk-in closet and never move it, where space is no object, you have the freedom to go larger than you need today without worries (however, an over-sized safe is more conspicuous and inviting to criminals if your home is broken into). If you will be storing your safe in a smaller place, such as under your bed, or taking it with you when you travel, you’ll want to keep the exterior size in consideration during your search. The typical safe is about 8 to 10 inches deep, but you can go larger, if needed. - Consider the moveability of your safe.
Some safes are designed to be bolted to the floor or the wall, and some are made to easily be transported to a new location, when needed. There are pros and cons to each type, and the best one for you depends on your needs.
Safes that are bolted down are less likely to be easily removed by a criminal, to be broken into in a place with the proper tools and time, however, they also cannot be removed by you or another person who needs to in the case of an emergency. Like choosing the appropriate size, selecting the immovability of a safe requires considering your safe needs, and determining the best fit.
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