In simple terms, a motion detector alarm is a system that relies on sensors that are placed strategically around the home.

These sensors send signals for the burglar alarm to go off when they are triggered.

With the vast amount of sensors available on the market, you may be wondering what type of sensor will best suit your household needs. Keep reading to learn about the different types of sensor and how they detect intruders in your home.

The fundamentals of a motion detector alarm system

Motion sensors (or motion detectors) play a vital role in your home security system. They are the main devices that actually detect when someone is in your home when they shouldn’t be.

Once the motion sensor has been tripped, it sends a signal to the control panel, which connects to the monitoring centre and alerts the system of a potential threat.

If we compared a motion detector alarm to the human anatomy, it would go something like this:

The motion detectors are nerve endings that send signals to the central nervous system (control panel) and alert the brain (monitoring centre)

Types of motion sensors

There are two types of motion sensors: passive and active. Each uses a different type of technology to detect motion around your home. Passive sensors don’t emit energy, but instead read changes in surrounding energy.

Whilst active sensors emit either infrared light, microwave radiation or sound waves to identify motion.

Different types of sensors provide different household solutions, like being pet-friendly, for example.

1. MicroWave sensors – These send out microwave pulses and measure the reflection off a moving object. These are more commonly prone to interference from electrical equipment.

2. Passive Infrared – These sensors cover a shorter range compared to microwave and detect sudden changes in body heat. These are the most commonly used sensors in households with pets because they can be specially calibrated to ignore certain objects.

3. Dual technology – It is also possible to combine the two technologies above to create a motion sensor that is highly responsive and less prone to false alarms. This is because one technology is passive and the other is active, meaning BOTH systems have to be triggered for the alarm to go off.

4. Area Reflective Type – These emit infrared rays that measure the distance between certain objects and detect whether there is a change in the distance.

5. Contact Motion Sensors – These are small sensors that are placed directly onto objects such as doors and windows to monitor whether they have been tampered with, opened, or closed. Most contact motion sensors are Passive Infrared.

Those are just a few different options available for your motion detector alarm system. As you can see, to be properly protected, it’s not as simple as having one standard type of sensor fitted within your home.

Instead, you should have a professional carry out a survey around your property to evaluate the best possible solution for your household needs.

Motion Detector Alarms you can trust from Guardian

Our NSI Gold status means you can rest assured that our surveyors can advise you on the best system for your home and budget.

Fill out our form to ask a question or receive a free security evaluation for a package tailored to your needs.