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Alarm Function

An alarm system is not designed to keep intruders out of your home or to catch criminals. An alarm simply tells you that there is someone in your home.

In reality, what an alarm system does is limit the amount of time that an intruder spends inside of your home.

Burglars know that when an alarm goes off that they have approximately 20 minutes to be out of your home before the police arrive. This is why an experienced thief will be in and out of your home in less than 5 minutes.

This is not a poor reflection on police. It simply takes that long for the alarm to be verified and for the police to travel to the location. Police also have other obligations, such as accidents, assaults and homicides, which will usually take precedence over an alarm.

In all honesty, if you put an alarm sign in your window, any loud noise making device that your neighbors can hear will produce similar results to a monitored alarm system.  If an intruder decides to enter your home,  your goal is to make sure that they spend as little time as possible in your home.

One key benefit to a monitored alarm system is the monitored smoke detection that often comes with the system.  In many cases, this feature alone can justify the cost of monitoring.

Alarm Systems

Homes with alarm systems are less likely to be broken into than homes without alarms. All alarm users must realize, however that the function of an alarm system is to alert you that there is someone in your home. They do this in one of three ways:

  1. Contacts – Contacts are placed in or on windows and doors. The concept is simple, when a window or door is opened, the contact is broken and the alarm is triggered.
  2.  Motion Detectors – Motion detectors are placed in key areas within the home. When motion is detected within the home, the alarm is triggered.
  3. Glass Break Detectors – Placed in areas where glass may be broken in order to gain entry (near large picture windows, etc.) When glass is broken near the sensor, the alarm is triggered.

We will be adding a more comprehensive overview of alarm systems and how they work in the near future.