When did you last check your alarm system?

We hear about how important it is to change our smoke alarm batteries, but what about your house alarm? Any reputable locksmith provider in Adelaide will tell you that an alarm with a flat battery is as good as no alarm at all. Now, obviously a house alarm will be used much more often than a smoke alarm. Part of the problem with smoke alarm batteries is that people rarely need to use them, and so they forget to test the batteries. Presumably, people with house alarms will enable them every time they leave the house, and so a flat battery would be immediately obvious.

First of all, not everyone enables their alarm every time they go out, for fear of accidentally tripping it. While this practice is inadvisable there are plenty of homeowners who install alarms solely for use during extended holidays or business trips, not just for running errands during the day. Therefore they would not have as many opportunities to notice the alarm is not working. 

Second, even if the alarm was enabled every time, there is nothing to stop the battery from being low, and then dying when you are out of the house, leaving the house unguarded. Some brands of alarm system incorporate a low battery signal that will alert users to this potential, but not all. In the absence of this, there is no way of telling when a battery is likely to go flat. The more you use your alarm system, the more quickly it is going to drain your batteries. 

With this knowledge, most in the security industry will advise you to change your home alarm batteries once every two years, even if they seem to be in perfect working order. It is a preventative measure that will cost a few dollars and could save you from losing everything. Use the annual check your smoke alarm battery day as an opportunity to also switch over the batteries in your alarm system. Take note of the manufacturer’s recommendations for battery replacement, as some stipulate that if the battery is in hot conditions, it will wear out faster. 

Anyone can change the battery, but if you are uncertain then it is always a good idea for a security professional to take over. Understandably, most want to avoid this, as a battery will cost about $15 but an hour of an electrician’s time could cost ten times that amount. If you do take on the job yourself, before opening the box, station someone next to the keypad with the code, as the alarm will often be tripped when you open the lid. Better yet, ring your security monitoring company, and tell them you’re about the test the battery and you might trip the trigger. They’ll appreciate the heads up, and you won’t risk the cops turning up at your door. For complete alarm system installation, maintenance and unbeatable locksmith advice in Adelaide, contact Hillside Locksmiths at http://www.hillsidelocksmiths.com.au/.