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Written by Finn
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 13:44 |
When considering an alarm system, do you look for alarm systems that can notify the owner(s) when the alarm is triggered? If the answer is no, what is the reason?
First, some background information. Alarm systems come in two kinds: monitored alarm systems and unmonitored alarm systems (Well, alarm systems can also be categorised as wired or wireless systems but that is another topic all together).
Unmonitored alarm systems do not have the capability to notify any outside party that the alarm has triggered. When the alarm system is triggered, the on-site alarm will sound and the flashing light will be activated. This kind of alarm system relies on others (like your neighbours) to alert you or call the police. Now, the question that one should ask is "Will anyone notify you that your house alarm has gone off"? If there are no neighbours at home or the witnesses choose not to get involved, the alarm might go unreported. What then?
On the other hand, monitored systems are alarms that can contact an outside party via telephone if the alarm is triggered. The outside party can either be the security company or the owners. An example of a popular security company in Malaysia that offer 24 hours monitoring service is ADT. As with most things nowadays, this service does not come free. Usually, there will be a monthly fee for subscribing to the monitoring service. For other alarm systems, the system can be configured to store phone numbers. When the alarm is triggered, the alarm system will either send an SMS or dial the stored phone numbers.
There is a strong advantage to having a monitored alarm system. The moment the alarm is triggered, the owners can be alerted almost instantly. The alarm system can inform the owner which zone was breached or allow the owner to reset the alarm (if it is a false alarm). Such systems also allow one to set the alarm or disable the alarm remotely. Very useful especially if one has left the house and have forgotten to set the alarm.
Besides that, having a monitored alarm system can prevent annoying the people in your neighbourhood. Let me explain. Most triggered alarms, I assume, are false alarms (unfortunately, I do not have data to back this up). Alarms can go off because of a cat, mouse or a cicak. They can also go off because the neighbour is doing a minor renovation (drilling for example). Furthermore, thunderstorms are also a common cause of false alarms.
If it is a false alarm, who can turn the unmonitored alarm off? The alarm will go on ringing (in some cases... for a long long time) and annoy the entire neighbourhood (people, babies and pets alike). If it happens often enough, no one might care when there is an actual break-in.
Thus, RenoKu's community service message is get a monitored alarm system if one does not have the means to monitor it. You will feel more secure (the alarm system will notify you when triggered) and your neighbours (together with everyone else in the vicinity) will thank you for it.
Tiny rant: In my experience, there are some folks who cannot seem to prevent themselves from triggering their own home alarm in the mornings. And this happens often. What gives?
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