Home Security False Alarms

Home security systems are vital to the security of our home, our family, and our treasured keepsakes. We've all heard the story about the neighbor whose alarm is continually going off during your vital hours of sleep or every other afternoon. Do we ever stop to think about the consequences of false alarms?

Frequent false alarms can significantly reduce the effectiveness of our home security systems. Like the boy who cried wolf when an alarm continues to go off neighbors and local emergency response teams are less likely to respond during an actual threat. In some areas homeowners could be heavily fined for false alarms or denied service by emergency groups. If a denial of service occurs law enforcement and other emergency personnel will be told to ignore the alarm. This could leave you home unprotected during theft and your family unattended during an emergency.

False alarms can be caused by faulty equipment or design, acts of nature and error on the part of the homeowner. It is important to ensure that all family members have been properly trained on how to use the equipment. This will help to minimize false alarms due to user error. Keep instructions on how to use the system in a place that family members can retrieve it easily. Secure your password and account information in a place that the whole family can get to but it not out in plain view where an intruder could discover it.

Pets inside the home can be another source of false alarms. If you have

n old system that you modified to ignore roaming pets it may be time to upgrade to the new pet immune motion detectors. These detectors use a combination of light and heat infra-red sensors to distinguish between pets and humans such as the PIR Detectors used by ADT Home Security. If you have installed pet-immune detectors and they continue to cause a false alarm it may be necessary for you to have an installation professional come out to your home to install the motion detectors for you.

Another source of false alarms is open doors and windows. It is important that you get into the habit of checking that all doors and windows are closed and locked before setting the home security system. An open window or door not only can cause a false alarm but is an open invitation to potential intruders.

It does not take long to properly train family members on the system, check for open windows and doors, or periodically test the system. This short amount of time can save you hundreds of dollars, reduce false alarms, and give you the peace of mind that help is only moments away during any time of need that may arise whether it be intrusion, medical, or fire.

To minimize the potential for faulty equipment it is important for you to report any equipment failure to the home security monitoring provider such as ADT Security , Brinks, or Honeywell. A thorough system test should be done at least once a month. If your home security system utilizes batteries check the batteries and change when needed to avoid weak batteries causing a false alarm. Be sure to report any system changes such as passwords or phone numbers to the security provider immediately.