A home motion detector can provide you with an added sense of protection for your family and personal property, but it is necessary to find the proper home security system and motion detector for your particular home's needs. You may be in the market for an outdoor motion sensor to activate outdoor lighting when it is needed, or interested in a comprehensive home security system including a home motion detector in every room. Important factors to consider include the range to be covered and the importance of avoiding false alarms such as pets.
The first step in determining the proper home motion detector for your particular property is making a note of the range that you want the motion detector to cover either inside or outside of the home. An ideal range for most indoor applications is between 30 and 40 feet (9-12 meters), while outdoor motion sensors should have a range of roughly 80 feet (24 meters). Some motion detectors are designed to monitor areas that are considerably smaller or larger in size. A motion detector's range can be found by consulting the product's packaging or the product information found on a manufacturer's website.
Another key factor in choosing a home motion detector is finding a security system that won't trigger false alarms, unnecessarily disturbing your neighbors or law enforcement agents. There are now dual-trigger home motion detectors available to home owners that will only alert the authorities once the device has been triggered by both a microwave sensor and a passive infrared sensor. Using a dual-trigger home motion detector will reduce the number of false alarms generated by your home security system.
Many of the motion detectors available to home owners are also designed to ignore common disturbances within the home, such as pets or inclement weather. If you have pet dogs and cats that will be in your home while you are away, you have a number of motion detectors to choose from that will ignore the movements of smaller animals within a home. Some of these "pet-immune" home security systems will ignore larger pets than others. If you own medium to large dogs, you will need to consult the specifications of different home motion detectors in order to find the right home security system for you and your pets.