Windows, Glassbreaks, & Motions your guide to understanding the arguments

The day after all Republicans and Democrats agree on taxes, The security industry might agree on the question of “Which is better glass break sensors or window sensors?”

I could put 10 salesman and 10 techs in a room and ask them this basic question, “Which is better glassbreaks or window sensors?” and they would argue for hours with half of each group taking sides.

So, what’s the deal? What’s better to install glass breaks, window sensors, or motions? Most sales guys will tell you “You should have all three in every room and that will be full retail I take cash, check, or credit card. Press hard there are three copies.”

Can’t afford that? Well then let’s give you the knowledge to make the best fiscal choice for you. That’s really what a good sales pro should do when helping you decide because unless money means nothing to you, this decision is best made by determining your concerns and your budget.

Most people just want a very basic system or for us to turn on the system already in the home and that’s fine. A basic system that meets Oklahoma code is one that contacts the doors leading into a residence and a motion detector present in the home. Most burglaries happen with a bad guy breaking into a door. If the bad guy comes into the home a different way than a door, a motion detector is present to catch them moving around. If you have specific concerns or really want good coverage you should add components to your system that give you better coverage and more piece of mind.

So let’s start by asking the right questions.

What do you want your system for?

Are you more worried about when your gone from the home or when your here in the home? (You will be surprised about how many couples are split on that question)

Is there a specific room that has a lot of valuable things in it or that your more worried about?

Do you have children and are you worried about them leaving as much as you are keeping bad guys out?

If you are building a home, you should wire for window contacts. It is the best time to do so and affordable. When you see a home with all the windows wired, it is almost certainly been done at time of construction. Window contacts are typically the best way to guard against intruders not breaking into doors. Window contacts are also the best way to keep kids from sneaking out. Some will argue that window contacts only work when the window is opened and if the bad guy breaks all the glass out and never opens the window then it is useless. Theoretically they are correct, but this rarely happens. Normally once a window is broken the burglar is opening the window. Taking the time to cleanly knock a lot of glass out of a window so you can crawl through it without getting cut up is rare but not impossible. Larger windows and full glass inserted doors are at a higher risk of this.

If your home does not have window contacts on all the windows then you might want to add window sensors or either glassbreak sensors or motions. Typically if the room you are trying to protect has more than one window it is cheaper to add a glassbreak or motion.

To decide which is best we need to go back to the questions. If you are more worried about burglaries (when your not at home) then the cheapest way to give you coverage is with motions. Here’s why. If a burglar gets into your home he most likely will move around most of the home and will eventually walk past a motion detector. So a few motions around the home is all that is needed. Glass break sensor are only room specific. Glassbreak sensors are audible devices that detect noise at a high decibel level or at the right frequency level of glass. The sensor must be present in the room where the glass is broken to detect the noise. So more of these are needed through the home for proper coverage. However, glass break sensors are the best line of defense for home invasion issues. The reason is because motion detectors are only active in “Away” mode. When your system is in “Stay” mode the motion detectors are not armed. If it were, you couldn’t get up and get a drink of water in the middle of the night without setting off the alarm. So if you are more worried about break-ins when you’re home, glass break sensors are your best choice.

Another good reason for choosing glassbreak sensors, they will cause the siren to go off more quickly than window sensors or motions because the sirens will sound at the time of the glass breaking and not waiting for the window to be opened or for the bad guy to start walking around in the home. Early detection and early sirens could possibly cause the intruder to leave the property earlier.

Every home and person is different. These are just some basic tips to help you make informed decisions. Many times a room to room walk through is what is needed. Your consultant should be just as worried about your budget as you are. Please feel free to call or email us with any questions.