LOAD SHEDDING has hit Zululand hard and fears for safety and security are rising after residents have been left in total darkness.
With power outages occurring across the country, load-shedding can wreak havoc with alarm systems and the signals sent to your security provider’s control room.
Martin Kriel, Managing Director of ADT Security’s East Coast Region says many people believe that their home alarm system is deactivated when the power supply is interrupted; however all modern alarms should have a back-up battery pack that activates automatically when normal supply is interrupted.
Load-shedding planning
Give yourself enough time ahead of the scheduled load shedding to check that your alarm system’s battery is in good working order. An alarm battery should be able to provide backup power for between six to 12 hours depending on the sophistication of the system and how many sensors have been fitted.
‘If you live in an area that experiences unusually long blackouts it’s best to keep a spare battery in stock. Batteries are not expensive and they are relatively easy to change once you know how.’
If your backup battery does fail and the alarm system dies, keep all doors and windows locked and do not investigate any noises outside. Rather call armed response to investigate any unusual noises in the garden.
Garage doors and gates
If you do not already keep them on your key ring, make sure you know where the keys for your electronic garage doors are, particularly if the system is not linked to a backup battery.
Test your driveway gate battery especially if it’s been a few years since it was replaced, because you do not want to end up locked out or with a gate left open during load shedding.
‘To ensure that your electric fencing continues to function during the power cuts, your electric fence should also have a backup battery. Make sure your torch batteries are recharged as soon as the electricity supply is restored so that you do not forget later and end up with insufficient battery power during the next rolling blackout.’
