Cottages, like other real estate, often become the goal of unscrupulous citizens who want to profit at someone else's expense. This article will not talk about expensive houses - high-rise cottages and mansions. Such real estate is protected, as a rule, with the help of various security structures.
A professionally installed burglar alarm will send a signal to the duty officer, and attackers will be detained by an armed outfit that has arrived. This protection scheme is designed to counter professional thieves and often works ahead of the curve - an attacker, a guarded object, will bypass it and try to choose a house with which there will be less fuss and risk. Everything is good in this scheme except one - the cost of the service. Payment to the security company will result in a pretty penny.
When can I save?
If we are talking about the banal theft of garden tools, tools, and even directly the products of summer cottage industry by people who try to exchange all stolen goods for a liquid alcohol-containing product, it is quite possible to do without extra costs. When it comes to countering professional burglars (they are unlikely to be lucky for a screwdriver with a “grinder” or a can of homemade pickles), then an alarm system for a summer residence with a “howler” will completely cope with the task. For the contingent of country thieves is quite enough to scare away.
Moreover, once caught in this particular area, becoming for some time the object of attention of the owner of the cottage and neighbors, the subject is unlikely to reach there again. After the burglar alarm will give him fame, it will not be possible to show himself in this area.
Application area
Some country cooperatives are completely empty in the winter, even the road to them is not cleared of snow. In such areas, the alarm system for giving with a "howler" in winter becomes useless. It serves as an excellent, inexpensive, but effective remedy for garden thieves in the summer season.
If the owner is in the country, but for one reason or another cannot visually control the entrance gate, the entrance to the house, the alarm for giving with a “howler” will give a signal that an outsider is in the area and will frighten away a potential attacker.
When leaving for the city, it is necessary to warn the country watchman that the “hacienda” stands on an audible alarm. It is also great to have good relations with neighbors who can insure “if that”. To do this, you do not even have to enter into a physical confrontation with persons who have penetrated into someone else's site. It is enough to remember the signs of crooks and call representatives of law enforcement agencies.
What is a
The alarm for giving with a "howler" is a combination of the actual "howler", a control unit, sometimes a power supply and various sensors. The kit also includes a device for arming / disarming an object. The howler siren acts as a deterrent factor. A working sound device creates discomfort, exerts tremendous psychological pressure on the thief , attracts people to the scene of events and, ultimately, forces him to leave the object.
Sensors - a link that directly responds to the penetration of housing. There are different types, each of which is intended for its "line of defense":
- The vibration sensor is attached, as a rule, to a vertical surface, reacts to any change in the position of bodies in space, is used to prevent penetration into the home through breaks in the walls, and is also glued to glass windows.
- The glass break sensor sticks to the glass, reacts to the sound of a certain tone (with which the glass breaks).
- Reed sensors (for breaking) are installed in sets of two elements - one element on the door leaf, the second - on the door frame, triggering when the elements are removed from each other.
- Motion sensor (second name - infrared). Any change in objects, bodies in a room, due to the laws of refraction of rays, causes a change in the infrared background. This effect underlies the operation of the sensor, it responds to any movement on the object and is essentially able to replace all other types of sensors.
The power supply provides sensors and howler electric current of the required voltage, the control unit coordinates the operation of the entire system. Often the “howler”, the control unit and the power supply are assembled in one housing. However, a possible alarm repair in this case is complicated.
Wired or Wireless
The connection between the sensors and the control unit can be provided both with the help of electric wires and wirelessly (these technologies are so common today that you will not surprise anyone). Both methods have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of wireless communication include the lack of the need to lay a cable to each sensor. The rest are solid flaws. Any wireless sensor must be equipped with a battery. A dead battery can provoke a false system shutdown, which is unpleasant. In addition, if the alarm works in the winter, the battery life at low temperatures will be much less. Thus, it is better if the siren "howler" in the country will be equipped with wired sensors.
Mounting Features
The security system control unit is best located covertly, but at the same time, not far from the entrance to the housing. This is necessary so that in the event of an accidental release, you can quickly turn off the signal until all the neighbors have come together. A simpler in this case will be a possible repair of the alarm. When choosing a location for the control unit, you should also take care of the possibility of supplying power.
It is also important where the "howler" is located. The 220V alarm, of course, is mounted in part based on the location of the wiring, but the sound source itself must be installed in such a way as to not only frighten off intruders, but also signal the neighbors.
Where to better position sensors
You should never trust one type of sensor, and in no case - one sensor. Even a good expensive motion sensor alone is unlikely to cope.
The motion sensor is the champion of false positives. The fact is that even solar lighting, which changed dramatically from a sudden cloud, causes a change in the infrared background in the room. And although modern electronics can filter such signals by adjusting the day and night sensitivity, failures still happen. Therefore, it is better if there are two in each room. Some systems are configured in such a way that an alarm is generated only when a certain number of sensors are triggered.
Windows are protected by both break sensors and vibration sensors. However, you need to be careful with vibration sensors, especially with single (which is not uncommon in summer cottages) glazing. Operation can provoke strong gusts of wind.
If the walls of the house are made of material that is easily opened, they must be additionally protected with vibration sensors. Finally, reed switches should ideally be present on everything that opens - all doors, windows, the entrance to the attic (second floor).
Useful option - GSM availability
When a “howler” alarm is selected for a summer residence, the price, of course, matters. But there is one option for which it is worth a little overpayment. This is the ability to communicate via GSM.
It works like this. The user buys the SIM card of any mobile operator (it is important that the connection with this operator is stable at the place of installation of the alarm). "Simka" is installed in a special socket, available in the control unit. Such a system simultaneously with the sound signal to the “howler” sends SMS to numbers entered in advance into the control unit.
Moreover, SMS is sent not only in case of unauthorized entry into the house. Devices equipped with redundant power sources report the termination and start of power supply to the network. The owner is also informed about the failure of one of the sensors.
Reviews of summer residents
Is such an alarm effective? Reviews are naturally heterogeneous. The largest number of complaints comes to cheap Chinese systems. The sensors work by themselves, the control unit periodically “loses them”, etc. However, all of the above applies equally to any electronic devices.
Along with complaints, there are a number of positive reviews with examples when the “howler” alarm turned out to be on top. The secret to the success and popularity of these devices lies in the fact that, with all the simplicity of their design, they operate in an integrated manner:
- create a zone of maximum discomfort in the room;
- psychologically “pressure” the attacker;
- give a signal about the penetration of housing to neighbors and watchmen;
- easy to install, including without the involvement of specialists;
- have a low cost.
The legal side of the issue
Some home-made security devices act against hackers quite tough. And the law on the protection of private property, oddly enough, does not protect the owner of the house from liability for harming the health of attackers.
When operating the “howler” alarm, the permissible sound threshold of the device must not be exceeded. Fatal in volume is considered to be sound with an amplitude of over 185 decibels.