WITH power outages occurring across the country, a private security company said load-shedding can wreak havoc with alarm systems and the signals sent to your security provider’s control room.
Managing Director of ADT Security’s East Coast Region, Martin Kriel, said many people believe their home alarm system is deactivated when the power supply is interrupted, however, all modern alarms should have a back-up battery pack that activates automatically when the normal supply is interrupted.
‘Power cuts can also increase the possibility of false alarm activations and, despite having a back-up battery pack, it is important that you test your alarm regularly.
This is a simple procedure which takes less than five minutes and should be done as early as possible so that technicians can address any problems which may be found.’
During power cuts there is the added inconvenience of the lights going out. Candles and touch-lights may offer a solution, but they may not be easy to find in the dark.
In a bid to avoid being caught unawares, Kriel said home and business-owners should consider installing Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology which is integrated into the alarm system’s wiring and automatically switches on for a maximum of 15 minutes when the electricity cuts out.
Kriel added, ‘If there is an additional battery pack, the small, non-intrusive LED lights can stay on for the duration of the power outage – or a maximum of 40 hours – without draining the primary alarm battery.’
Read more about Eskom’s loadshedding here
