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Residential
Alarm System Equipment
Burglar Protection
Medical Emergency
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Hostage and Ambush
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Other Home Security Equipment
Alarm System Equipment Overview
Alarm sensors and devices most frequently used are door/window sensors, motion sensors, smoke sensor, keychain touchpads, and appliance modules. Each part has a distinct method of protection as described below.
In order to understand the function of each device it is necessary to understand the different modes the alarm can be armed to: ‘Disarmed’ or ‘Armed’ to ‘Stay’ or ‘Away’. Stay mode arms the perimeter (doors and windows) and is used when people will be inside the home; Away mode arms the perimeter and motion detectors and is used when people will be absent from the home.
There are an estimated 2,329,950 annual burglaries nationwide, with 60% occuring in broad daylight.
The goal of a residential security system is to detect an intruder as early as possible, alert the home’s occupants of his presence, and scare them away before they do any harm. This is done by installing Door/Window Contacts and Motion Detectors around the home that will, when tripped, set off a high decible alarm and call the monitoring station informing them of the intrusion.
Door/Window Sensors are electronic alarm sensors that detect and report the opening and closing of a door or window. The Sensor shape is shown on the left. It reaches 1.56”wide, 3.25” long and .88” deep.
When armed in either mode, door sensors will alert the Master Control Panel of an opening and depending on the default settings of that particular door or window the Master Control Panel will act accordingly.
Motion Detectors are electronic alarm Sensors that use infrared technology to detect movement in the protected area. The motion detector will only detect movement when the system status is armed to Away. Sensor shape is 2.5” wide, by 3” high, and 2” deep.
Movement is detected in a process similar to comparing two pictures for differences. Infrared beams are sent out 50 feet at 180 degrees. An image is taken and measured for brightness. Then another image is taken and recorded for brightness. The brightness of the first image is compared to the first. In this way, movement can be detected by objects 40 lbs. or greater. The process is not affected by the existence or absence of light.
This feature in particular is one that we hope you will never have to use, however, Medical Emergencies are a lot more common than we realize. During an injury of any kind, it is crucial that every precious second is spent focusing on relieving the wounded. Home Security Systems come with a built in Medical Panic feature that allows you to hold down a button or combination of two buttons for two seconds that will dispatch an ambulance within seconds.
Medical Pendants are also available that can be worn around the neck for extra medical safety and peace of mind.
Everyone has smoke detectors, but what good do they do if nobody is home when they go off? Monitored Smoke Detectors are arguably the most important upgrade to consider for your Home Security System. The second a Monitored Smoke Detector is set off your monitoring station knows about it. If you aren't home to assess the situation, they will.
Smoke Sensors are electronic alarm Sensors that detect and report the instances of smoke. Characteristics are shown in Figure 5 with dimensions of 5.5” by 2.5”.
Smoke Sensors work by sending small light beams out of one side of the Sensor to the other. If the light does not reach the other side because it was blocked by smoke, the Alarm triggers an emergency and the fire department is called. Click this link to see key dates in fire history.
It is unfortunate but today the easiest way to defeat a home security system is to force you, the homeowner to turn it off.
If you pulled into the driveway one night and walked up to the front door with keys in hand and someone appeared out of nowhere and pointed a weapon at you, forced you into the home and said "Turn off your alarm", What would you do? You would turn the system off and cooperate with their every command; this is no time to be a hero. When you turn the system off it is useless, it no longer exists.
Luckily alarms come with a Hostage and Ambush feature. When you press in the Ambush code, your system transmits a "silent" signal to the Command Center. They contact the police immediately and tell them we have a verified "211" in progress. This is the highest priority code any law enforcement agency can receive. They will dispatch all available units. If it is at night they will arrive in a matter of minutes with no sirens, no flashing lights.
Above and beyond what we has been described above, Home Security Systems also have a built in 24hr. police emergency panic button. It works the same way as the Medical Panic Button. If woke up in the middle of the night and saw a person in your backyard with a crow bar would you wait for him to break in? Would you want to call the police department and wait on hold for ten minutes? No way. All you you have to do is hold down the panic button and the cops are on their way.
There are dozens of devices available to add to your Home Security System. Here are some of the more popular upgrades.
Keychain Touchpads are electronic alarm devices that are used as portable secondary control of the Alarm System. From a device no longer than a key chain (1.4” wide by 2.25” long by .38” deep) users can arm and disarm the System, activate a panic to alert the police, open the garage, and turn house lights on or off.
Appliance Modules are electronic alarm devices that make it possible for the Home Security System to control normal household appliances such as lights, heaters, and air conditioners.
Dimensions are 2.25” wide, 2.75” high and 1.25” deep.
Through the installation of the Appliance Module, any household device that has an AC power supply (any American standard electronic device) can be turned on or off by the Home Security System. AC power devices include lamps, hot tubs, televisions, heaters, air conditioners, fax machines, or anything else.
