| Should I have a light outside to tell me when the system is armed? Should I have a light outside to tell a thief when the system is disarmed? A lot of older systems required the system to be disarmed from outside. The owner of the property needed to know whether the system was armed or disarmed before opening the door. Lights were used to indicate whether the system was on or off. A lot of effort was spent to find a way to let the owner get into a protected property without announcing to anyone outside whether the system was armed or disarmed. The solution to the outside keystation was to program an entry delay for certain detection devices that allowed the customer time to disarm an alarm system from inside the protected area. These newer systems require a code be entered in a keypad after entering the premises. If your system uses such a keypad, we suggest not installing an outdoor armed light. Some systems use wireless keys or wireless keypads to disarm the alarm system. These devices may be the only wireless devices on a traditional wired alarm system, or they may be just part of a complete wireless alarm system. If a wireless key is lost or stolen, service is required to change the key immediately. A wireless key disarms the system with one press of a button; the system does not care (or know) who actually pressed the button. Wireless keypads do not require immediate service if they are lost or stolen. Though service would be required to replace or remove the lost wireless keypad, there is no need to race to the system. Knowing the proper code would still be required to disarm a system using a wireless keypad. Bi-directional wireless keypads let you know (after pressing the correct code) whether the system is armed or disarmed. This added security should be considered when deciding whether or not to use a wireless method of arming and disarming the alarm system. |
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