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What Makes Up a Burglar Alarm System And How Does It Work?

A burglar alarm system is one of the best home improvements you can do to improve your home security and to keep your family safe from harm. These systems have been around for decades – but how do burglar alarms actually work? What components make up an alarm system?

When most people think of an alarm system they think of just the alarm bell box - probably because this is the most visual part to others. But there are far more to a typical burglar alarm system and each component plays a vital part.

Although there are many different makes and models on the market today, there are only two basic type of alarm system and these are wired and wireless. Wired systems use wires to connect the various components together that make up the alarm system and as such, installation should be carried out by professionals. Alarm companies will do a survey on your home and discuss with you the various options that are available in order for them to supply you with a quote. Be sure to get a least two quotes from reputable alarm companies before making you mind up on who will carry out the work.

With wireless alarm systems, installation is much easier and can be carried out by a DIY’er. Therefore these popular systems are readily obtainable from your local DIY store. Before buying any alarm system it is worthwhile understanding what the various components are that make up a system.

The control panel is the most important component and in the case of a wired system, provide the power source to all components too. For a wireless system, this is the only wired connection to the house power. A back up battery is installed in the control panel so it will still function if you have a power cut or the unit got unplugged. Some thought will be needed for installation as you may want monitored home security. In this case you will want the unit fairly close to a telephone line socket. Either that or be prepared to run additional cabling from your telephone cable to your panel.

The security keypad is the next component to be installed and these are either separate to the control panel – or built into it. For the separate keypad, you have the luxury of hiding the main control panel out of sight - in a cupboard or under the stairs – so you only have the small, neat looking keypad on view. Install the keypad close to the main entry/exit point of your home. Activating the alarm will be the last thing you do before you leave your property and deactivating it will be the first thing you do when entering – so you will want this is a convenient location.

Install the bell box in a location that is not accessible by someone walking by. In fact choose whether you want it on display or not. It can act as a great visual deterrent but some people feel they spoil the external appearance of their house and opt to install them in the roof.

Finally, to complete the installation, we next install the sensors. There are two main types of alarm sensor – but there are others. The main common types are magnetic door/window sensors and PIR motion detector sensors. As mentioned, a wireless installation is far easier to install as the sensors communicate to the control panel wirelessly. For a wired system, cabling will need to be laid to the devices which could mean some disruption as routing the cables could mean channelling walls or lifting floorboards for a neat installation. This is why this work is best left to the professionals – unless you are very competent at electrical wiring.