Peripheral Sensors
Most security systems use a wide variety of different peripheral sensors in order to ensure that all of the zones programmed with the system are kept safe and secure. If a peripheral sensor is ever activated, then that means there is a potential security risk, and the system will alert the user to the trouble. If central station monitoring is enabled, then an activated peripheral sensor might send an alert to the monitoring station in order to request emergency dispatch. By maintaining a set of properly functioning peripheral sensors with you security system, you can protect your home or business from a multitude of sudden events that might occur.
Some of the different peripheral sensors include door and window sensors, glass break detectors, flood detectors, temperature sensors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and more. It is common to categorize peripheral sensors into one of three types of devices. These include security devices, environmental devices and life safety devices. Each type of peripheral sensor serves a particular purpose in protecting your property.
Security devices are used alert users about any break-in that might have occurred inside their home or business and to scare-off any intruders when a break in occurs. For example, if an intruder is able to enter your front door, the will most certainly cause its door contact to activate and trigger the programmed zone on the security panel. Another case is if an intruder breaks into your home by shattering a window. The sound of the breaking glass will cause a glass break detector to activate so that you are alerted of the trouble. Once a security device has been triggered, it can cause the panel to produce a siren so that the user is alerted of the trouble, and the intruder is scared away. An activated security device can also send a signal to a central monitoring station so that they can request police dispatch to deal with the problem.
Environmental devices inform users about troubling external factors that are affecting the home or business. For instance, a temperature sensor will alert the user if the building reaches a dangerously low temperature that may cause the pipes to freeze and cause serious damage. Another type is a flood detector that will activate if water is detected in an area where there should not be water present. By using environmental devices, you can help protect your home or business from serious and costly damage.
Life safety devices are some of the most important peripheral sensors that a person can use. These devices help keep the people inside a building safe from potentially deadly occurrences. For example, a smoke and heat detector will alert everyone in the building about a fire that has occurred and let them know that they should evacuate the premises as quickly as possible. Another example is a carbon monoxide detector that will alert the building occupants to an unusually high level of carbon monoxide that could be life-threatening. It is strongly recommended that everyone maintains properly functioning life safety devices at all times, as failing to do so could result in a deadly situation.