For city-dwellers, home burglar alarms have progressed from the barking of a family pet to state-of-the-art circuit systems. Understanding how they function will help you select the ideal burglar alarm system for your home, and perhaps give you the necessary background on how to maintain and utilize it properly. Here is a simplified explanation of how the system actually works.

Home burglar alarms are like electrical circuits, in that you are required to turn on a switch to activate a certain appliance. In the case of a burglar alarm, the intruder’s movements act as the turning on of the switch. The “switch” that he triggers activates the “appliance”, which is the sound of the alarm.

There are two types of electric circuits, and basing on their corresponding principles, there are two types of burglar alarms.

1. The first type is the closed-circuit system, wherein the door acts as the part that closes the circuit. Electricity flows throughout the circuit as long as it remains closed. If an intruder opens the door, he opens the circuit and the flow is interrupted, which triggers the alarm.

2. The second type is the open-circuit system, which utilizes the opposite principle as the former. This time, the circuit is open while the door is closed. When somebody opens the door, the circuit is closed and this prompts the flow of current as well as the alarm. This can be deactivated if the thief manages to cut the connected wires.

Apart from the two types, there is another simple alarm system which consists of a switch embedded in the door frame. While the door is closed, this button remains pushed in. When it is opened, it releases the button as well as the sound of the alarm.

Yet another basic type of home alarm system is the control box. This device has its own power supply and is attached to an alarm circuit. Depending on which circuit-type it is, it sounds the alarm when triggered, but won’t turn off until a security password is entered at a connected keypad. The control box is usually hidden securely when it is inaccessible to the intruder.

These are only the basic variations of home burglar alarms. If the intruder still manages to penetrate into the home, more complex alarm systems are required to deal with him, those that employ motion detector systems.

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Troy Livy