Door Sensor

In one-third of all home break-ins the burglar entered through the front door. Oftentimes, because the door is unlocked. It’s a good precaution to keep your home locked, while you’re away. if you happen to forget to lock a door or window but you have an active alarm system, then an intruder will likely be scared off by the alarm. Furthermore, the authorities will be notified and arrive shortly. Good wireless sensors for your doors paired to a professional alarm system are an effective deterrent against theft and burglary.

A door alarm (also called a door sensor) is an essential part of a home security system to keep your home safe. A door sensor keeps track of whether a door is open or closed. These alarms alert you either audibly and/or with a text notification when a door has been opened (depending on your settings). With a door alarm you can know that your home is secure, and that no one is coming or going without your knowledge. The same technology used for door sensors can also be used on windows. This technology is simple, reliable, and affordable, which makes them ideal for DIY home security systems.

Door alarms can be wired or wireless, although wired models are quickly becoming outdated. The hassle involved in installing wired alarm systems usually requires many hours of setup time by a trained professional. This can be an expensive nuisance. Wireless Door Alarms The door sensors we recommend are wireless and can be set up by the customer in mere minutes. Since we want our customers to have the best, wireless door alarms are the only type of door sensors that Cove offers. But how does a wireless door sensor work? The sensor itself is a two-piece device. One part of the wireless door alarm is attached to the edge of the door and the other part is attached to the door frame. Both parts are mounted with an adhesive strip. The two pieces are parallel with one another, almost touching. When the door is opened, it breaks the invisible connection between the two parts of the sensor, tripping the alarm. To elaborate, one part of the sensor has a magnet inside, and the other part contains a magnetically sensitive trigger called a “reed switch.” The reed switch houses two magnetic wires that are prevented from completing a circuit when it’s sister piece is next to it. When the part of the door sensor that contains the magnet moves away from the other half of the sensor, the two wires of the reed switch are able to touch, which triggers a signal to your Cove Touch Alarm Panel. If the sensor is tripped, and your system is armed, an audible alarm on the panel will go off. If your system is not armed, your alarm panel may chime or announce the name or location of the sensor, according to your preference. You can also have your alarm system send you an alert when a door is opened if you have the Cove app. These settings can be customized on the alarm panel or within the app, according to your personal preferences. Because this type of door alarm is wireless, these door sensors must run on battery power. But fret not, the batteries for the door and window sensors in the Cove Home Security System are rated for a lifespan of more than 5 years. Also, you can always check the battery life status of your wireless security devices on the touchscreen display of your Cove Touch Alarm Panel. Although wireless door alarms are very easy to set up, don’t let their simplicity fool you into thinking they’re easy to bypass. Because they’re so small and don’t require direct contact, the two halves are almost always out of view from the outside of the door. This means shady characters won’t be able to know where the sensor is located. Even if an intruder did know where your sensor was, it isn’t possible to disable them from the outside. The door only needs to move about an inch to trip the alarm and tampering with the sensor will set off the alarm. Button Door Alarms Other security companies use a door alarm that is triggered by a button rather than a magnet. When the door is closed, one half of the “sensor” depresses a button that protrudes from the other half. When the button is pressed, the alarm system reads the door as closed. When the door is opened, the button pops up like a turkey timer and sends a signal to the system to register that the door or window assigned to that sensor has been opened. The advantage and disadvantage of a button door alarm is it’s simplicity. If there’s a wide enough gap between your door and frame, the button can be seen from the other side and a burglar can neutralize the device by sliding a credit card through and applying pressure to the card to keep the button depressed as they open and close the door. This is why we recommend magnetic sensors. As we mentioned above, magnetic door alarms can’t be seen from the outside of a door and are more reliable.Furthermore, buttons wear down after a while, and if they aren’t installed properly, they can even break with a forceful slamming of a door or window. Since magnetic door alarms don’t have any moving parts you can avoid this risk of premature hardware failure unlike their button cohorts. Also, with the button door alarm, you hear a click every time the door opens or closes, which can be annoying. Since a magnetic door alarm needs no physical contact it can be completely silent. If you do want some sort of noise to be created when your doors are opened you can always activate the chime function of the door alarms but this way you at least have a choice whether you want your security system to make a sound or not. Wired and Professionally Installed Door Alarms Wired door alarms are effective only as long as they have power. Since wired door alarms are reliant on the same power as the rest of your home, then your whole alarm system will shut down if the power goes out. With wireless door alarms and a wireless security system, even if the power goes out, you can be assured that your alarm system will still work since it runs on long-lasting batteries. Some individuals like to have a recessed sensor so that the door sensor doesn’t ruin the aesthetic of their home but recessed door sensors take longer to install, and become a permanent fixture in your door even if you decide to change security companies. With Cove’s wireless door sensors, you won’t have to worry about this. Cove’s door alarms are designed to be unobtrusive. Plus, their design also makes it so even a thief directly outside the door won’t be able to see them. If your home or apartment is already pre-wired for an older security system it may be tempting to pay for a wired alarm service but you should still look into modern wireless door sensors. Even the best wired alarms can be easily disarmed if the burglar knows what he/she is doing. Also, even if the wiring is already in place, in many cases, it may actually be cheaper to buy diy wireless door alarms instead of having someone come in to set up, replace, or reactivate the wired alarms that are already present.