With security alarms becoming a piece of equipment thought needed by many insurance companies for you to be able to claim for any incident means it is important for you make sure the system is working correctly at all times. The best way to do this is for you to carry out simple checks your self regularly and to have a professional to check it thoroughly about once a year or if you couldn’t afford this often at the least every 4 years as this is usually when the batteries that make the alarm run independently from the mains need replacing. This is thought the best way to do this as some insurance companies ask that you have maintenance records to show the system has been check by an approved company. Some of the checks you can do your self on a more often basis are:

• Each time you set your alarm ensure the Charger On light is lit up or shows on the display as on. This means that if there were to be a power cut then the system would still be able to run independently.
• On a less often basis maybe once a week test one of the sensor points for it working correctly, this way each sensor is tested over a period of time. This way you can also make sure they are not being obstructed by anything and if there are any faults found you will be able to get them fixed as soon as possible. With this checking system you could keep a log of each test to show when they were carried out and how often.
• When carrying out the tests on the sensors you can also do tests on the internal sirens to test they are working correctly, also log these tests.
• Then there are tests you only have to carry out every 6 months or so including testing the alarm internal battery and the connections to ensure they are still live and working, when carrying out this test ensure you know exactly how to test them safely and correctly. You can do this by removing it from the mains then test the sirens, this makes sure the system can handle sounding the sirens with out the mains power. Also at this time you can check back over the logs to make sure any faults that were present in the system have since been rectified.
• Then every 2 years or so you should have the smoke detectors (if you have these as part of your system) cleaned this is so they operate to the best of their ability. You need specialist equipment to clean the smoke detectors so is usually thought best for professionals to carry out the cleaning of them.

If you carry out these tests on the regular basis stated then you are less likely to need the system checking as often by a professional. As well as this it will give you the reassurance that your system is working correctly and to the best of its capability.