In security systems, power is everything. The battery is the single most important component of the Intruder alarm system. The system is totally dependent on the correct power delivered to all its components at all times. Too little power and you’ll have an unstable system, false alarms or non-activations. Too much power, on the other hand will reduce the lifetime of the battery or destroy it.

No power means that the system is running on a battery that is no longer charging. This is fine in the short term, providing that the battery in question is still 100% efficient.

Unfortunately,  frequent power cuts, cable theft and Load shedding have a detrimental effect on batteries and reduces its lifetime bit by bit through continuous power failures. Many lower quality Sealed Lead Acid batteries, when fully discharged, do not always recover from a total discharge. This in effect means that thousands of intruder alarm systems in South Africa are literally running off their transformers, particularly in older systems.

 The importance of good quality power components cannot be emphasised enough in a country that has a high crime rate and unreliable power delivery.

Although a Sealed battery should supply a minimum of 6 hours in a standby condition, this is highly unlikely in most systems, given the scenarios described above. If a power failure extends beyond the average 3 hour period, it only takes a clever intruder with a basic knowledge of alarm systems to figure out that many alarm systems are no longer functional.

Battery failure in high temperatures

To add to the problem , Sealed Lead Acid and Gel batteries do not like heat. They will ensure optimum capacity at around 20 degrees C. to provide a lifetime of between 5 and 7 years under normal conditions. The battery life is approximately halved for each 10 degrees C above normal temperature. In summer months, where temperatures in South Africa can soar between 30 and 37 degrees centigrade, battery lifetime is being reduced considerably.

The lifetime of the battery reduces as the temperature gets higher and if installed in an area that reaches 60 degrees C. or higher, the lifetime can be reduced to as little as 5 months. In fact, the temperatures in a home that has a tin roof can reach well into the 80’s when the outside temperature is 35 degrees.

This definitely blows the theory out of the water regarding the installation of control panels and batteries in a ceiling void, which was and still is, common practice among some installers. The number of systems that have been installed in ceilings over the years far exceeds those that are not.  Apart from this practice being regarded as poor security and leaving the panel vulnerable to tampering, you are guaranteed to have voltage problems, battery failures and false alarms.

In order to gain some sort of control over an already critical situation and to counter some of the effects of power failures, installers and end-users need to realise the importance of quality and install high quality batteries and transformers in intruder alarm systems.

• Clients should have their batteries checked regularly to ensure that they are not damaged.
• Installers should refrain from installing control panels and batteries in ceiling voids, boiler rooms, near furnaces or any other area where temperatures are likely to be high.