How to Install a Driveway Alarm

You would like to know when visitors or intruders arrive and a driveway alarm can alert you to their presence as soon as they pull into the drive. Install a driveway alarm that suits your budget and keeps you safe.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. A wired driveway alarm system detects a vehicle as it drives over a cable, stretched across the driveway, while a wireless unit detects motion and sends a wireless to a receiver in your home.

2. A wired system is the most cost effective but installation requires digging a shallow trench where the connecting cable runs from the driveway to your home. Wireless systems may use infrared or electromagnet technology to detect motion in the driveway and send a wireless signal to a receiver in your home.

3. Many homeowners want to install a wireless driveway security alarm but the distance from the alarm to the inside receiver creates a problem if they have a long driveway. When choosing a wireless alarm, measure the distance from the future site of the sensor, to the farthest corner of your home. Choose a stronger transmitter if the sensor must travel through thick foliage and numerous walls before reaching the receiver.

4. Infrared sensors quickly detect a vehicle entering your driveway but they may also detect a dog or even a bird. Electromagnet sensors detect only the metal on a vehicle but a bicycle may trigger the sensor. Typically, the farther the range of the transmitter, the more expensive the system is, however, with new technology advances, the cost of efficient driveway alarms are dropping.

5. When choosing your driveway alarm system, consider your main reason for installing the alarm. If you run a home business and need advance notice that a potential client is arriving, a wired alarm may be all you need. However, if security is an issue, consider the ability to add additional receivers throughout your home to alert you to the presence of a visitor.

6. If you are installing a driveway alarm for safety reasons, be aware that thieves can easily spot a wired alarm and they may park on the street and enter your property on foot. You may place a wireless alarm discretely on a mailbox, tree or other structure to camouflage its presence.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a driveway alarm as one part of an overall security system if safety is an issue. In addition to monitoring the driveway, a perimeter alarm will notify you if someone enters your property on foot. Door and window alarms alert you to an intruder. A numeric door lock allows you to enter a code that will unlock your door when you return home but foil an intruder.

Resources

• Purchase driveway alarm components online.

[Tippy]

on 8/7/2009 Good stuff here.