Planning a Security System / Burlgar Alarm - Structured Home Wiring

  The first step when installing any alarm system is to determine what you will install and where. Below is a typical floor plan from a home builder that has been marked up to indicate where alarm components will be installed. These simple plans are the type that builders normally provide to people looking to build a new home and can sometimes be found on the builder's web site. Marking up a copy of these plans is a good place to start to determine how many window & door sensors and motion detectors you will need to protect the entire home.

Sample Alarm Wiring Plan

Legend P: Main Alarm Panel K: Keypad Input Devices M: Motion Detector D: Door Sensor W: Window Sensor G: Glass Break Sensor L: Liquid/Water Sensor 24 Hour Input Devices F: Fire/Smoke/Heat Sensor Output Devices H: Horn/Siren S: Strobe Light

  The first major decision is to determine if you want to have sensors for every window in the home or are motion detectors good enough to provide coverage. A quick look at these floorplans shows that wiring sensors for every window more than doubles the amount of wires that you will need to run.

   A typical entry level panel is limited to 8 zones. Even higher end panels need expander cards to support more than 8 zones. Even if you have more than 8 sensors you can still use an 8 zone panel. You will just need to wire multiple sensors to a single zone. When a zone with multiple sensors is tripped, you will not be able to determine which sensor is the cause. Also, if there is a fault/error with a multiple-sensor zone it will be more difficult to diagnose.

   Here are some examples of 8, 16, & 32 zone setups.

8 zone: - assumes Fire detectors are handled separately
Living Room Motion Detector
Family Room Motion Detector
Dining Room Motion Detector
Basement Motion Detector
Front Door
Back + Garage Door
Dinette Glass Break Sensor
Water Sensor

16 zone: - the above 8 zone layout plus...
Dining Room Windows
Living Room Windows
Family Room Windows
Kitchen/Laundry Windows
Owner's Bedroom/Bathroom Windows
Bedroom 2 Windows
Bedroom 3+4 Windows
Basement Windows

32 zone:
With 32 zones, every sensor indicated in the floor plan above will have its own sensor.