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Security Alarm Monitoring How it Works
By: Roy Stephenson
So you are considering the purchase of a Security Alarm System for your home or business. For some, the on-going monthly expense associated with Alarm System Monitoring is one of the major factors taken into consideration when choosing a vendor.
With monitoring fees ranging anywhere from $ 25.00 to well over $ 40.00 per month, what are you getting for your money? Let?s take a closer look at the monitoring services offered by most alarm companies.
In its simplest form, a Burglar Alarm System utilizes a control panel, an arming station and a combination of perimeter and interior protection to provide a deterrent shield to protect your most valuable assets. When an unauthorized entry is detected by a perimeter or interior sensor the system will initiate an alarm.
Similar to a facsimile machine, every Security Alarm Panel that is capable of being monitored uses an industry standard Digital Communication Format. The panel uses this digital language to communicate with an Alarm Receiver at the Central Monitoring Facility using standard or cellular telephone lines.
If an alarm occurs at your premises, the alarm panel will immediately utilize your telephone line to send a digital signal to the Central Station. A unique account number is programmed into your alarm panel to allow it to identify itself to the Alarm Receiver.
The Alarm Panel will transmit the account number and a 3 or 4 digit event code to the Alarm Receiver. The Alarm Receiver will interpret the digital signals and immediately pass the information along to a large network of computers which are manned 24x7 by Central Station Operators.
The Central Station Operator is provided with the call list information that you have provided to the alarm company during the registration process. The Central Station Operator that receives the alarm signals immediately tries to verify that the alarm is real.
Depending on the type of alarm, the Central Station Operator will first call the premises to try and contact the alarm user. If the user answers the phone, they are asked to provide a unique pass-code that identifies them as an authorized user. If they can provide the correct pass-code, the alarm is logged, but authorities are not dispatched.
If no one answers the phone, or if the person answering the phone cannot provide the correct password, the authorities are dispatched to the scene immediately. After the authorities are dispatched, the Central Station Operator will attempt to reach a call list of individuals who can meet the authorities at the site to let them in to investigate the cause of the alarm.
There are a couple of circumstances, where the Central Station Operator will not call your premises and try to verify the alarm. The special circumstances include Fire Alarms and Panic Alarms.
A fire can quickly get out of control and completely consume your home or business in a matter of minutes. Therefore, if your Fire Alarm is going off, the 1st order of business for the Operator is to dispatch the Fire Department. You cannot call and ask the dispatcher stop the Fire Department. Once the trucks roll, they will not stop.
If your panic alarm goes off, be forewarned, the police department takes panic alarms very seriously. No one from the central station will call your house to try and verify the alarm. Usually a 911 dispatcher will call your house after there is a large posse of Police Officers outside your door. Don?t be surprised if you are asked to come out with your hands up and you find several guns in your face.
Now, that is what you can expect from your $ 29.00 monthly fee, although many Central Stations will charge more for ?optional? services such as Code Changes, Opening & Closing Reports, Alarm System Partitioning and Fire, Panic or Medical Alarm Monitoring Services.
Before you make that purchasing decision, have each alarm company that you are getting bids from outline exactly which monitoring services are included in the base price and which services are optional. Then you can factor in the monthly monitoring and management fees into any purchasing decision.
Roy Stephenson is a Security Consultant with over 21 Years Experience Designing and Installing High End Integrated Security Systems. He is currently the VP of Marketing at www.Security-Kits.Com and www.EZWatchstore.com |  |