Ranging from the cheap twenty dollar models to the high-end four hundred dollar powerhouses, the motion sensor alarms industry can be initially bewildering to people just looking to protect their property for the first time. But the wide range of choices available, while confusing to start with, are a sign of how flexible alarm systems are these days. There’s a motion sensor out there for anyone’s alarm system needs, and once you familiarize yourself with the abilities of these handy devices, you’ll feel a lot better while making your shopping decisions.
While ultrasonic means of operating motion sensor alarms was previously very popular, they have since been surpassed by passive infrared forms of motion detection, which offer technological advantages while adding nothing to the final price tally. These new motion detector alarms analyze the temperature of the atmosphere, and detect intrusions by noticing human-sized body heat signals. Besides being able to work around animals such as domesticated pets, this infrared detection technology is difficult to fool. After all, it’s not easy to completely obscure the simple fact that your body is warmer than the surrounding air… and even if you could manage such a feat, you’d probably be extremely uncomfortable! The obvious thing for a criminal to do, then, would be to damage the central alarm control mechanism. However, this mechanism (usually a numerical pad) is generally placed indoors in a secure enough location that by the time the alarm is at risk of being damaged, the alarm system has already been tripped.
The abilities of any motion sensor burglar alarm will vary according to brand, model, and price, with more expensive models generally having more thorough and robust security measures. However, while there’s no denying that a two or three hundred dollar alarm will do a better job than a thirty dollar one, even the lower-end models typically have strong enough security measures in place to satisfy the average homeowner. There’s little profit in making faulty motion sensors, and companies could find themselves at risk if their products failed to work exactly as claimed to protect property. The end result is that great safety-enhancing motion detector alarms are available to all and sundry for little more than the cost of a couple pizzas.
An alarm system of the sort described above will most likely fall into one of two major categories with regards to the results of the alarm being tripped. The first category is an alarm that causes a loud noise or flashing lights in the nearby area. Much like your average car alarm, this is intended to scare off criminals and alert anyone nearby to the criminal activity. Unfortunately, the proliferation of false alarms, primarily in car alarm systems, has given rise to people cynically ignoring these warnings in heavily populated areas. And in low-populated areas, there will most likely be no one to take notice to begin with! Therefore these kinds of alarms work best in areas with a medium population density. The other option, sometimes used in combination with the previously described mechanisms, is for the alarm to quietly send out a signal to the local police or to an alarm watch station. You need to determine on your own just what you want from your alarm, to make a well-informed decision when purchasing a security system.
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