Alarms

Home alarm systems are key to preventing crime. They will be the first system to alert you if anything goes wrong. However, it is only good if it is turned on. So, if you have one, please turn it on. It doesn't cost extra. Turn it on when you are out of the house, when you go to bed or when you have no intention of going out of the house for the next couple of hours - e.g. when you are having a romantic time in bed with your gf.

To select an alarm system is difficult. Chubb Malaysia used to provide some good ones, but rumors have it that they are no longer that good. The house alarm industry is a cowboy industry. Prices are cut, quality takes a dip. Bad systems are useless. They will have so many false alarm - crying wolf all the time, you just give it up. Criminals know that too!

Some critical success factors for home alarm systems:

1. When it comes to wiring, make darn sure the wire between the panel to the sensor is one piece. Never allow the contractor to join wires. Imagine, after plastering the wires inside the walls, the joining breaks. You will have a hell time finding the fault and fixing it. Wiring is the most critical. If the panel is bad, change it - it is easy. If the sensors are bad, have them replaced. But you don't want to re-do the whole damn wiring.
   
   
2. Ensure each cable is properly labelled. Else, no one knows what goes where after a year.
   
   
3. Better still, have the wiring inside a plastic conduit, or pipe. This is very expensive, but can be worth it.
   
   
4. There are motion detectors, or infra red sensors. Use them only for the roof / ceiling. For fuck-sake, please do not put it in the kitchen or living room. It will trigger tonnes of false alarm. You may also wish to turn on the alarm when you are cooking. No harm!
   
   
5. Most suppliers no longer provide good vibration sensors because they are very expensive. Look for one that does. Vibration sensors are good to protect windows, especially when the sensors are installed on grills. Any knocking or drilling will set them off. This way, you can leave the windows open for fresh air - but please shut them if no one is at home.
   
   
6. Ensure that the magnetic switches installed on doors are good. How to tell a good sensor? Quality ones will usually have CE, FCC or even UL approval. CE is a standard mainly for safety and emission of RF noise in Europe. FCC would be emission of RF noise for USA. UL would be the safety standard for USA. You get the idea. A sensor without any compliance to standards cannot be good!
   
   
7. Check if the main panel itself has any certification / compliance to standards.
   
   
8. System should have one internal and one external siren; and one external strobe light. For the sirens, have a switch - inside the panel. If you are at home, at night, you may not wish to have the internal siren on (but leave the external siren on) and scare the daylights out of you if it goes off. Similarly, if you are away for a long period of time - say a week, turn the external siren off but leave the internal siren on. Don't bugger your neighbour's Chinese New Year, for example.
   
   
9. Ensure that the system has two panic buttons. Press it, alarm should go off. One in the master bedroom, the other in the kitchen is usually good. Same goes for the keypad - there should be two. Panic button can be and should be located away from the keypads. Keypads themselves should have a panic button. The panic button should have a key - that is, once activated, you need a key to deactivate it.
   
   
10. Alarms usually have CMS feature - that is, it calls a Central Monitoring System if something happens. If you do not subscribe to CMS (since most of them is bullshit anyway), have the panel programmed to call you handphone instead. So, if there is no one home and your house calls you, at least you have a clue what has happened. You can then alert your local guards. That's what the guards are for, not for doing sentry duty and looking at cars driving in and out.
    
    
11. When the system is designed, think like a criminal. Where would you break in? How? Then, secure those areas with sensors.

Another very important note. If your alarms, car or house, keeps going off without rhyme or reason - be on the alert. You could be already targetted. Criminals are known to trigger the alarm off - e.g., kick your car to cause it to vibrate - some cars can sense vibration. They keep doing it until you are fed-up and turn off the alarm. Never ever turn off the alarm!

Let me know if you have any other suggestions. I am rather sure I have missed out one or two critical items.