Testing Your Security System
Security Systems are generally programmed to send an automatic weekly test to the central station to verify regular communication at a random hour selected by the technician,
If the weekly test or any signal does not transmit to the station your security alarm keypad should indicate a trouble signal that will bring the awareness to the home or business owner that a problem has occurred on their alarm system. A trouble light can symbolize several issues with your security system from a power failure, low battery, zone fault, clock error or failure to communicate. All of these issues should be addressed in a timely fashion so that the integrity of the system is not affected.
My recommendation is to test all of your security systems areas of protection known in our industry as zones such as windows, doors, glass break detectors, water sensors, motion detectors and smoke detectors on a regular basis (monthly would be great) to verify that each device is working effectively, which will also provide additional peace of mind knowing that your family and property is protected properly.
Here are the steps to test your system correctly:
a) contact your central station and place your account on test, this way signals can be ignored to prevent dispatching the police, fire or ambulance. You will need your account/system number available when calling
b) Once on test, arm your security system then open and close the door to arm your motions (away mode) and wait until the exit delay has expired
c) Trip each individual protection area such as doors and motions, you should hear an audible alarm sound and each zone that is tripped should be indicated by a zone number, LED or zone description on the keypad depending on the model of your keypad.
d) Once every zone/area has been tripped, disarm your system by entering your code.
e) Your alarm panel will capture or seize your phone line until all signals and communications have been sent to the monitoring facility.
f) Contact the central station to verify that all the zone areas were indeed tripped as it is possible that a zone could sound the alarm but not communicate to the station.
g) if you have protection zones that are monitored 24/7 such as fire, flood or co/2…. while your account is on test press and hold the test button on each device or present a damp cloth to the water sensor probe to engage the device, you do not need to submerge the device in water. Depending on your system you may need to enter your code to disarm, press and hold the reset button or press *72 to disengage your system at the keypad.
If you are uncomfortable to perform this test on your own, click here to contact our office as our staff would be happy to assist you or set-up an appointment for a technician to visit your home or business.
Remember…. At SECUR-U we are “Working Together for a Safer Community”
