One of the aspects of burglar alarms and their operation that you need to be aware of is avoiding false alarms when operating them. Obviously, the purpose of them is to deter a burglar from breaking into your home and hopefully being able to alert the police in the process. Interestingly enough, 80% of the false burglar alarms are caused by only 20% of the people that have them according to statistics presented by the False Alarm Reduction Association.
Suffice it to say, false burglar alarms are preventable. They are very problematic in the fact that they prevent emergency response personnel from responding to what is a genuine emergency. The most common causes of false alarms are broken down into 3 categories – installation and service problems, alarm system failure, and user errors.
Installation and service problems – needless to say, proper installation and set-up is critical. If a homeowner is suspicious that their burglar alarms are not operating properly, they should notify their security system company that was responsible for the installation of it. Preventative maintenance is a must and will oftentimes help you to avoid any false alarms so that if a burglar tries to break into your home, the property authorities are alerted accurately.
Alarm system failure – as a homeowner, one of your primary responsibilities is to inspect your system on a regular basis. You want to make sure that the magnets or switches on your doors and windows are functioning properly so that a false alarm isn’t triggered. It is recommended that you test your system no less than once monthly and don’t forget to check your battery back-up system as well. As the old saying goes, “it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
User error – as was mentioned above, 80% of all the false alarms are committed by only 20% of these burglar alarms end users and a key point here is that user error is a big part of those statistics. One of the first things you need to do once the system has been installed and is fully operational is to thoroughly educate everyone in the home who is going to be using it. User error can also involve moving objects that falsely trigger the alarm such as balloons or curtains hung in drafty areas of the home. You also want to make sure that sensors are placed in unobstructed areas.
Photo via mv4
