Batteries and your Security alarm system - www.keepsafesystems.ca

In the spirit of someone was searching for it so I will write about it, here I am again. The question was “will a low battery in my security alarm system cause a false alarm”. The answer, well that would depend on which battery is low.

Pretty much all security all security alarm systems, whether hardwired or wireless have back-up panel batteries. These batteries are located in the main control panel and are there simply in case the power to the security alarm system goes out. Once the power is restored the batteries are re-charged by the security alarm systems’ internal power supply. Normally speaking, these batteries will last from 4 to 5 years under normal usage. If you have a lot of power failures battery life may be reduced substantially.

Since these batteries are intended for back-up purposed only, they would normally not cause a false alarm. The only time a bad battery may cause a problem with your security alarm system is if the power goes out for a long period of time and the battery goes into deep discharge. This simply means the battery is not supplying enough voltage for the security alarm system to operate properly. The same holds true if the back-up battery is on its’ last legs when the power fails.

Although I really do not consider wireless security alarm systems real security alarm systems, I will bring them up for the purpose of the battery discussion. Wireless detectors, by definition run purely on batteries. Although most modern wireless “security alarm systems” do have battery saver features on their wireless detectors, batteries do run low and as with anything electronic will start to act erratically once sufficient operational voltage is not supplied to the detector. For that reason, if you are unfortunate enough to have a wireless “security alarm system” it is important to keep a fresh stockpile of batteries for when they start to die. Keep in mind; batteries do have a shelf life, so you may have to refresh old batteries from your stockpile.

So now back to the question, in a hardwire security alarm system, under normal operation, a bad back-up battery will not cause a false alarm. It will however cause problems as well as potential false alarms if the power fails for even one moment. Bad batteries in wireless sensors will almost always cause problems whether there is a stable power source in the house or not.

Keepsafe systems installs services and provides alarm monitoring services for security alarm systems in the Vancouver area of the Lower Mainland Fraser Valley British Columbia