By having an intruder alarm system in place for your business, it provides you with peace of mind knowing that your business property is safe and secure from any theft or serious damage. However, how can you be sure as to whether this system will work as normal in a power cut?
It is usually common that intruder alarms will start beeping when there has been a power cut. This means that it does not have a back-up system such as a battery which has enough power to continue running it, even when there is no source of electricity or power.
Depending on the type of backup system and power source for your business intruder alarm, can determine what can happen after a power cut or failure.
Internet
If your intruder alarm is set up via your internet provider system, when there are power shortages, the loss of power affects this system as well as your security system. Moreover, without having an internet connection which cannot link to a monitoring center, this system will stop communication of all formats until the internet is back up and running again. Which, could as a result, take a long period of time.
Phone Lines
Alternatively, some intruder alarm systems can operate over traditional phone lines. This means that it will continue to communicate with the monitoring center even in power cuts. Phone lines can remain operational during power cuts and outages, as your security system will usually tend to operate on the backup power for a certain amount of time.
On most occasions, intruder alarms will have a battery backup system which is designed to power the system for a further 10-24 hours if there was to be an event of a power cut. However, the amount of time that this backup system can last will depend on the condition of the battery and whether it has been serviced recently.
Like all batteries, they can eventually degrade by having a reduced capacity and operational life. However, it is important to note that batteries should be able to power the intruder alarm system for a minimum of eight hours.
Even though some intruder alarm systems are not an overly complex process when it comes to changing the batteries, it is still vital to have the system serviced by a professional. They will be able to test the alarm system, battery and diagnose any other potential problems which you may not be aware of.
Commercial and Domestic Burglaries
There have been a significant number of studies over the years showing that the number of crimes, particularly domestic and commercial theft and burglaries happen in the event of a power shortage. Moreover, if your alarm system fails to go off during a power cut, it can have serious implications for yourself and your business.
Looking to invest in an intruder alarm? It is important to consider getting it serviced on a frequent basis. At Aegis Security, we source the best intruder alarm system to meet your requirements, and our team can perform both routine and preventive maintenance, as well as emergency corrective maintenance.
This will ensure that if a fault were to occur on the system, as part of the maintenance agreement, you will benefit from 24/7 emergency callout service, which is still relevant and applicable to situations such as power cuts. Our skilled and qualified technicians will always be ready to carry out emergency repairs.
