False Burglar Alarms Caused By an Electrical Arcing

Importance

• Aside from the problem of tying up much-needed resources, consistently false alarms run the risk of damaging the reputation of the company manufacturing the alarm system as well as that of the company monitoring the alarms. To avoid this, all potential sources for false alarms need to be eliminated. This means that the alarms have to be properly configured and installed from the outset.

Monitoring

• Monitoring of a burglar alarm system is generally done based on the electrical signal supplied to the alarm receiving center, or ARC. The ARC receives a constant electrical signal that is broken when the circuit is in some way altered. A broken signal sends an indication to the monitoring company that something has caused this to occur and this will cause the alarm to go off, as long as the alarm is still activated.

Electrical Arcing

• Electrical arcing occurs when the electrical circuit or relays overheat due to a high-voltage discharge that results in damage to the circuit. This damage impedes the electrical signal from its normal path and affects the ARC in the same way that it does when the circuit is broken by an open door or window with sensors that are moved by an outside force.

Radio Frequency Interference

• Radio frequency interference, or RFI, often occurs due to the electrical circuits and the way they are installed. Connecting cables within the circuit sometimes serve as a conduit for radio frequency energies. These signals can cause interference to the electrical arc circuit, causing a false alarm to occur. Alarm systems have to be properly wired and configured to avoid this type of interference.