A Brief History Of The Home Alarm

A Brief History Of The Home Alarm

We live in pretty high-tech times.  There are home security systems so advanced that they can identify a person by their fingerprint or voice.  Of course, most people don’t use or even need such an elaborate system of protecting themselves and their property.  But even the common home alarms used these days seem complex compared to what our ancestors might have used.  That’s not to say that these ancestors didn’t take measures to protect their homes.  The most basic home security technique, the guard dog, has been around since ancient times.

Home alarms as we know them today (that is to say, not animal) can be traced back to systems of bells, gongs, and chimes that were developed to sound if an intruder entered a home, although the first electric alarm was not invented until 1852.  This home alarm was designed in Boston by a man named Edwin Holmes.  It used electromechanical tripwire technology to set off a gong using a three-dimensional coil called a solenoid.  This alarm was simple but introduced a conept that is still important to modern alarm systems: using loud noises to draw attention to a break-in site and scare burglars away.

Holmes developed his invention into a business, which he ran out of New York until 1905, when it was bought by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.  This company introduced the concept of monitoring services, by linking Holmes’ home alarm systems to police and fire departments with the help of an advanced electrical grid.

The next big advancement in burglar alarm technology came in the form of motion sensors, which were introduced in the 1970s.  These motion sensors detected movement by using basic ultrasonic technology to transmit a series of sound waves to and from the sensor.  An intruder would trigger, or “trip,” the alarm by interrupting these waves.  Thus, this technology essentially eliminated the need for actual tripwires.

Throughout the 1980s, motion sensors evolved and improved a great deal.  Ultrasonic technology was replaced with infrared technology, which reduced false alarms, or “false positives.”  This is when an alarm goes off in the absence of an emergency or problem and can be a waste of time and resources to the homeowner as well as the response units involved.  Better electrical were also developed that allowed for more comprehensive security systems.

In the 1990s, home security systems became more affordable and subsequently more commonplace.  Many of the cheaper packages being offered included free installation, and home systems began to be connected via telephone lines to the security company itself, in addition to police and fire departments.  This allowed for even faster response times.

Nowadays, burglar alarms are continuing to get even better.  Home surveillance cameras are becoming increasingly accessible, adding a visual component that helps identify criminals.  Wireless technology has also advanced in recent years, causing wireless systems to become more popular, as they are easier to install and use than their traditional wired counterparts.  And as for the future of home alarms, who knows?  Maybe someday soon everyone will be using retina-scanning technology instead of a password to activate and deactivate their systems.