How do burglar alarms work? - By: Kathryn Dawson

There are several different types and style of burglar alarm, and although many people have one installed in the home or in the office, few people know how they work. From the quite basic style of alarm to the more sophisticated models, they all follow the same principles. There are DIY kits available, wireless kits that can control sensors placed around an entire building and plenty more besides, but the way they all work is similar. This article provides the basic information about how the different types of burglar alarm work, from the simple to the more complex.

A circuit alarm is one of the most common types of alarm. There are closed circuit alarms or open circuit varieties too. If the alarm uses an open circuit then the current is completed when a door or window is opened and will sound the alarm when this occurs. A closed circuit alarm works in the opposite way in that the circuit is broken when a door or window is opened which will trigger the alarm. In both scenarios the control box will continue to sound until it is reset by someone with the code and should be placed somewhere out of the way so it cannot easily be found by an intruder and broken.

Open circuits can be quite easily overridden because simply cutting the wire is all that is necessary in order to prevent the circuit from being completed and the alarm sounding. This can easily be done by any intruder. Closed circuits on the other hand are much harder to override or "sidestep". An electrical current can be run around the entire perimeter of a building. As soon as it is broken, so in other words as soon as a window is smashed, a door is opened or a mat is stepped on the alarm will begin to go off.

There are other types of alarm that work inside the home too. If an intruder does manage to get past a perimeter alarm, there are further precautions that can be taken. Because there are too many routes or paths a person can take through a house or other building, circuit alarms are not suitable. Instead basic motion detectors are used instead. These work like automatic doors that you see all the time. A radar-based motion detector monitors a room constantly for irregular wave patterns. When there is no one in a room, the waves will behave in a different way to when there is someone in the room. A basic motion detector alarm will therefore sound in the event the waves in the room change.

Photo-sensor motion detectors take this idea a step further and use beams of light. The beams of lights are pointed across a room and as soon as one of these beams is broken the alarm begins to sound. These are very effective burglar alarms. There are also passive infrared motion sensor alarms too that work in a similar way to these other motion detectors but use heat in a room to detect whether or not there is a person present. They are extremely sensitive and can detect when a person has entered the room through a sudden rise in temperature caused by body heat.

If you want the complete security package then using both circuit alarms around the perimeter of the building as well as some kind of motion detector inside the building is the best idea. This will provide the best burglar alarms system possible. Intruder alarms are an important part of modern life and ensuring you have the best will provide that important peace of mind. Burglar alarms come in all shapes and sizes but there is something available for everyone regardless of requirements or budget.

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson writes articles for Alert Electrical, a leading electrical wholesaler, distributor and online supplier of a range of burglar alarms and intruder alarms assembled to make the selection of a complete burglar alarm system easier and quicker.

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