What ACTUALLY Happens When Your Alarm System Goes Off?

Hey, guys. Hayden, here again from Alarm System store. Been a minute since I've been up in front of you. But today again, I thought we would kind of go over basically what actually happens when your alarm system is triggered, and the alarm goes off? Because there are basically three different types of systems that you can set up. And whenever you're planning out a new system build or, you know, looking at your current setup, thinking how you can change it to maybe improve it or provide yourself a little bit extra, you know, protection. These three different types of alarm systems come into play. So essentially, the three different types of alarm system setups are going to be local alarms, self-monitored setups, or professionally monitored setups. So each of these plays out very differently when the alarm system actually goes into alarm. And depending on, you know, a couple things like cost or your personal preference, you know, the protection level that you want for your home or business or whatever the case is, that all comes into play when trying to decide which type of system to set up. So essentially, I'm just going to be covering each one. And you guys can kind of decide for yourself what you think is going to provide the best long-term results for you. So we'll start with local systems because those are the simplest.

So a local system is essentially just a system that is not set up with any sort of services whatsoever. So essentially all you have is the alarm system itself, probably a siren. Maybe use some strobes for some light flashing action. However, there is no notification, no text, no call, no police dispatch, nothing along those lines. So if you are not home, there is almost no chance for any sort of response unless you have, you know, neighbors who know to listen for your alarm system, and you all kind of work together in that regard with that kind of thing. That's pretty rare nowadays, though. So with a local system, they are fine for protecting things that you're not super worried about. You know, if you have a property that doesn't really have much going on, you don't keep a lot of stuff there, so on and so forth. Or, you know, if you have like an outbuilding and you just need some sort of, you know, protection for that building, but you don't want to pay for services. A local system can serve a purpose. It is just extremely limited, because if you're too far away, whether you're not home or you're asleep, you know, let's say it's an outbuilding and it's the middle of the night. If you don't have a loud enough siren, you may not hear it from the house. There's not going to be any sort of response to that alarm system when it actually triggers.

So that is something you have to keep in mind, while sirens and strobes will sometimes scare off intruders. It is not a guarantee. Experienced burglars know that they, bare minimum, have a few minutes before anything's going to happen anyway, and sometimes people just don't care. They don't care whether they're caught. They're just going to go about their day and do their thing anyway. They're already there. You might as well just risk it and see what they can get out of it. So, you know, a local system, like I said, it serves a purpose, but it is extremely limited. So if you're planning out an alarm system and you want to go with a local system, you basically just don't want to pay for services; that is something you really have to think about. You know, is this property worth actually protecting, or do I just want to go based on the off chance that the intruder will run away whenever they hear my siren? 

So moving on to self-monitored systems. Self-monitoring generally involves a service of some kind. So like alarm.com or Alula, Total Connect. There's quite a few different services out there that can provide self-monitoring coverage, which basically provides you with an app that allows you to get notifications. You can generally remotely arm and disarm the system. Set user codes remotely, things like that. Essentially, it is you being able to interact with your alarm system either through an app or computer portal, something along those lines. And nowadays, because most of these self-monitored setups are based on cellular and or IP communication, there is going to be a service fee of some kind. However, it is cheaper than a fully professionally monitored system. So with a self-monitoring system, whenever the alarm is triggered, you essentially get a few different things happening. You have all the functions of the local alarm, so you have the siren going off, the strobes flashing if you have them, but you also get personal notifications. Generally, nowadays you'll get push notifications, texts, or emails. So some of them do still offer calls. That is pretty rare, though, just because of some of the legislation changes that have happened over the last few years. But for the most part, you are going to be notified either through your phone or computer via email that your alarm has been triggered. 

Now, self-monitoring systems are fine, and they are personally my favorite just because they are a little bit cheaper than a properly monitored system. However, it puts all of the responsibility on you. So whenever you get that notification, you have to, for one, decide if it's a real alarm. You know, if you have cameras or things set up like that, you have to check them, see if there's actually anything going on. Contact anybody who may be at your house or business or whatever, you know, interacting with your alarm system, that kind of thing. And then once you've figured out what's going on, you can decide whether or not the police need to be called, or, you know, in some cases, you can just handle it yourself, depending on what the situation is. Now, I would never actually recommend, going up against an intruder or burglar alone or, you know, trying to handle it yourself in a way that, you know, could potentially bring you physical harm. However, that is an option with self- monitored systems, especially if you're home at the time. You get that notification on your phone, you got the siren going off, so on and so forth. It gives you that extra level of preparedness because, for most self-monitoring systems, you are going to get the notification about the alarm, but it will also tell you which sensor was triggered. So, like with the local system, you have no idea what actually triggered the alarm system. With self monitored, you do get a notification telling you you know the front door is what was opened and that's what triggered the alarm or a specific motion or, you know, garage door or whatever the case might be that way. If you are home, you know exactly where the actual issue came from, and you can kind of react accordingly. 

Now, if you do want a self-monitoring system, I do highly recommend that you at least invest in a few cameras. Such as with, you know, alarm.com, you have the option of having your cameras tied in to your alarm system as well. And that specifically they don't, you know, integrate directly. But what you can do is you can have Alarm.com actually send a command to the cameras to record a clip whenever the alarm goes off. So that way, you're getting not only the notifications about the alarm system, but you're also getting the camera notifications, so you can take a look and potentially find out exactly what's going on. So on and so forth. If you don't have cameras, self-monitoring is fine, just kind of on its own. However, if you're not home, you're not going to have any visual on the situation whatsoever. So you have to, at that point, kind of decide how you want to go about responding to your own alarm system going off. Do you need to drive home and see what happened? You know, who do you need to try and contact to see if they're the ones that potentially set it off? So on and so forth. So it's a lot of responsibility on you. However, they do serve a much better purpose than a local system, which can only, you know, attempt to scare off burglars. And now that brings us to the final type of system, which is a professionally monitored system.

So with professionally monitored systems, that is going to add another layer of protection for your alarm system. So whenever your alarm system goes off, not only can you have the features of the local and self-monitored system, so you'll have the siren, possibly strobes, you know, the notification to your cell phone, that whole bit, but you also have your signals being sent out to a central monitoring station. Central stations essentially are call centers that watch for these alarm signals to come in, and then they follow a set of procedures depending on what type of alarm it is. How you kind of have your central station set up, etc. So, for example, in most cases, for a burglary alarm, you're going to have the alarm set off, the siren is going to go off, you'll get your notification almost immediately. Just because self-monitoring like those are notifications for you. So there's no delay on those whatsoever. And then about 30 seconds later, a signal, a true alarm signal, is actually sent out of the system and goes to the central station. From there, they will follow a set of procedures, such as calling you to try and verify whether it's a real alarm, if they're able to contact you and you confirm that it is a real alarm or you're not there, so you can't verify it in person, they will dispatch police. If they're not able to get a hold of you, they will dispatch police. Now, in the event that you accidentally set off a false alarm and you tell them that, they will essentially stop the police from being dispatched, which could potentially save you fines or anything like that. But you'll have that extra layer of essentially someone watching your system for you, even when you can't all the time.

Now, for the example of a fire emergency. You know, if you have a Central Station, almost all central stations are going to immediately dispatch on fire alarms. So as soon as they get that signal, they won't call anybody at first; they'll just dispatch the fire department. And then right afterwards, they're going to call to try and notify anybody they can of the situation. Change that to, you know, a local or a self-monitoring system. Let's say you have self-monitoring, cameras, the whole bit. You're decked out. However, you are the response. Let's say you're at a meeting. You get your notifications to your phone, and you can't answer it, or you don't see it in time. Half hour goes by. Guess what? If your house is burned down in the amount of time that it takes you just to see the notification, in some scenarios, the fire department will already be there responding to the fire in your home. So professional monitoring can add a drastically different level of protection for your home, your loved ones, and your things. So it is very important to consider whether or not you want to go without that. Another benefit to professional monitoring, in a lot of states, insurance companies will also give you a discount on your home insurance if you have professional monitoring. So that is something to think about as well. It does cost additional money to have your system professionally monitored. So in the case of, you know, like us, for example, we offer self-monitoring plans, and we offer professionally monitored plans. So the self-monitoring is going to have a cost to it. So let's say it's an alarm.com account, for example. That's an easy one. Alarm.com is going to charge you to forward your signals and cover the app. So that is going to be the base level self-monitoring cost. And then if you want professional monitoring, that's another fee that gets added on to that, which is just for the central station. So like I said it will cost more than a self-monitored system. However, the level of protection it gives you is generally well worth the cost.

So this video isn't like designed to try and convince you to buy professional monitoring, but it is meant to make you think about, you know, how you want your home protected. So I don't feel like we have any videos that really go in-depth on essentially the process that happens after your system is triggered. So I thought I'd kind of just go over it, especially for people that are kind of new to alarm systems, just in general. There's a lot of people out there that are looking for protection. They want to at least do something to protect their home and their things and their loved ones, and nobody knows where to start. You know, you can call an installation style company, and they can come out and do their thing and charge you exorbitant fees for contracts that last for years, so on and so forth. But nowadays, not everybody has the money to do that. So it's important to look at your options. And being a DIY e-commerce dealer. We're not the only ones. So, you know, if you find something that strikes your fancy a little bit more, go with them. Like we're not picky. However, we do offer systems that are professional grade for anybody that wants to install them. So you can go and essentially just put in your own professional-grade alarm system, the same thing those installer companies would do. And you can do it for a fraction of the cost, especially when services are concerned. 

So if you're out there looking to build a new alarm system for your recently purchased home, or you bought a house with an alarm system in it, you don't know what to do with it or how to get it going, you know? Reach out to somebody like us. Let us know what your plan is. We can help talk you through it. You know, you may need new equipment, but if that's the case, we can help you pick out a system that's going to meet your needs and potentially reuse a lot of what might be on your system already. So, like I said, just to sum it all up, you know, local systems are essentially just standalone sounder lights. That whole bit, you know, it can notify people in the immediate area. So if you want a local system, that's totally up to you. However, just know that there's not going to be any response whatsoever unless somebody hears or sees that the alarm is being triggered.

Self-monitoring is going to put you in control. However, you become the sole response to your system if something does trigger. So you always have to be vigilant, you know, make sure your phone volumes turned up while you're sleeping in case you get those notifications. Set it up so that you have cameras so that you can view in. And if you get an alarm while you're at work or whatever, you can pull up your cameras and see if something's actually happening or if it's a false alarm. So on and so forth. Self-monitoring is fine for a lot of people, and it's very nice to be able to get those immediate responses from your system so that you at least know what's going on, and you can respond accordingly. 

However, for those that want proper full protection, you know, go with a professionally monitored system, cover it to the max. That way, the central station is watching your alarm system, even when you can't have eyes on your phone, or you know, the app, the cameras, whatever the case is, they'll be there for you to handle the response when you're not able to. So anyway, that's going to do it for me. Hopefully, that was informative. If you guys have any questions or would like me to kind of elaborate on anything, by all means, leave a comment down below for us.

If you don't mind, give us a like and subscribe, and I will catch you guys on the next one.