Glass Break Sensors: How Does It Work & Enhance Security?

Installing a security system with glass break sensors can be one of the smartest ways to protect your home or business from crime. To provide this protection, your alarm system will employ a range of devices that are placed strategically to either act as a deterrent and/or trigger an alarm when an intruder tries to break-in.

Devices like motion sensors, window and door contact sensors are some of the most common you will find in home and business security. This is because these devices are very effective. As effective as they may be, they can leave gaps in your protection.

In this post, we are going to take a closer look at glass break sensors and how they can protect Kentucky homes and businesses.

What Exactly Is A Glass Break Sensor?

A glass break sensor is a security device that detects the sound of breaking glass. When the sensor “hears” glass breaking it can provide a response like an audible alarm or it can send an alert to a security monitoring station.

Glass break detectors are equipped with microphones that “listen” for the sound of breaking glass. They also have microprocessors that help them to distinguish between the sound of glass breaking and other noises. Good glass break detectors can even tell the difference between the sound of a breaking window and other types of glass breaking like that of a cup breaking on the floor.

How Do Glass Break Sensors Work?

Door and window sensors work by having two parts of a sensor that are close together when the door or window is closed. When the door or window opens, it moves the two parts of the sensor apart and this triggers the alarm.

But what happens if a burglar breaks a window and climbs through without opening it. What if they smash a glass door and just walk through the empty frame? In both of these situations, the contacts would not separate and it would not trigger an alarm.

Glass break detectors are devices that can add an extra layer of protection and guard against criminals that would break a window or glass door to gain entry. Glass break sensors integrate with window and door sensors to detect sound or vibration involved with glass smashing to trigger an alarm.

The Benefits of Having Glass Break Sensors

A glass breakage detector adds another layer of protection to your security system. Door and window sensors are important, but a criminal could bypass them by breaking the glass in a window. Motion sensors are also good, but they won’t detect an intruder until they have already entered the home.

By adding glass break detectors, you can address both of these concerns. Burglars will not be able to get around door/window sensors by breaking glass and it will also trigger the alarm before they enter your home or business.

A window shatter alarm can also be an effective deterrent. If the glass breakage sensor is set to trigger an audible alarm, it will scare most burglars off before they gain entry. In other words, a criminal might break the window, but when they hear the alarm go off, most will decide that it would be smarter to make a hasty retreat rather than continue with their attempt to break in.

Another nice feature of glass break detectors is that you can cover a lot of area with one sensor. A good glass shatter alarm can easily cover all of the windows in one room. Depending on the conditions, the range of a glass break sensor can provide protection for a radius of 20 ft or more.

Glass Break Detector Features to Look for

While window break sensors can be good for enhancing the protection you get from a security system, there are several options. Some detectors might not perform as well as others and there are some that may have issues with triggering false alarms.

If you are going to install a broken window alarm at your home or business, you should consider the following factors:

• Range: The detection of the glass break sensor range is an important consideration. The larger the detection radius, the more area you will be able to cover with one sensor.
• Sensitivity: Some glass break events are loud and others are not. You want to know that your glass sensors can detect breaking glass even when the potential intruder takes measures to reduce noise.
• Indicators: A good glass detector should have an indicator for tampering. If it is a wireless sensor, it should also have indicators for low-battery and link quality.
• Brains: How smart is the sensor? This will determine how well it detects the sound of breaking glass and how well it does at differentiating between breaking glass and other noises. If the break sensor does not perform well in this regard, it might not trigger an alarm when it should or it could be prone to false alarms.

The PowerG Wireless Glassbreak Detector

Homes and businesses have a lot of options when it comes to installing a window break alarm. With that said, one of our favorites is the DSC PowerG Wireless Glass Break Detector. It performs well for improving security in homes and businesses and it has several features that help it to stand out from the competition.

It has a 25 ft range for detecting glass breaks and it can provide 360° coverage. Under optimal conditions, one sensor can protect rooms of up to 32.7 x 39.4 square feet. It can also be installed on walls or ceilings and it is wireless, so you do not need to hardwire the device to the panel. This makes it very versatile and effective for protecting both homes and businesses.

The DSC PowerG Glass Break Detector is also powered by a smart algorithm for advanced sound analysis. It can detect glass breaks for plate, laminated, tempered and wired glass. Along with that, it is very good at preventing false alarms. The algorithm knows the sound of a breaking window or door and it does not confuse other sounds that may be similar. It can even tell the difference between a recording or broken glass and the real thing.

This glass break alarm also has tamper protection that will provide an indicator when the device has been opened or forcibly removed from the wall. Along with that, it has indicators for link quality and low battery life.

Being one of the most reliable and best glass break sensors on the market, we often recommend the DSC Wireless PowerG Glass Break Detector to enhance security at your home or business. It is not only very reliable for detecting glass break events, but it is also good at not triggering false alarms.

Business and Home Security Services from Cornerstone Protection

At Cornerstone Protection, we are constantly striving to provide the best security services for homes and businesses in the Central Kentucky region. If you would like to learn more about glass break sensors or any other security products we offer, feel free to contact our team for more information. We would be happy to provide you with a free consultation and to help you plan for the protection of your home or business.