At Texas Security and Surveillance, we encourage our customers to regularly test their home security system.
In fact, we think testing is so important that we’re one of the few Austin-area alarm companies to provide a free weekly system communication test to all our monitored alarm customers.
Our free weekly test checks the communication path between your alarm system and our monitoring center.
You also need to regularly test the components of the home security system to make sure they are working properly. Here’s how to do it:
Step One – Notify Affected Parties
Prior to conducting your test, make sure all the people in your home know you are going to do a system test. You don’t want to give your husband a heart attack while he’s in the shower or cause disruption of typical household activities.
You most likely want to tell your neighbors as well. Let them know you are conducting a test, so they don’t hear your siren and suspect suspicious activity.
Finally, contact your alarm monitoring center. Let them know you are testing the system, so they don’t initiate typical alarm response procedures. You want to avoid false alarms.
Step Two – How to Test
It’s best to review system testing protocol with your security company. They’ll know the best way for you to follow for system testing.
Here are some best practices for testing:
Always test each component of the system, including fire alarms and smoke detectors, door and window sensors, motion detectors, home security cameras, panic buttons, and control panel features.
Follow the testing protocol as established by your alarm company and/or equipment manufacturer.
Here’s a video that is generic enough to help you learn how to test your system. Your alarm company may have a video too.
Step Three – When to Test | Testing Frequency
A sad fact is that three out of five deaths that occur during fires happen in places without a working fire alarm. Don’t let this happen to you. Test each fire detector once a month. And test each detector. Smoke detectors should be in every sleeping area, in rooms with fireplaces, in the kitchen, and on every floor of your home.
In addition to fire alarms and smoke detectors, it’s wise to test the rest of the security system. Here are some tips:
Test your security system once per month.
Any time home renovations are complete inside or outside your home. System components, like camera views and angles, can be affected by renovations.
After maintenance workers have been in your home. No matter what the work, it’s a good best practice to test the system to make sure something hasn’t been interfered with.
Anytime you’ve had a house sitter or pet sitter. They may have made changes in your system (like disabling zones) for their own convenience while in your home.
After changes in your internet provider. These changes could impact the connectivity of your system.
After resolving a beeping system. Your system will usually beep after a power failure or other issue. Check it out to make sure everything functions correctly.
Testing your system helps ensure that it works properly when needed. Follow these tips and contact us if we can help.
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