I wanted to get a sense of how people fee regarding alarming windows - do you feel it is necessary?
We have one window upstairs that would be accessible from the roof - it would take a ladder, but I could see putting a sensor on that one. If the common thought is that no burglar would climb onto the roof to access a second story window, I would prefer to not put a sensor on it in the event the person in that room wanted to open the window without realizing the alarm was armed. The remaining 2nd floor windows would require a 2 story ladder up to the window (no roof access) - not very likely, so I don’t think that sensors on those windows would be necessary.
For downstairs, there are 5 doors with glass inset, as well as several large sliding windows - would you suggest putting sensors on all the glass downstairs, or only the doors? I guess I am not sure how likely someone is to break in via a window when there are doors that can be smashed and opened from the inside? Any thought on that?
Lastly, for the glass, would you recommend a glass break or a combined shock window sensor contact?
There isn’t a common thought on whether to monitor 2nd floor windows. It’s mainly a question of cost. It is more likely that someone will break in a typical residential door than a window. It’s more likely that someone will break in 1st floor window than a 2nd floor window. We can’t advise people not to monitor their 2nd floor windows because if we did and someone broke in the 2nd floor window then we would get accused of giving bad advice. Is it worth the cost of a sensor to you to monitor that window?
On how to monitor a window, it depends on the situation, again, usually based on cost. If the window can’t open then you only need to detect glass breaking. If it’s a double hung window then it can also be pried open and you need to detect glass breaking and opening, requiring 2 sensors. Glass break sound detectors have the advantage of being able to detect glass breakage on more than 1 window at a time with 1 sensor. But for an isolated window, not near any others, the combined shock sensor has the cost advantage of being able to cover both glass breaking and opening at the same time.
Yes, I like the Honeywell model better but I use the 2GIG model more often due to cost. The 2GIG model has a shorter range and is fixed at high sensitivity. If you have dogs that bark loudly or you’re planning on arming the glass breaks in stay mode or you need more than a 15 foot range then I would use the Honeywell 5853. If you don’t have loud animals and you’re only going to arm the glass breaks in away mode then I would use the 2GIG 2GIG-GB1-345.
I would probably have the glass break armed in both stay and away mode, and I think the 25 feet range will be a bit better for the room. I assume that is 360 degree as well? So 25 feet in all directions?
And just to make sure, that sensor is compatible with the 2GIG panel, correct?
Yes, the 5853 offers 360 degree coverage, but keep in mind it is designed to roughly face the direction of the sound and will require line of sight to all desired coverage points. To capture many windows it is typically ceiling mounted, but can be wall mounted. If there are intervening walls it will not function as intended.
Yes, it is compatible with the 2GIG Go!Control panel.