Today’s alarm systems depend on batteries more than ever. The home alarm system has always had a back battery for the control panel. These batteries would furnish power in case your home experienced a power loss. In this event the alarm system would still function for a time and continue to provide protection for your home.
With today’s wireless alarm systems the battery is even more critical than ever before. Every wireless device is powered by a battery. If your wireless device has a battery that is weak the system will generate a trouble that will alert you of the problem and where the problem exists. This is another reason to Gegensprechanlage have an accurate zone list for your alarm system. The last thing you want is to be chasing a low battery signal and not be able to replace the correct battery.
Your home security system is normally operating on house current or AC. The backup battery is checked by the control panel for the proper operating voltage. If the voltage goes below a base level then the control panel will generate a system battery trouble. If the AC to your control panel is lost then a different trouble will be generated that will indicate AC loss.
There is no exact estimation of how long your system battery will last. It depends on the A/H Amp Hour rating of your battery and the total current draw of your alarm panel. This is typically based on the number of devices connected to your system. Typically without an alarm condition your alarm system will easily operate for a 24 hour period. If your alarm system is triggered while using your battery backup the backup period will be much less. If your system remains in battery backup mode for an extended period of time and your battery goes dead it is best to replace the system battery. When you have a new alarm system battery the warranty is typically for one year.
There is a wide variety of batteries utilized in wireless alarm systems. They range from your standard double batteries to 9 volt. The newer wireless devices use a much smaller battery such as a lithium 3v battery. These batteries allow for a much thinner device which blends in well with your home. The length of time that your devices will last depends on how often the device is used. Your wireless devices are in stand by a lot of the time to conserve the batteries but they are always ready to perform when they are called upon to do so. A good estimate of time would be approximately 1 year. A good rule of thumb is to replace your batteries once per year. This can be expensive depending on the size of your system. You can wait until the devices report a low battery condition. If you start to see a number of devices that are reporting low battery it is best to simply replace all of the device batteries or at a minimum make sure to purchase all of the batteries that you would need. By purchasing a larger amount you can save money and you know that you will eventually need them.
Every alarm system that is installed has a statement in your owner manual that says that you should test your alarm system monthly. It is your responsibility to ensure that your system is functioning properly. You must inspect what you expect. In years of servicing alarm system I have never found anyone that tests their alarm system as frequently as they should. Once per month may be a bit of overkill but never should not be an option. If you are replacing your battery because of a low battery condition then the trouble should go away on its own. Some systems will take a few hours for this to happen because the control panel does not test for battery voltage continuously. If you want the trouble to clear right away you will need to unplug the battery and remove the power from the panel. Always plug the battery in first and then restore system power. The trouble should be clear as the system powers back up.
You should test your system on battery at least some of the time. In order to test your system with the battery backup you will need to disconnect system power. Then arm your system and set it into alarm. Allow the system to ring the alarm siren until it cuts off automatically. Then you can disarm your system. Make sure that you notify your alarm monitoring company before you test your system. If the control panel does perform adequately during testing then you may need to replace your alarm battery.
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