Types of Alarm Systems

Types of Alarm Systems
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Waller]Jennifer Waller

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Before you go running out to buy a motion detector alarm or other alarm system to protect your property, you should inform yourself on what you could be getting for your money. There are a lot of different types of security systems out there, many of them working in different ways and meant for different purposes. However, some are more common than others, and more commonly useful too. Having a broad grasp of the technology involved will not only help you make the best choice for your circumstances, but also help you feel more comfortable around your security system and let you get the most out of it. Let's start with a kind of security system that is getting harder and harder to find lately: ultrasonic-based security systems.

You won't see ultrasonic detector alarms much anymore because they're considered outdated. While they aren't installed on anything anymore, they still linger on some properties as old default systems. They function through a transmission of an ultrasonic signal through the protected region, which is then bounced back to a receiver. Hard objects will reflect the signal appropriately, while soft surfaces, like human skin, will absorb it. An absorb repeated in ways as to suggest human motion will cause the alarm to trigger.

The primary mechanism that supplanted ultrasonic is passive infrared. Passive infrared alarms simply use infrared waves to detect moving person-sized temperature differences. They're much more reliable than ultrasonic methods, and more flexible as well. This is the average burglar alarm you can get cheaply. However, it does have the weakness of not being able to detect through glass very well.

Another common alarm methodology that is sometimes coupled with infrared is microwave-based intrusion detection. Like the first two options mentioned above, it operates by transmission of energy (in this case, microwave energy) and receiving it back and interpreting the information. It can react to motions that cause energy drops and various frequency changes.

Most famous for movie presentations are photo-electric beam systems and glass break detection alarms. The former are those red beams of energy you see in museum break-in movies, with the obvious disadvantage of being visible and therefore easy to avoid. Glass breaking alarms function by listening for the particular audio frequency sound of broken glass. This can trip an alarm even if the resulting shockwaves through the atmosphere are inaudible to a human ear.

Those are the basic alarm systems that react to motion, whether it comes from an intruder sneaking in or someone messing about just outside your property. If you're just starting out with your first system, infrared is highly recommended for ease of use. If your needs are higher, you might want to consider multiple systems in place for total security.

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