Will a Power Outage Affect Home Security System and its Safety?

The heavy wind, rain, and even hail of summer storms cause a lot of power outages and downed power lines. While a power outage is annoying, it should never be life-threatening and you may wonder whether a power outage can affect your home security system … and your personal safety.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that it will not and here’s why: reliable home security systems such as the ones GuardMe Security installs now include battery backups that protect your home during a power outage.

Why it’s critical for home security to work during a power outage

You can imagine why this might be an ideal time for a break-in. After all, burglars and other criminals see power outages as an opportunity to break-in and steal or harm residents without fear of being caught simply because traditional home security systems used to rely on power supply.

In fact, the rate of crime even today goes up when there is chaos due to storms, flooding, and other severe weather. This is why the local police are always on high alert during a storm. Therefore, keeping your home security system activated and available is probably even more critical when the power outage occurs.

How does my home security work during a power outage?

With a modern home security system, the power will switch over to battery power immediately. You can set your system to alert you if a power outage has caused the system to switch power systems and it will inform you that it is now on battery power.

Backup batteries have a life span of between 3 and 5 years, and you should test your battery annually, just like you test and check the batteries in your smoke alarms.

It’s important to note that while you get a lot of benefits out of using cellular monitoring, that option also takes more power and could drain your battery backup more quickly.

How often to I change/check my home security backup battery?

You should check it on an annual basis. To change your battery – it’s located in the alarm panel – simply open the panel and remove the old battery and slip in a new one. It’s a good idea to have a few spare batteries on hand should the power outage continue and drain the original battery.

Don’t worry, you’ll have time to switch out the batteries and your home security system will let you know when it’s running low.

When power is restored, your home security system will automatically switch back to using household power and it will recharge the battery back to normal levels, so you’re immediately secure again without having to do anything.

To discuss installing a monitored and/or integrated home security system in your home as a first line of defense, call our expert team at (800) 235-0644 or click to get a quote. We can also answer your questions and address any concerns about monitored home security and help you learn how to use it.