False Alarms caused by the infamous passive infrared (PIR)! |

This infamous device installed in virtually every home and business with a security system is responsible for single handily causing more false alarms than all the other alarm devices combined. Because of all the false alarms one could say that this little device reminds them of the story of “the little boy who cried wolf”! But is it an unreliably designed device or another faulty installation?

Lets back up a little, what is an passive infrared and how does it work?

The term passive means the detector is able to function without the need to generate and radiate its own energy. PIRs are able to distinguish if an infrared emitting object is present by first learning the ambient temperature of the monitored space and then detecting a change in the temperature caused by the presence of an object. Using the principle of differentiation, which is a check of presence or non-presence, PIRs verify if an intruder or object is actually there.

So with that explanation why are there so many false alarms caused by passive infrared’s? Answer: poor design and wrong detector for location.

In my next post I will explain how all PIR’s are not created nor operate the same and how we use intelligent design with proven technology that guarantees a false alarm free system.