Problems with motions...another option

[jmed999]

I have an Elk M1G with door sensors and 2 motions detectors in a cross zone pool.  I have an indoor dog that likes to get on top of the couch, bed, etc.  I get false alarms a couple times a year from the motions and I'm thinking about taking the motions down and going with window sensors (Ion Micra-G) and glass break sensors (GE wireless Shatterpro).  
 
Is this a good alternative to motion detectors?  
 
Thanks!

 

[drvnbysound]

Is your motion 'pet immune'? If so, have you checked/adjusted the settings?

 

[RAL]

You didn't say what type of motion detectors you have.  Are they PIR-only, or have you tried a dual tech motion detector (PIR + microwave) like the Bosch Blue Line Gen2 ?

 

[jmed999]

Is your motion 'pet immune'? If so, have you checked/adjusted the settings?

 
Yes, it's pet immune.  My dog is an Italian Greyhound.  Basically they have cat like tendencies so he gets very vertical.  He loves to hang out on the top of the back of the couch and runs around jumping from the back of the couch to the back of the chairs especially when the UPS man comes and we aren't home.  If I stick with wireless motions I will have false alarms and I hate having the police come for no reason.
 
I have adjusted the settings but when I test the motions, half of the time they do not even pick me up walking through the house.  With that in mind I hate to decrease the sensitivity. 

 

[jmed999]

Thanks for the replies!  This is the motion detector I have...
 
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/p-119-60-511-02-95-iti-wireless-ds924i-pet-immune-pir.aspx

 

[RAL]

If you can't make things work with motion detectors, then using window contacts and glassbreak detectors as you suggested seems reasonable.  But another way to detect motion that you might want to consider is to use strain gauge detectors, such as the Sure Action Pulsor.  These get mounted on the floor joists, so if your house is built on a slab, they aren't an option.

 

[jmed999]

I have a crawl space so this is a possible solution.  I'm not sure those are DIY.  I've read they can be tricky to set up.  I'll certainly do more research on them.  If only they were wireless

 

[RAL]

The Sure Action pulsors aren't all that hard to install.  The sensor gets epoxied to the floor joist, and then wired to the Sure Action processor, which is adjustable allowing you to set the weight level that will trigger an alarm.  The trickiest part for me was choosing a location that was far enough away from furniture and such that our cats wouldn't jump and land directly in the sensing area.  If I was not able to do that, I would have had to lower the sensitivity adjustment more than I wanted to.

 

[drvnbysound]

I'm not familiar with that motion, I have Honeywell PIR's which have the ability to move the circuit board inside the PIR itself, to allow for different mounting heights etc. I've previously adjusted them for a different mounting height to "accommodate" larger animals; requires testing to ensure that it's still going to pick up intruders as expected.

 

[ano]

The Sure Action sensors work based on weight, location, and speed. If something heavy steps on a certain point fast enough, it will trigger. The trick is find a place that your dog won't go but people do.  Also, people are generally heavier than people, and stand on two legs they tend to trip these more. (These sensors also react to FAST temperature changes, so don't mount them near furnace vents, for example.)

 

[jmed999]

My dog is only 10 pounds.  Would that make it easier to install the stress sensors?  Would a 10 pound dog set them off if they are placed where he walks but not where he lands from jumps?
 
It seems like I would only need 1 sensor going from the living room to the master bedroom.  No matter where an intruder enters they will cross that sensor, right?

 

[jmed999]

With stress sensors could I do without glass breaks and window sensors, ie. Ion Micra-G?

 

[RAL]

The processor looks for a rapid change in weight from the sensor, rather than an absolute amount of weight.   Say you have it set up so that a 100 pound person walking over it will trigger an alarm.  You could place a 95 pound suitcase there and your 10 pound dog walking over it won't trigger it. It would still take an extra 100 pound weight change to set off the alarm. The sensitivity adjustment controls how large a change in weight is required to trigger an alarm.  With a 10 pound dog, you won't have any trouble with him walking over it. It's hard to say whether it would go off with a 10 pound dog jumping on it, since it depends on the height he jumps from and how hard he lands.  For a dog as small as that, I suspect you'd be able to set the sensitivity to avoid triggering, even if he jumped.
 
A single sensor will cover an area of about 4' x 7' but that can vary with the specific construction of the floor.  If you need a larger area of protection, you can connect up to 4 sensors together to a single-zone processor.
 
I tend to view window contacts, glassbreaks and motion detectors as layers of protection.  I like the idea of using window contacts and/or glassbreaks as perimeter detection that will trigger an alarm before someone actually enters the house, and the motion detectors as a backup in case an intruder manages to get through the perimeter layer. You could get by with just one or the other, but it's nice to have both if you can.

 

[drvnbysound]

Wait, your 10-lb dog is setting off the motion?

 

[jmed999]

Well I was working out of town this past winter while my wife was home.  We had two instances when the motions in the cross zone pool set off the alarm.  They were false alarms and about 2 months apart.  I'm not sure what caused it but since it was after the sun went down I'm guessing it was the dog running on the couch and chair which is in the middle of the room or the heat blowing from a vent.  He gets about 5 ft in the air when he jumps and runs around elevated objects.