Garage Door Alarm Sensors

A garage is one of the most common locations for the occurrence of property theft inside a house. An unclosed garage door is an open invitation for any criminal to walk right up and take your valuables. Additionally, garages serve as an easy access point for intruders to step inside the home. From there, they can easily steal valuables and cause damage. With this in mind, forgetting to close a garage door can have very serious consequences.

One of the easiest ways to check if your garage door is closed is with a garage door sensor. These devices will essentially allow your garage door to show up as a zone on your security panel. If the sensor is activated due to the garage door being opened, the information will be displayed on the system. This will allow you to immediately know if your garage door has been opened unexpectedly. This can be great if you live in a household where multiple people have access to the garage door and you want to quickly know if someone has arrived home.

Garage door sensors typically work in one of two ways. These are tilt sensors and door contacts. Tilt sensors consist of a single device that is placed on a garage door. When the garage door is opened, the tilt sensor will shift from a vertical position to a horizontal position. This change in orientation will allow the sensor to detect whenever the garage door is activated. When this occurs, the sensor will pass a signal onto the security system to let it know that the garage door has been opened. You can then respond appropriately.

The other prominent type of garage door sensor is a door contact. These devices consist of a sensor and a magnet. The sensor is usually installed on the garage door frame, and the magnet is installed on the garage door itself. When the garage door opens, the magnet will separate from the sensor. This will cause the reed switch inside the sensor to activate. When this happens, the sensor will send a signal to the security system and cause a fault on the affected zone. One look at the security panel will inform you that the garage door was opened.

Garage door sensors can be either hardwired or wireless. If the sensor is hardwired, then a wire will need to be run from the panel to the garage door. This may require a professional installation depending on the location of the security system. On the other hand, wireless garage door sensors eliminate the need for running any wires. This usually results in an easier installation. However, the sensor will need to be within the signal range of the security system. In some cases, a wireless repeater may be needed to extend the signal range. The best type of sensor to use generally depends on what type of setup you have. You should also make sure that the sensor you choose is compatible with your security system.