Type Of Alarm For Your Home
Type Of Alarm For Your Home
If you are like most Canadians, you are concerned about the safety of your home and your community. One particular type of crime that worries Canadians is breaking and entering or burglary. Recent statistics show that burglary accounts for 22 per cent of all property crime.
The How To Lock Out Crime series, jointly prepared by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), will make you more aware of burglary and its dynamics and show you how to minimize the likelihood that this crime will happen to you.
By knowing the conditions favourable to burglars and taking steps to eliminate those conditions, you can greatly reduce the chances that your home will be burgled. Being proactive and implementing a well-thought-out plan can:
- significantly reduce the opportunity for a crime to be committed
- minimize the consequences— both personal and property damages—if a crime does occur.
Who needs an alarm?
A carefully selected and properly installed burglar alarm can be a worthwhile investment in security. But not everybody needs one. A burglar alarm might be a good choice if:
- You live in a remote location or where normal surveillance by neighbours is impossible.
- You have valuable or irreplaceable possessions.
- You spend prolonged periods away from home on business trips, at the cottage and so on.
- You want the additional peace of mind an alarm system can provide.
An alarm system is not a substitute for good physical security. In most situations, exterior lighting, sturdy doors and windows and quality locks provide better and more cost effective protection against burglars.
If you live in an “average” neighbourhood where your home is much like those around it, if your house has well-secured doors and windows and you take basic security precautions, you probably don’t need an alarm.
Types of alarms
There are two types of alarms: those designed to protect doors and windows (perimeter alarms) and those that protect interior spaces (area alarms).
A perimeter alarm system provides protection through a network of sensors on doors and windows. A “sensor” can be a magnetic contact, strip of foil tape or a vibration detector that triggers an alarm when a door or window is opened or broken.
Gaining in popularity are small, plastic, disc-shaped sensors that stick in the corner of a window. They sense the sound waves transmitted when the glass breaks.
Should a burglar attempt to gain access by prying open a door or window or by smashing the glass, the alarm will be activated before the burglar can enter the home.
This type of system allows residents to move freely throughout their home while ensuring a high level of protection.
Motion detectors can effectively be used in conjunction with this type of system. They act as secondary measures to ensure maximum protection when the house is empty.
An area alarm system relies on sophisticated electronic sensors to “sweep” a portion of a room or hallway. Sensors come in many forms with varying functions.
They are all designed to respond to either changes in light, pressure, temperature, sound or movement.
- Photoelectric “eyes” trigger an alarm when a light beam is interrupted.
- Ultrasonic devices fill a room with inaudible sound waves when the sensor detects changes in the wave pattern caused when an object enters the area.
- Infrared detectors are sensitive to body heat.
- Microwave devices use highfrequency radio waves to detect motion.
- Sound sensors react to noises commonly made during a break-in.
- Proximity detectors, which sound an alarm when approached, are used to protect specific objects, such as wall safes or paintings.
In both perimeter and area alarm systems, sensors are connected, either by wires or miniature radio transmitters, to a central control panel. Wireless systems are easier to install, but replacing the batteries that power the transmitters can be time-consuming and costly. Wireless systems are also harder to test for correct operation.
Contact your REALTOR at Coldwell Banker Vantage Realty for more tips and advice on your home safety.
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