Fitting a Garage Alarm can be an easy and quick solution to help protecting your valuable goods inside.
Garage Alarms & Security !!
Garages nearly always store valuable goods of some type, either in pure financial or sentimental terms, these often include Power & Hand Tools, Push Bikes, Lawnmowers, Gold Clubs, Fishing Equipment & Gardening Equipment, all of which lend themselves to easily being carried during the theft, and just as easy to sell at the local Car Boot Sale or the online platforms such as eBay & Gumtree.
Sometimes the Tools have built up over many years and are nearly impossible to replace with like for like.
Garages are also often targeted by Burglars because of the potential value of these goods inside and perfect when working on the ‘Risk & Reward’ concept.
Risk & Reward:
This thought process cannot be understated (it is what most if not all Burglars will be thinking) even if they do not know it:
- What Risk am I taking breaking into this building (possible not Locked or Alarmed, potentially having weak Doors, Windows & Locks, often not Overlooked and with at least one Easy Escape Route, often more).
- What potential Financial Reward will (could) I achieve (Push Bikes, Hand & Power Tools, Lawnmowers, Gold Clubs, Fishing Equipment & Gardening Equipment) all with an irresistible easy profit with no or little traceability.
What do you want from an Alarm (options include):
- Sirens inside the Garage.
- Sirens outside the Garage.
- Sirens both inside & outside the Garage.
- Sirens inside a nearby House (with or without sirens around the Garage).
- Silent (apart from to the owners or key-holders).
- Phone & Text Call to you and other key-holders (with or without sirens around the Garage).
Type of Sensors:
The two most common Alarm Sensors used inside a Garage are:
- PIR’s (these infrared sensors will pick up a sudden change in temperature within its view, this can be caused by a Person suddenly walking into the Shed, but also could be triggered by Rats or Mice climbing past the PIR or a sudden Heat source (for example a Sun Rise coming through a Window).
- Magnetic Contact (these are used to monitor a Door or Window being opened, ideal for applications where there is a chance of small animals being present).
Other options can be:
- Vibration Sensors (these pick up a violent vibration through a door or window, ideal to activate an Alarm before Burglars have gained access into the Garage, but can be prone to false Alarms if the device cannot be adjusted for sensitivity to suit loose fitting Doors or Windows).
- Pressure Mats (it is possible with some Alarms to hide a pressure Mat just inside the Door of a Garage, these can suit some types of applications).
Quantity of Sensors:
Most Garages will only require one, two or three Alarm Sensors, the most common being a PIR inside the Garage and a Door Contact covering the main access Door.
Some larger Garages or Garages with internal dividing walls may require more Sensors, as could a Garage with additional vulnerable Windows or Doors.
Where to fit the Sensors:
- PIR’s (these are best fitted into the corner of a Garage looking across the Garage and Entrance Door (at about 45 degrees), but importantly facing away from any windows (especially if the window is prone to a sudden Sun rise) and not above a Heating source (heater) that could automatically turn On during Winter.
- Door Contact (the best place to fit a Magnetic Sensor onto the Door or Window in most applications is on the top of the door about 1/3 in from the hinge, this reduces movement of a door being blown around by a strong wind but is sensitive enough to not allow a person to squeeze through a partially opened door, click here to view a previous post).
- Floor Mat (most people would fit one of these under an existing floor mat just inside the Entrance).
- Vibration Sensors (the secret here is to fit the sensor in a location that will feel the vibration if the Door or Window is attacked, but not in a position where a strong wind would be detected, normally towards the corned of the Door or Window would be best.
Power Supply:
Garage Alarms can be powered by either a Plug in Transformers, Batteries or Solar Power these days, if no power is easily available then Battery Alarms are now very Good & Reliable.
Phone & Text Calls:
If you want the Alarm to contact you and other key-holders when it is triggered, then the most efficient way is to use a GSM Alarm, these operate using a mobile phone SIM card which are inserted into the main Alarm device.
The SIM Card will have its own Phone Number which you would normally add to the contacts on your own mobile phone (calling it Garage Alarm for example), if it Calls or sends a Text, you will immediately know what device is contacting you.
Important: the SIM Card will not normally require Data, just Text & Calls which will reduce the cost of the type of contract you choose (check with the supplier of the Alarm) !!
Covert ?
If you choose a GSM Alarm, you can find products that double up as the PIR and the GSM Dialler (which reduces the cost) or find Covert models which allow you to hide the most important and valuable part of the Alarm away out of sight.
We would normally recommend (if your budget can run to it) using the Covert type of GSM Alarm, so you can hide the Dialler away out of sight and harms way, these can be hidden in a multitude of places inside a Garage. This is important because the nature of a typical Garage can makes it easy for a Burglar to potentially attack an Alarm if they realize it is there, quite often using tools or handles that you have sitting inside the same Garage, if they do this to just a Sensor it is to late as the Covert Dialler will still be secretly contacting the key-holders.
The Alarm Sensors would normally be wireless which allows the Dialler to stay hidden away with no cables to use to track the Dialler.
Covert or Overt GSM Alarms
Wired or Wireless ?
Most small Alarms designed for Garages these days are Wireless, which in general make them much easier and quicker to Install, and harder for an Intruder to find a Covert Control Panel if you are using one.
Occasionally if you are very unlucky a Wireless Alarm can be falsely triggered by a random strong Wireless signal from another type of device, this could be from a passing Vehicle, Aircraft or even a neighbour who is perhaps a Radio Ham enthusiast, but these incidents are few and far between and in general there are very few problems with Wireless Alarms.
Silent or Sirens (or both) ?
Different Customers have different thoughts about this, the options really are:
- Loud Sirens (you can have loud Sirens inside the Garage, Outside of the Garage, On a nearby Building or perhaps a combination of them all), this ensures the Burglar and/or Neighbours know the Alarm has been activated. One of the concerns often mentioned by our customers is that they do not want to disturb their Neighbours with loud Sirens if they are away from home, but most modern Alarms will (should) automatically turn OFF after a pre-set duration (making it less of an issue these days).
- Silent (some customers want a Silent Alarm which gives them a chance of catching the Intruder), this can be done by having a Wireless Receiver inside the House (depending on the distance between the Garage and House, distances of 300 – 400 metres can be possible) or a GSM Alarm (that will contact key-holders by Phone & Text).
- Hybrid (some customers like to have a Silent Alarm which allows them to check for Intruders/Burglars) and then a means of Safely activating Loud Sirens from the safety of their House using a SOS Wireless device.
If you can’t justify an Alarm right now, a simple Dummy Siren, Camera or even a Dummy PIR visible through a window of your Garage, or a Sign that may make a potential thief think twice (this would depend on what they think the ‘Risk & Reward’ odds are). These are also affordable and sensible additions to any Alarm you are thinking of fitting.
Other Security Devices:
If your Garage stores a lot of valuable possessions (value or sentimental) it may be worth considering using two or three devices at the same time (which may work out cheaper and easier to use in some cases) you can make these as simple or complicated as you wish, they may include:
- Outdoor Alarm (loud siren before potential burglars get to the Shed).
- Driveway & Garden Alerts (silent wireless devices that give the homeowner an alert if there are prowlers around).
- CCTV (Wireless – Wi-fi or 4G models).
- Floodlights (Wi-fi models that allow you to be notified by your smart phone in the case of a prowler together with the ability of being able to remotely view the location).
- Door Locks & Chains.
I hope this information may help you decide on the future Security of your Garage, feel free to Contact Us for further advice !!
