Home-owners have been urged to test their security systems as a matter of urgency and to pay particular attention to the battery backup systems.

The message comes from Fidelity ADT, a well-known armed response company, as South Africa finds itself in the midst of widespread load-shedding.

“Many people are under the incorrect assumption that their home alarm system is deactivated when the power supply is interrupted. However, if you have a stable and correctly programmed system coupled with a battery that is in good condition, it will continue to protect the premises during a power outage – regardless of whether the outage is because of load-shedding or not,” said Charnel Hattingh, national marketing and communications manager at Fidelity ADT.

She said the only time it may not function correctly is if there is a technical issue or the battery power is low.

Most modern alarm systems have a back-up battery pack that activates automatically when there is a power failure,” said Charnel.

She added that there are a number of practical steps that can be taken to ensure security is not compromised during any power cuts.

Some of these include ensuring that the alarm system has an adequate battery supply, that all automated gates and doors are secured and lastly remaining vigilant and reporting any suspicious activity to your security provider or the police.

Candles and touch-lights are handy alternatives to have around for those times when the power goes out. Hattingh said home and business-owners should consider installing Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, which is integrated into the alarm system’s wiring and automatically switches on for a maximum of 15 minutes when there is a power outage.

“If there is an additional battery pack, the small, non-intrusive LED lights can stay on for the duration of the power outage – or a maximum of 40 hours – without draining the primary alarm battery,” she explained.

Things to remember in order to be prepared for a power cut:

• It is important that your alarm system has an adequate battery supply. Batteries should be checked regularly.
• Alarms should be checked during extended power outages to keep systems running.
• Power cuts can have an impact on fire systems and fire control systems, so these also need to be checked regularly.
• The more frequent use of gas and candles can increase the risk of fire, therefore home fire extinguishers should be on hand.
• Above all remain vigilant during a power cut; be on the look-out for any suspicious activity and report this to your security company or the police immediately.

Load-shedding also results in a higher than usual number of alarm activation signals being received by security companies and their monitoring centres,” said Charnel.

“This could lead to a delay in monitoring centre agents making contact with customers. You can assist by manually cancelling any potential false alarms caused by load-shedding, and thus help call centre agents in prioritising the calls needing urgent attention.”