Alarms and pets: do they go together?
Can I install a home alarm if I have a pet? If you have pets at home and would like to install an alarm, we can help you find the one that best suits your needs.
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Everything you need to know about alarms and pets
It is possible to have an alarm system at home even if you have pets. To prevent the alarm from going off due to the pet’s movements, there are special sensors that distinguish between people and animals, or which can be adjusted according to weight and height. You can also use detectors on doors and windows, or leave certain areas without sensors for your pet. The best option depends on the size of the pet and the type of home.
Can I fit an alarm system in my home if I have a pet?
Sector Alarm offers its customers a range of services as part of its connected alarm contracts; some are included in the packages, whilst others are available as optional extras.
Here are the most interesting ones:
24-hour connected alarm with police notification: Sector Alarm’s connected alarms contact the police within approximately 30 seconds in the event of a robbery, break-in or intrusion.
This is because they are fully and completely approved by the Directorate-General of Police, and because, via the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), they assess the level of threat and can alert the police, fire service or medical services if necessary.
This is the system’s most important feature, and the one that truly gives us peace of mind and security. Not only will we trigger a high-powered siren, as conventional, unconnected alarms do, but we will also have the support of both the company’s security guards and the police.
Acuda Security Guard: In the event of a positive alarm trigger, the control centre uses the sensors to identify the problem and alerts its certified security guards, who will come to your home to resolve the issue.
Mobile app. Control your alarm system from your smartphone: The Sector Alarm app controls the most important aspects of the alarm system, such as:
- Turn the alarm on or off
- Check on your home in real time, thanks to its video detectors.
- Videos are uploaded to the cloud, so you won’t be dependent on your phone’s storage or network coverage.
- Receive real-time notifications when someone leaves or enters your home
How can I stop the alarm from going off when my pet is around?
First of all, we should point out that not all alarm systems are compatible with most pets, as many use motion detectors that can be triggered when your pet is wandering about freely.
But there are a few tricks to stop the alarm from going off. Especially if you want your pet to roam freely around the house when no one’s home and you’ve left the alarm on.
-TIP 1: You should be aware that, these days, many sensors can be calibrated using weight and height.
The team of alarm consultants at Quécomparo.es recommends that you do not set the weight limit higher than 15 kilos, as doing so may result in safety faults.
If you have a cat or a small or medium-sized dog, this tip might be useful to you, but if we’re talking about a large breed of dog, you won’t be able to use this tip.
-TIP 2: As you might have guessed, the sensors are better suited to dogs than cats, as cats tend to go wherever they please. For this reason, if you have a cat, you can book a room without sensors for it.
It’s just the same as if you had a large dog. That way, they’ll be comfortable in their own space, able to move about freely, whilst you can rest assured that your home is protected with the alarm activated and there’s no risk of it going off.
-TIP 3: Another option is to leave only the sensors on the windows and the front door activated. The problem with this is that it reduces the security of your home. And if none of these three tips appeal to you, or if they aren’t suitable for your furry friend, we’ll give you some other solutions.
Special alarm for pets
In recent years, some security companies have developed solutions that allow you to have a pet in the house without it setting off the alarm. Some companies have smart detectors that can distinguish between pets and people, so they do not set off the alarm if they detect your pet, but they do if they detect a human.
Others achieve the same objective by replacing motion detectors with opening detectors, so that the alarm is only triggered if someone opens a door or a window, rather than simply by movement.
Curtain detectors are also used; these create a horizontal barrier on the floor using a beam of light, so that when an animal passes underneath the beam, the alarm is not triggered, but when a person passes through and breaks the beam, the system is triggered.
Other companies have developed special pet alarm kits that combine several of these devices. So, as you can see, the alarm-and-pet combination isn’t entirely impossible.
Dog alarm
Most conventional alarms are designed for animals weighing less than 10 kilos that don’t get too close to the detectors (I’ll explain this in more detail in a moment), so if you have a very small dog, you can install a standard alarm without worrying about it triggering false alarms.
However, if your dog weighs more than 10 kilos, you will need to install a special dog alarm. These alarms use several of the systems we have mentioned above, giving you greater peace of mind. ADT Alarms offers this type of special system for dogs weighing more than 10 kilos.
Cat alarm
Oh, those cats! They do make things a bit more complicated, as they’re the lords and masters of the house: they climb onto cupboards, run about, jump, scale things…
If you’ve got one, what can we tell you that you don’t already know? On the one hand, it’s true that they usually weigh less than 10 kilos, so you might think we could calibrate the detectors to their weight and size.
But the issue is precisely what we’ve just mentioned: that our feline friends climb onto the furniture and, on occasions, get very close to the detectors, causing the alarm to go off.
So if you have a cat that roams freely around the house and climbs onto the furniture, you’ll also need a special cat alarm.
With this alarm, you’ll no longer have to worry about your cat setting it off, as it’s detected by the technology in its cameras and sensors.
Systems from the leading pet alarm companies
The three leading alarm companies (Securitas Direct, ADT and Movistar Prosegur) all offer some sort of solution for keeping pets at home, but ADT is currently the only one to offer a kit specifically designed for pets.
This ADT pet alarm kit combines different types of detectors and cross-references them to determine when the alarm should be triggered and to distinguish between people and animals.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Empresa | Securitas Direct | ADT Alarmas | Movistar-Prosegur |
| Detectores puertas y ventanas |  | | |
| Detectores de cortina |  | | |
| Alarma especial para mascotas | | | |
| Ficha compañía | Más info | Más info | |
| Teléfono información (quecomparo.es) | 900 377 532 | 900 377 532 | 900 377 532 |
Services
Having an alarm system when you have a pet might have been a problem a few years ago. But as you’ve seen in this article, technology has now advanced enough to ensure that security systems and pets are perfectly compatible.
As we have seen, there are various ways to achieve this, and which one you choose will depend on a number of factors, such as the type of pet, its weight, and the size and layout of your home.
For this very reason, the best course of action – and what we recommend to help you avoid common mistakes when installing an alarm system – is to speak to a security expert from our team, who will offer you no-obligation advice and provide you with the specific solution that best suits your needs.
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