When it comes to safety, an alarm system is the best way to keep your home, valuables, and of course your loved ones protected. When choosing which system is right for you, keep in mind the “three D’s” that an alarm system should do:
- Detect – The part of the alarm that detects activity is the sensor. There are many types of sensors that can detect threatening situations in your home, for example:
- Motion Sensors – Motion sensors can detect movement in large rooms as well as outdoor areas.
- Smoke Detectors – Designed to detect fire, a good smoke detector is one that uses both ionization and photoelectric detections. Ionization detects flaming fires without a lot of smoke, whereas the photoelectric detects large amounts of smoke.
- Carbon Monoxide Detectors – CO detectors are designed to detect the invisible, odorless, colorless, and dangerous CO gas. When detected, the alarm will sound to let you know it is not safe to be in the home.
- Glass Break Detectors – These types of detectors are signaled by the sound of glass breaking and will release a signal to the alarm control panel.
- Shock Sensors – Shock sensors can actually detect an intruder who is using force to break in through a wall, heavy door, roof, or other “harder” entryways.
- Determine – Once the threat has been detected, it gets sent to a control panel. The control panel acts as the “brain” of the system. It essentially decides how to respond depending on the type of sensor. If the panel determines that further action is necessary, signals will be sent to a central alarm monitoring center where trained dispatchers are ready for a call. From there, a dispatcher can verify if further action, like calling the police or fire department, is necessary.
- Deter – An alarm panel’s job is also to respond to a triggered alarm. Some alarms may deter threats away with sound (sirens, recorded voiceover, etc.) and some with light (strobe, etc.). The goal is that the deterrent method from the alarm would scare away the threat, like a burglar or animal.
When you are choosing your alarm system to keep your home safe, make sure you have all your D’s covered!
