Remote alarm needed for detached garage

February 18, 2010 8:05 PM

Are there any type of remote alarms available that would help me monitor my detached garage?

I live in a high crime area and would like to be able to monitor my detached garage for unauthorized entry at night time. It has a sliding door on overhead rails (slides horizontally). Is there any type of sensor that I can install that would alert me in my home (50 feet away) if the door is opened? There is no electricity in the garage so it would have to run on batteries and be wireless. I would also like it to be discreet so that the thieves have no idea that I've been alerted.

posted by buckaroo_benzai to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Motion sensor powered by batteries that rings a bell in the house, or it can turn on a light. We have one here and it works pretty well, I use it to detect movement along our long driveway.

I think I picked up mine at OSH.
posted by iamabot at 8:10 PM on February 18, 2010

Response by poster: I should mention that the indoor alert should be immediate and loud enough to wake me up but not ear-piercing (think alarm clock not fire alarm). I do not want anything with a delay. The sensor in the garage should be undetectable (no lights or beeping).
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 8:40 PM on February 18, 2010

Best answer: If you google "garage door monitor" you will find lots of models, though you may have to dig a bit for one that beeps. (We have one that doesn't make a sound, but has a light that's either red or green. It's wireless. The garage part of it runs on batteries; the one inside the house has to be plugged in, but I assume that's not a problem for you.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:54 PM on February 18, 2010

See this answer, I think the author really knows what he's talking about!
posted by dance at 1:21 AM on February 19, 2010

Your best bet is what BlahLaLa mentioned. Another option is what we have setup: a wireless motion detector that is hooked into our existing home alarm system. It acts like any other sensor within the house when tripped, so a loud alarm eventually will sound if you don't deactivate within the allotted time.
posted by nitsuj at 6:00 AM on February 19, 2010