Talk to any home security company and ask them to tell you about their perimeter security products.
You’ll probably be offered a range of different sensors including:
- Reed switches for all your doors and windows
- Electronic Glass breakage detectors
- Vibration sensors
That’s been the approach to perimeter alarms for homes from as far back as 1981 when I started as an apprentice with Guardmaster in Nunawading. (Other, expensive options have always been around for large outdoor areas for high-risk properties such as defense sites and warehouses filled with tobacco products or expensive alcohol products etc. This article deals specifically with home security)
And up until recently, they are the same detection devices I was offering our customers if they wanted perimeter protection.
It seemed to be an effective solution.
You could arm the system at night, go to bed and have peace of mind that if someone tried to get into your home, you’d be alerted by the alarm and the intruder would run off.
“So what’s the problem?”
With traditional perimeter alarm systems…
the alarm siren is not triggered until the intruder is inside your home!
Why? Let have a quick look at how these detection devices work
1 – The Reed Switch detects the opening of a door or window, therefore the alarm isn’t triggered until the door or window is open
2 – Glass breakage detector. It ‘listens’ for the sound of breaking glass, therefore the alarm is not triggered until the window is already broken!
3 – Vibration sensors detect the vibration caused by brute force when a window or door is kicked in.
With these traditional perimeter alarm sensors, you only become aware of a problem after the intruder is about to enter your home!
It really is a false sense of security.
Lets return to our break-in scenario …
Now, because a window or door has been opened, or smashed the alarm sirens are sounding (inside and outside) waking you from a deep sleep.
What would your response be in that situation?
You’ve just been jolted awake by a 110 decibel siren at 3am!
Would you race out to the codepad and turn the alarm off because you don’t want to upset the neighbours?
Would you grab a weapon and walk through the house looking for an intruder?
Or perhaps you’d call the police.
The best you could hope for is that the intruder is driven away by the unwanted noise and the attention it will bring.
But fortunately, there is a better way
Early Warning Perimeter Alarm
If someone is prowling around outside home or trying to break into your car, an early warning system offers the best defense.
When an intruder is detected you are woken by a low-level, adjustable alert tone by not ear-piercing alert tone long before the intruder is at the vulnerable doors and windows of your home.
Now you’ve got options.
You can turn on your lights, activate the panic alarm on your home alarm system, call a friend, neighbour or police.
The key difference is that now you have a degree of control – you won’t be taken by surprise.
That’s real peace-of- mind.
