Wireless Alarm Systems (Wireless home alarm systems) - Are They Right for You?
February 16th, 2008
Having been in the security industry for over 20 years, I have seen many new and ground breaking ideas that have revolutionized the alarm industry. One of the most revolutionary innovations that caused radical changes to the industry was the advent of wireless security alarm panels.
When wireless security alarm systems first appeared on the market, they were not very reliable. Most of the original panels were non-supervised which means that they only sent a signal “one way” to the alarm panel receiver when it was activated. For example, when a door or window was opened, the transmitter would send a signal. The alarm panel would receive the signal and activate the appropriate zone. The transmitter would not send a signal when the door or window was closed, so the zone would reset itself after a few seconds. With a non-supervised wireless system, you could actually arm the system with a door or window wide open without even knowing it.
Another problem with non-supervised systems is that you do not know when the batteries in the transmitters are low, or need to be replaced. The only way to verify that the batteries in a non-supervised system are working is to test them periodically.
Most of the early wireless systems were very limited in their addressing schemes. They utilized dip switches with binary addressing to differentiate between points on the system. This was O.K. if your wireless system was installed and commissioned correctly, but what happened when your neighbor installed the same type of system? If the neighbors motion detector was addressed the same as your garage door, your alarm would go off every time they moved around their house. As you can imagine, this could cause some major problems that were very difficult to troubleshoot.
A fully supervised wireless alarm utilizes two way communications between the transmitters and the receivers; therefore, it can tell you the real time status of a door or window. If a door is open, it will keep the zone faulted until the door is closed. If your transmitter has a low battery, the keypad/arming station will immediately inform you of the trouble condition.
Most wireless security systems utilize the 300 MHz frequency to transmit alarm signals to the alarm panel. Some newer wireless security alarm panels utilize 900Mhz frequency hopping, spread spectrum technology to send multiple, redundant messages in a short burst which greatly enhances the signal and increases the range. Although the 300 MHz systems are a proven technology, a 900 MHz system will have a much greater range because the FCC allows 900 MHz to be broadcast at a higher power.
Even the most sophisticated wireless alarm panels are useless if the transmitter batteries are dead, therefore supervised wireless panels are programmed to check in with each of the remote transmitters at least once every 24 hours. They can be programmed to check in as much as every 10 minutes, but it will greatly reduce the life of the transmitter batteries.
To extend the life of the batteries, most systems will only transmit the supervisory signal as described in the preceding paragraph or on a change of state, such as a door or window being opened or closed. Wireless motion detectors will send a signal when they detect motion, and then shut themselves off for a few minutes to conserve battery power.
In order to provide the longest possible life, most wireless transmitters do not use standard batteries. They typically utilize some type of proprietary nickel cadmium batteries that cannot be bought at your local electronics store. Remember that the life of the batteries will vary depending on the type of sensor, how the system is programmed, and the environment in which it is installed.
Modern wireless systems utilize serial numbers, binary house codes, or other proprietary technology to assure that only transmitters enrolled into your panel will be received by your alarm system. If you do your research and purchase a good reliable supervised alarm system, you should never need to worry about your neighbor’s wireless transmitter setting off your alarm system.
With any wireless system you should always test your system regularly. The performance and range of any wireless product can be affected by the environment and the structure in which it is installed. Additionally, the range can be adversely affected by environmental conditions, interference form electrical devices or even the orientation of the transmitter in relation to the receiver.
Most modern wireless systems give you the ability to program a transmitter as supervised or non-supervised. There are still a few circumstances where you would want a wireless transmitter to be programmed as non-supervised.
A wireless panic alarms that personnel can carry with them is a good example. If someone takes the panic alarm transmitter away from the premises, a supervised alarm panel will go into trouble when the transmitter is out the range of the receiver.
Be warned, there are still systems being sold and installed today that are non-supervised, so make sure that any system you are considering offers complete wireless supervision.
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Roy Stephenson is a Security Consultant with over 21 Years Experience Designing and Installing High End Integrated Security Systems. He is currently the VP of Marketing at http://www.Security-Kits.Com |
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Entry Filed under: Commercial Alarm Systems
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