Key point
Draw the risk zones first
Start with the likely routes in: front door, rear door, side gate, garage, patio doors, accessible windows, stock rooms, offices, and any outbuildings that create a quiet approach.
Installation and emergency support
For burglar and intruder alarms, call the team with the postcode, photos, urgency and any product details ready.
CCTV and alarms
Burglar Alarms
A good intruder alarm is a layout, user routine, and response plan before it is a control panel. The strongest specification starts with how the building is entered, where movement should be detected, who can set and unset the system, and what happens when an alert is raised.
Zones and part sets
Door and window contacts
PIR movement detection
Pets and false alarms
Keyholders and app alerts
Key point
Fit the system to real users
Contacts and PIRs decide what the alarm sees. Keypads, fobs, codes, app access, pets, and timers decide whether real users can operate it every day without workarounds.
Key point
Own the response plan
False alarm reduction and response are not one feature. They come from sensor placement, pet planning, clean user permissions, named zones, maintenance, and keyholders who know what to do.
Alarm zone map
Design the alarm around the path an intruder would take
A useful alarm layout shows the final door, perimeter contacts, movement traps, keypad position, siren, app alert route, and the person who owns the response.
Planning focus
Use the cards in this section to compare the practical decision points.
1. Survey the entry points into the building
An alarm survey should collect enough detail to design the system around risk and daily use. A quick device count is not enough if the property has pets, shared access, remote users, outbuildings, stock storage, or different night and day routines.
- Prepare a simple floor plan or walkthrough list showing external doors, accessible windows, garages, rooflights, loft hatches, basements, and internal routes from likely entry points.
- Note normal routines: who opens up, who locks down, whether anyone sleeps upstairs while downstairs is protected, and whether cleaners or contractors attend outside normal hours.
- Identify nuisance risks before devices are chosen: pets, draughts, heaters, conservatories, reflective surfaces, sunlight, hanging stock, insects, machinery, and roller shutters.
- Record practical constraints such as cable routes, power, network or mobile signal, wireless range, decorative finishes, listed building constraints, and future extension plans.
2. Turn risk zones into part-sets
Zones divide the alarm into named detection points, while areas or part-sets let different parts of the property be armed at different times. This is what makes an alarm understandable when it triggers and usable when people are still inside.
- Use entry and exit zones for the normal route between the final door and keypad, with timers that are long enough for real use but not so long that they weaken security.
- Use night part-sets for homes where downstairs, garages, or perimeter contacts stay armed while bedrooms and landing routes remain free to move through.
- Use separate commercial areas for stock rooms, cash offices, workshops, reception, shared corridors, staff-only rooms, and units occupied by different teams.
- Name zones in plain language such as Rear Hall PIR or Office Window Contact so app alerts and maintenance records make sense without a site map.
3. Protect the perimeter before movement
Contacts detect a door or window opening before an intruder has crossed the room. They are especially useful on final exits, vulnerable rear doors, garage doors, patio doors, shopfront doors, and windows that are likely to be forced.
- Fit door contacts where early warning matters: front doors, rear doors, side doors, staff entrances, fire exits that should remain closed, garage doors, and service doors.
- Use window contacts selectively for accessible windows, basement windows, vulnerable ground-floor openings, and rooms where movement detection would create nuisance alarms.
- Consider vibration or shock detection only where the construction and environment suit it, because loose frames, shutters, traffic, or weather exposure can increase nuisance activations.
- Check door condition first. Poorly closing doors, loose frames, weak keeps, and flexing garage doors can create faults or mask the real physical security problem.
4. Aim PIRs around people, pets and heat
PIRs protect rooms and routes by detecting movement and heat change. Their position matters: a poorly aimed PIR can miss the path an intruder would take or trigger repeatedly because of pets, heat, sunlight, or moving objects.
- Prioritise hallways, landings, stair routes, offices, stock rooms, corridors, and rooms an intruder must cross after entering through a likely weak point.
- Avoid pointing PIRs directly at radiators, fireplaces, air vents, windows with strong sunlight, unstable displays, hanging decorations, plants, or machinery that moves after hours.
- For pets, specify pet-tolerant detectors only when the pet size, furniture layout, stair access, and room use genuinely match the detector limits.
- Do not rely on a pet setting to solve a poor layout. If animals climb onto furniture, use stairs, or roam through protected areas, perimeter contacts and revised part-sets may be safer.
5. Choose wired, wireless or hybrid coverage
Wired alarm devices are strong where cables can be run cleanly and long-term battery maintenance should be minimised. Wireless systems reduce disruption in finished homes and smaller premises. Hybrid systems mix both where a building needs practical coverage without forcing one method everywhere.
- Choose wired detection during refurbishments, new fit-outs, ceiling access, or commercial projects where cable routes can be protected and documented.
- Choose wireless detection where decoration is finished, cable routes are disruptive, outbuildings need flexible coverage, or future device moves are likely.
- Plan battery replacement, device supervision, wireless signal testing, and interference checks as part of maintenance rather than treating wireless as fit-and-forget.
- Use hybrid layouts when the panel, keypads, siren, or high-risk devices benefit from wiring but perimeter contacts or remote rooms are easier to protect wirelessly.
6. Make setting and unsetting accountable
The best alarm still fails if users cannot set it correctly. Access methods should support the opening routine, closing routine, temporary users, audit needs, and remote response without leaving shared codes or forgotten app accounts behind.
- Place keypads by normal entry routes, but also consider bedrooms, garages, staff entrances, or managers offices where part-set or late access needs faster control.
- Issue individual codes or fobs instead of shared codes where staff, tenants, cleaners, or contractors need separate accountability.
- Remove or suspend users promptly when employment, tenancy, cleaning contracts, or contractor access ends.
- Use app alerts for status checks, set/unset notifications, fault alerts, and keyholder escalation, but do not let remote unsetting replace a safe attendance procedure.
7. Decide who owns each alert
An alarm activation needs a practical response path. Audible-only systems rely on nearby people noticing and keyholders attending. App-connected systems depend on phone availability. Monitored systems depend on accurate contacts, agreed procedures, and the signalling route staying healthy.
- Nominate at least two reliable keyholders where the alarm may need attendance, and make sure they know how to silence, reset, inspect, and escalate safely.
- Keep keyholder names, phone numbers, access instructions, and alarm company details current after staff changes, house moves, holiday cover, or management changes.
- For businesses, define who attends outside hours, whether lone attendance is acceptable, and how keys, codes, CCTV review, and incident notes are handled.
- Where police response or insurer expectations matter, confirm the required installation, maintenance, monitoring, and false alarm management standards before buying equipment.
8. Remove false-alarm causes early
False alarms damage confidence in the system and can affect monitoring response. Most are preventable through careful design, user training, maintenance, and prompt investigation when a device or routine starts causing repeated activations.
- Train users on entry routes, exit routes, part-set choices, duress or panic features, app notifications, and what to do if they accidentally trigger the system.
- Investigate repeated activations by zone and time of day instead of simply resetting the panel. The cause may be a sensor position, battery, door movement, pet route, or user habit.
- Schedule maintenance for batteries, sirens, tamper circuits, detectors, contacts, signalling paths, app connections, and firmware or panel health where applicable.
- Retest after building works, new shelving, changed heating, a new pet, new staff routines, replacement doors, window repairs, or network changes.
9. Match the specification to the property
Homes and small businesses often use similar hardware, but the design priorities differ. Domestic systems usually need simple routines, pet-safe decisions, garages, outbuildings, and night setting. Small business systems need stronger user management, stock protection, opening records, and keyholder discipline.
- For homes, focus on easy setting, sleeping routines, pets, family members, garages, sheds, remote app alerts, and vulnerable rear or side access.
- For shops and offices, focus on staff codes, opening and closing logs, service doors, stock or cash areas, cleaner access, and out-of-hours keyholder response.
- For workshops and small warehouses, account for high ceilings, machinery cooldown, roller shutters, racking, dust, loading doors, and separate office or mezzanine areas.
- For mixed-use premises, separate residential movement from commercial protection so one user group does not have to weaken the other group's alarm routine.
FAQs
Burglar Alarms FAQs
Short answers for separating product research, fitting, survey and urgent callout work.
How many alarm zones does a property need?
Enough to identify the activation clearly and support real setting routines. A small home may only need named doors, main movement areas, garage, and night part-set zones. A small business may need separate areas for reception, stock, office, staff entrance, and service doors.
Are door contacts better than PIRs?
They do different jobs. Contacts detect opening at the perimeter, often earlier in the break-in. PIRs detect movement inside the protected area. Most reliable layouts combine both, especially on likely entry routes.
Can burglar alarms work with pets?
Yes, but only when the pet, room layout, and detector choice match. Pet-tolerant PIRs have limits, and animals that climb, use stairs, or jump onto furniture can still cause activations. Perimeter contacts and part-setting may be better in some rooms.
Should a finished home use wireless alarms?
Wireless is often practical in finished homes because it avoids disruptive cable runs. The design still needs signal testing, battery planning, tamper supervision, and sensible device positions. Wired or hybrid systems may be better during refurbishment or on higher-risk commercial sites.
Are app alerts enough without monitoring?
App alerts are useful for status checks and quick keyholder notification, but they depend on phone signal, battery, data, and someone being available. Higher-risk sites should define a formal response plan and check whether monitoring, confirmation, or insurer requirements apply.
How can false alarms be reduced?
Reduce false alarms by placing sensors away from heat and movement sources, planning for pets, naming zones clearly, training every user, maintaining batteries and devices, and investigating repeat activations by zone instead of only resetting the panel.
How often should an alarm be maintained?
Maintenance frequency depends on the system type, monitoring arrangement, insurer expectations, and manufacturer guidance. As a practical baseline, arrange periodic professional checks and act immediately on low battery, tamper, signalling, app, siren, or repeated activation faults.
What information helps before an alarm survey?
Prepare a floor plan or walkthrough, photos of entrances and vulnerable windows, details of pets, outbuildings, staff or family access, opening routines, Wi-Fi or network constraints, existing alarm equipment, and any insurer or monitoring requirements.
Installation and emergency support
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