Is your house alarm going off for no apparent reason? Learn how to troubleshoot and repair alarm systems.
False Alarm Troubleshooting and Repair in a Home Security System
A security alarm’s blasting sounder is both annoying for you and people who live close. When the alarm goes off, if you have excellent neighbors, they may keep a lookout for activity in the area around your house. However, if false alarms occur on a regular basis, it can be compared to the scenario in the novel The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and people may simply disregard it!
This guide discusses the fundamentals of alarms and sensor wiring. It also addresses the numerous defects that might arise in sensors, resulting in nuisance alarm activation.
What Factors Contribute to False Alarms?
- Loose connections
- Loop resistance outside the specified limits
- A worn out backup battery in the panel
- A misaligned or incorrectly spaced magnet
- Rodents, birds, bats, spiders or other small animals may be triggering sensors, especially in lofts or outbuildings
- Tamper strips on junction boxes may be tarnished and causing bad connections
- Tampers on some sensors are badly designed and may only barely close the tamper switch in the sensor when the lid is replaced. Consider replacing the sensor
- PIRs badly positioned and subject to nuisance trigger conditions
How Does a Burglar Alarm Work?
Home alarm systems are available in two varieties:
- An alarm panel with a built-in display and keypad to which sensors are hardwired or radio-linked (also known as wireless or radio frequency (RF) sensors).
- Sensors can also be wired or wirelessly connected to a box without a display or keypad that is concealed away out of reach of robbers and cannot be tampered with. A second advantage is that wiring can be buried out of sight, allowing for a smaller, more unobtrusive keypad to be put on a wall. This box houses all of the electronics, backup power, connecting terminals, and autodialler/GSM modules. The user then communicates with the box via a wall-mounted remote wired or wireless keypad.
A microcontroller (a type of microprocessor) on the alarm panel/alarm box circuit board runs a software program that checks the sensors on a regular basis. If the program believes a sensor has been activated and an intruder has entered the building, it will raise an alarm.
To Fix your home alarm system, Here are some parts to check first :
1. Alarm Panel
2. Sounders
3. Battery Power
4. Sensors
5. Keypad
What Are the Different Parts of an Alarm System?
Learning about the various sections of the alarm system and their functions will assist you in troubleshooting.
Alarm Panel
The alarm panel itself may have a simple LED display, or a more sophisticated LCD display that provides textual information about the state of the alarm, where zone an alarm occurred in, error codes, and so on. It may also feature a keypad for entering passwords and orders.
Sounder
When the alarm is triggered, an external sounder is activated. Electromechanical bells were employed in older systems. In the sounder of most current systems, electronic piezoelectric transducers are used. Solar panels or a cable from the alarm panel power sounders. A backup battery is frequently included in the sounder to ensure that it continues to function in the event that a burglar cuts the alarm line (in addition to signals, this cable also provides power for operating the sounder and charging the backup battery).
Backup Battery Power
A 12-volt lead-acid battery is typically used to supply backup power to an alarm panel. Nickel metal hydride (NiMh) AA cells can be employed in less expensive systems. In the case of a power outage or when an intruder cuts mains power to the panel from outside a building, the backup battery keeps the alarm panel, sensors, and sounder powered.
Sensors
These sensors detect the opening of windows or doors, as well as body heat from intruders strolling around the room, stepping on mats, or attempting to break glass in windows and doors.
Keypad
Either built into the alarm panel or as a separate wired or wireless unit.