Security System Components

Keypads

Keypads display the status of the system using indicator lights or language displays. Entering your personal code turns the system on or off.

Sirens

Sirens installed inside and outside can discourage intruders and alert you and your neighbors.

Contacts

Contacts detect the opening of a door or window. Some contacts are flush-mounted, and are not visible when the door or window is closed. Sometimes, custom-made alarm screens can be used to protect windows, even when they are open.

Smoke Detectors

Smoke Detectors are powered by the control panel's battery. If your system is monitored, these smoke detectors can send a signal, while you are home or away, to dispatch your local fire department for help.

Glass Break Detectors

Glass Break Detectors can provide early detection of a burglary attempt. Some glass break detectors listen for the sounds of breaking glass, while others detect the impact of an attack on the glass.

Motion Detectors

Motion Detectors sense an intruder's movement, regardless of how he got inside. Security systems often include a way to bypass the motion detectors while you're inside so you can arm the perimeter of your home, yet move freely about inside without setting off your alarm. Some motion detectors are designed to ignore small pets.

Control Panels

Control Panels are the heart of security alarm systems. Control panels monitor all of the various sensors, checks the keypads, and sounds the sirens. It can also transmit alarms to a monitoring center called a "central station." A rechargeable, backup battery powers the system for several hours during power failures.

Revised July 9, 2004