Fitting an Alarm into your Shed can be an easy and quick solution to help protecting your valuable goods inside.
Sheds can and often store a lot of valuable equipment such as Push Bikes, Hand & Power Tools, Lawnmowers, Golf Clubs, Fishing Equipment & Gardening Equipment, all these products can be easy to carry away together with being easy to sell (and hard to track) at a Car Boot Sale or the online platforms such as eBay & Gumtree.
Sheds are still one of the most ‘broken into’ buildings in domestic situations, mainly due to the fact that they are normally not very well protected and an easy target with regards to the ‘Risk & Reward’ mindset of Burglars.
Risk & Reward:
This thought process cannot be understated, it is what most Burglars will be weighing up:
- What Risk am I taking breaking into this building (which is possible not Locked or Alarmed, potential weak Doors, Windows & Locks, and very often not Overlooked together with an Easy Escape Route or two).
- What potential Financial Reward will (could) I gain (Push Bikes, Hand & Power Tools, Lawnmowers, Golf 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 Shed.
- Sirens outside the Shed.
- Sirens both inside & outside the Shed.
- Sirens inside a nearby House (with or without sirens around the Shed).
- Silent with Flashing LED’s.
- Phone & Text Call to you and other key-holders (with or without sirens around the Shed).
Type of Sensors:
There are two main Alarm Sensors that are normally used whilst Alarming a Shed, these 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 bright 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 useful options can be:
- Vibration Sensors (these pick up a sudden ‘violent’ vibration through a door or window, ideal if you want the Alarm to activate before Burglars have gained access to the Shed, but can be prone to false Alarms if the device cannot be adjusted for sensitivity or fitted to poor fitting Doors or Windows).
- Pressure Mats (it is possible with some Alarms to hide a pressure Mat just inside the Door of a Shed, these can be suitable for some applications).
Quantity of Sensors:
Most Sheds will only require one or two Alarm Sensors (at most three), most commonly would be to use a a single PIR, but we would normally recommend fitting at least one Magnetic Contact onto the Shed Door, which would trigger the Alarm before a Burglar has any time inside.
If there is a vulnerable Window then it is worth considering fitting a Sensor onto this (magnetic or vibration), this may be in conjunction with a Door Contact and no PIR (or PIR and no Door Contact).
If the Shed is large with multiple Windows most customers would keep with a single PIR and Door Contact.
Where to fit the Sensors:
- PIR’s (these are best fitted into the corner of a Shed looking across the Shed and Entrance Door (at about 45 degrees), but importantly facing away from any window (if the window is prone to a sudden Sun rise) and not placed above a Heating source (heater) that could automatically turn On.
- 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 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:
Most Shed Alarms these days are powered by Battery, sometimes with Solar Panels for any outside Sirens, this makes it quick and easy to Install.
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 you insert 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 home shed alarm or similar), 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 contract you take out (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 recommend (if your budget can extend to this) using the Covert type of GSM Alarm, allowing you can hide the Dialler out of sight and harms way, there are many locations inside a Shed where this can be done. This is relevant because the nature of a Shed (small) makes it easy for a Burglar to potentially attack an Alarm when they realize it is there, quite often using tools or handles that you have provided inside the Shed, if they do this to a Sensor only it is to late as the Covert Dialler is still secretly contacting key-holders.
The Alarm Sensors would normally be wireless which allows the Covert Dialler to stay hidden away.
Covert or Overt GSM Alarms
Wired or Wireless ?
Most small Alarms designed for Sheds & 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 in the Shed, Outside of the Shed, On nearby Buildings or a combination of them all), let the Burglar and Neighbours know an Alarm has been activated. One of the concerns often mentioned is that customers do not want to disturb their Neighbours with loud Sirens if they are not at home, but this shouldn’t be a concern as most modern Alarms will (should) automatically turn OFF after a pre-set duration.
- Silent (some customers want a Silent Alarm which gives them a chance of catching the Burglar), this can be done by having a Wireless Receiver inside your House (depending on the distance between the Shed and House, it is even possible at distances of 300 – 400 metres) 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 Burglars) and then a means of Safely activating Loud Sirens from the House using a SOS Remote Control.
If you can’t afford an Alarm right now, a simple Dummy Siren, Camera or even a Dummy PIR visible through a window of your Shed, or just a Sign may make a potential thief think twice (it would depend on what they think their ‘Risk & Reward’ odds are). These are also affordable and sensible additions to any Alarm you are thinking of fitting.
Other Security Devices:
If your Shed stores a lot of valuable possessions (value or sentimental) it may be worth adding another device or two while fitting an alarm, these can be as simple or complicated as you wish to go, 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 Shed, feel free to Contact Us for further advice !!
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