A driveway alarm and entry alert are two surefire ways to be notified when a vehicle or person first enters your property and will help you protect your family and home. Have you ever looked out and wondered when that strange car parked on your driveway arrived?  Or experienced a moment of panic when you think someone came through an unlocked door and is creeping around inside your house?  With a driveway alarm or entry alert device monitoring the entrances to your house, you won’t be caught off-guard again by unexpected visitors or intruders.
Driveway Alarms – Choose Wired or Wireless
What exactly is a driveway alarm? It’s a monitor that sends out an alert when a person or vehicle enters your driveway or property.  When the driveway alarm’s sensor is triggered, its receiver notifies you with a chime, beep and/or flashing light.  Some models also alert with a voice message, which can be more attention-getting.
Many driveway alarms are wireless, making installation fast and easy. Other driveway alarms are hard-wired, so installation requires burying a wire that connects the transmitter and receiver.
Ways to Use a Driveway Alarm
- For notifications that guests or deliveries have arrived
- To be alerted of unexpected visitors or trespassers
- To protect seniors who live alone
- To help supervise children playing on the driveway
- To protect cars, boats or RVs parked on the driveway
- For alerts that teen drivers have returned
- For surveillance of large commercial properties
- At a business to announce the arrival of customers.
Entry Alerts Help Track People Coming and Going
A wireless entry alert has a small transmitter that mounts to any door and a portable receiver that plugs into any electrical outlet. When the door is opened, the receiver announces the person’s arrival (or departure) with a musical tune or chime. An entry alert can also be used as an alarm to warn of an intruder.  Instead of a friendly tune or chime, the transmitter will sound an alarm alert when activated by the trespasser.
Homes with an attached garage can benefit by a wireless garage alert. Like an entry alert for doorways, a garage alert lets you know when someone enters the house through the garage. They’re especially useful in homes where the garage is located at the far end and out of earshot. Garage alerts also give a “door status†update so you’ll know at a glance if someone forgot to close the garage door. Alerts can be tones or tunes.  Some newer models also alert with voice messages.
Ways to Use an Entry Alert
- For alerts that someone has opened your front (or back) door
- To be notified that your children or teens have arrived or left
- To alert shop or business owners that a customer has entered
- For seniors who are expecting company but can’t get up to open the door
- For warnings that someone left the garage door open.
Design Your Own Alerting System
Since a driveway alarm or entry alert gives you immediate notification that a car or person has entered your property or home, they’re useful even if you already have a home security system. You can create your own alerting system by starting with a 4-channel receiver and adding up to four transmitters, such as a driveway sensor, mailbox sensor, garage sensor, doorbell sensor or motion detector.
Enhance Your Doorbell
In addition to a driveway alarm and entry alert, there are a couple of affordable devices you can install at your main entrance.  A wireless doorbell and intercom system allows you to speak to visitors at the front door from anywhere in the house. And for multi-level or sprawling homes or businesses where it’s sometimes difficult to hear the doorbell ringing, add a wireless doorbell extender that connects to your existing traditional hardwired doorbell and lets you hear the doorbell remotely.
