4 Steps to Take If Your Home Alarm Goes Off for No Reason

Home alarms have one important job: to alert you of possible trouble. If you have alarms that seem to go off for no reason, here are four steps to track down what’s going on: 

Note: If your  fire alarm keeps going off please replace the batteries or the unit itself. 

Locate Pets or Small Children 

Your toddler or family dog may have wandered somewhere he shouldn’t have and tripped one of your alarm features. This can be annoying, but it also creates an excellent opportunity for you to update your home security. You can  teach your kids about home safety  or set up barriers to keep pets from crossing the sensors and wandering away. 

Pet-Friendly Motion Detectors 

Pet owners will be happy to know there are pet-friendly motion detectors available on the market. This security equipment can disregard movement from animals weighing less than 40 pounds. 

If you’re ready to bring the irritating false alarms to an end, then it’s time to look into pet-friendly detectors. It’s too risky to avoid setting your alarm altogether just to avoid the loud beeping sound. This makes it easier for unwanted guests to enter your home undetected. Instead, seek guidance from security experts on navigating the right pet-friendly motion detector for your home.  

Check for Dead Batteries 

A dead battery in one of your components creates a gap in your home security system. Some systems will react to that by setting off an alarm, alerting you to potential problems. Other home security components may sound an alarm when the battery gets low. This is the case for some fire alarms. Working fire alarms are one of the most important investments you can make for your family’s safety. 

Smoke alarms, properly installed and maintained, play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. If there’s a fire in your home, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out. 

– National Fire Protection Association

Tips for Changing Batteries in a Smoke Alarm 

If a dead battery is the main culprit behind why your home alarm goes off for no reason, you’re going to want to know how to change the batteries. Most importantly, you’re going to want to know how to change the batteries safely and efficiently. Here are some easy-to-follow steps for getting the job done: 

• Find a ladder that is stable enough to reach your smoke alarm. 

• Twist or pull open your smoke alarm. In some cases, you will need a screwdriver to pry open your detector. 

• Remove the old battery. 

• Place the new battery. Make sure the negative and positive connections are matching the connections in the smoke alarm. 

• Locate and press the test button to make sure the new batteries work. 

Keep in mind the most common smoke alarms are battery smoke detectors and hardwired smoke detectors. Battery smoke detectors run on batteries. Hardwired smoke detectors, on the other hand, run on electricity and have constant power unless there is an outage. This is when a backup battery comes into play. 

It’s  vital  to replace the batteries in your security system components regularly.  

Have Your Sensors Checked

If your sensors were installed incorrectly or in a poor location, or if you’ve made major changes to landscaping and household decoration, then they may trigger ‘for no reason’ now. For instance, sensors installed near a furnace in the summer may act normally, but in the winter sophisticated and highly sensitive products may be triggered by the heat and moving air. A security expert can assess what is happening and why and make adjustments. 

Home Alarm Goes Off for No Reason: Search for Signs of Wear and Tear 

Even a quality, properly installed security system can start to fail if components become weathered and worn out. This can happen for both indoor and outdoor security systems. Take a look around your house and keep an eye out for: 

• cracked or rusted component housing 

• charred or frayed wiring 

• signs of leaking batteries 

• a unit dangling from its mounting 

• dust and leaf buildup 

Troubleshoot with Your Home Security System Company 

So what happens if your problem isn’t fixed? What if your home alarm goes off for no reason even after popping in a new set of batteries? Some problems require a technician to solve, and the sooner you make the call, the better. If you are a current Brinks Home™ customer and are experiencing issues, check out our Help Center for steps to solve based on your specific devices. 

Krista Bruton is a DFW-based writer who covers smart home security and consumer protection.