Do It Yourself Home Alarm Systems

A home alarm system does not only provide protection against burglars, but can also solve a variety of other problems. So decide on the purposes for which you are considering a do it yourself home security system project.

First and foremost, decide if you want a home alarm system, just for safety against burglars. In short, do you just need a burglar alarm? There are various options in the market to choose from. You can have an integrated burglar and fire alarm. It may cost you a bit more, but then you know it is worth it.

Now the next factor that you need to decide is whether the alarm you are purchasing is just meant to sound a huge siren, in event of an intrusion or fire, or should it perform a few more tasks too. For example, there are a variety of alarm systems, which will not only sound an alarm, but also dial important phone numbers and report the problem. 

This is very useful, because burglaries rarely take place when you are at home. These alarm systems, will allow you to key in a certain number of phone numbers. So you can put in emergency numbers, like that of the police, the ambulance, the fire department and your own. This makes sure that the problem is reported, even in your absence.

This is the age of wireless and installing a wireless system may be very intriguing, but conventional wired alarm systems are recommended over wireless. The reason being that wireless alarm systems can face problems due to interference from nearby wireless devices. Many times, these devices can also give off false alarms.

The DIY task of installing a home alarm system starts off just like the installation of any other home equipment - with reading manufacturer manuals. The manufacturers manual is the bible that you need to keep in hand throughout the entire process of installing the system. Let us see the common procedure for the installation of almost all alarm systems.

First of all, try to locate the best place for putting in the alarm, i.e., the most vulnerable location of the house, in case of an intrusion. Put it at a place from where the alarm's sound can reach all corners of your house. In short, you will be alarmed by the alarm. 

See that it is not in a very eye-catching position and spoils the look of your home's interior. But it is also important that you do not fix it in such a position that you can't even hear the sound.

The next step is to locate the windows and doors which are most vulnerable to intrusion. In case of a combined system, which consists of a burglar and fire alarm, you need to put smoke sensors in almost all rooms. 

For the burglar alarm, simply consider the windows and doors vulnerable to intrusion and fix the sensors out there. You can of course, leave out inaccessible windows but if you have a sufficient number of sensors in your home alarm system kit, try to cover even these windows.

Now fix the control panel. The location is very obvious, near the front door of your house. It is important that you have an electrical power outlet nearby. Don't worry, home alarm systems do come with their own battery back up systems. 

Fix the wiring in such a way, that the wiring is confused with the electrical wiring of your house. Finally connect the sensors to the siren and the control panel.

For any complications involved with the wiring, the only answer is the manual that has come along with your home alarm system. This is because the installation process differs based on different models and manufacturers.