1. Silvan Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd 1
White paper on security systems for
residential installations
January 2017
Silvan Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd.

2. Silvan Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd 2
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................3
Components of a security system...........................................................................................................3
Basic features of a security systems .......................................................................................................4
Guidelines to design a security system for a residential project............................................................6
Summary.................................................................................................................................................7

3. Silvan Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd 3
Introduction
This white paper is aimed to explain basic security features required in a residential project. The first
section describes various components of a security system. Basic and advanced features of different
security systems are explained in the next section. The last section provides guidelines for designing
a system for a residential project.
Components of a security system
In a typical security system, various types of sensors are connected to a security panel. Here are
some examples of useful security sensors:
Sensor Description Power Requirement*
Door intrusion
sensor
This sensor indicates opening or closing of a door. It
can be mounted upon any kind of doors and/or
windows. However, based on the frame of the
door/window, the type of the sensor varies.
Passive sensor. No
additional power
requirement.
Panic Button This sensor is pressed in case of any panic or alarm
condition. It is generally mounted near main entrance,
in bedrooms near the bed and/or in bathrooms.
Passive sensor. No
additional power
requirement.
Gas Leak
Detector
This sensor detects LPG gas. This is mounted below
the gas stove.
Active sensor. It
requires either 12V DC
or 230V AC.
Gas Actuator This is not a sensor but an actuator that is triggered to
cut-off the gas supply in the gas-pipe. It is generally
connected directly to the Gas Leak detector. Please
check the compatibility of gas actuator with the
selected gas leak detector before suggesting one.
Active actuator. It
generally requires 230V
AC.
Heat/Smoke
Detector
This is generally a ceiling mountable sensor that
detects heat and/or smoke.
Active sensor. It
generally requires 12V
DC.
PIR motion
sensor
This sensor detects motion and triggers alert in the
arm condition. This sensor is available in ceiling and
wall mounting options. Both indoor and outdoor type
of PIR sensors are available.
Active sensor. It
generally requires 12V
DC.
Glass Break
Detector
This sensor detects shattering of glass window. Both
acoustic and vibration based sensors are available,
however acoustic based sensors are more popular
because of easy mounting. In Indian scenario, these
sensors are prone to false triggering due to loud
noises.
Active sensor. It
requires either 12V DC
or 230V AC.
* The power requirement is explained for wired sensors. In case of wireless sensors, all sensors will
require power to transmit wireless signals to the main controller. In case of wireless sensors, the
power is provided by batteries.
Apart from sensors, the following components are also required for a complete security system:
 Main Control Panel: This component acts as the master for all the sensors. It supports
connecting 8, 16, 32 or more number of sensors. There are different control panels for wired
and wireless operations. Most of the control panels have keypad and small LCD screen to
configure and monitor sensors.

4. Silvan Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd 4
 Hooter/Siren: It is generally connected to the main control panel. It is triggered by the main
control panel in case of an alert/security breach.
 Battery & Power Supply: This power supply can provide centralized power to all the sensors
requiring 12 V DC for operations. It also powers up the main controller. It generally comes
with a battery to support couple of hours of operation in case of mains power failure.
 Keyfob: This unit acts as a remote control to arm/disarm the system. This unit is paired with
the main controller and provide option the user to arm/disarm the system with a single click.
 Autodialer: Some control panels support integrating with an external autodialer. It triggers
pre-recorded phone message to the registered phone numbers. There are two options
available, PSTN line based and GSM based. In case of GSM based autodialer, the customer is
required to provide and maintain a dedicated SIM for this operation.
 Mounting DB: Some control panels are provided with a separate DB to mount all these
peripherals.
 Zone-Expander: Almost all brands of security systems have zone-expanders to connect to
the main control panel to increase the available number of zones/sensor connections.
 IP Gateway: In some cases, the main control panel is capable of providing access of Web or
App, however in most of the traditional system, this feature is not supported. IP gateway
provides web/App interface for these traditional systems and are available with some
brands.
Both wired and wireless security systems are available for residential projects. While wired solutions
provide reliable and robust security, wireless solutions are only possible for retrofit installations.
Basic features of a security systems
This section discusses basic features of a security system. This is a comprehensive list of features for
a residential project. The number of features and implementation may vary from one brand of
security system to other brands.
Zone definition
The sensors can be clubbed together, i.e. connected in series and connected to a single zone of a
security system. The zones can have one of the following definitions:
 24 Hr Zone: In this case, the sensor is armed all the time. Gas leak detector, panic buttons
are examples of this zone.
 Entry or delayed Zone: In this case, the sensor opening doesn’t trigger alarm as soon as a
breach is identified. It waits for the pre-configured time before triggering alarm. Main door’s
door sensor is programed in this mode so that there is sufficient time for the end-user to
disarm the system after main door is opened.
Arming/Disarming
Apart from 24 hour zones, other sensors can be armed/disarmed by the end-user using the control
panel or App/Web interface or keyfob. In this case, alarm is triggered only when the sensor is open
in armed conditions. In all other cases, no alarm is created and only sensor status is reflected on
App/Web interface and/or control panel.

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Security Profiles
‘Away’ and ‘Disarm’ are two most common security profiles in a typical security system. ‘Away’
profile arms all the sensors and ‘Disarm’ profile disarms all the sensors except the 24 Hr zone
sensors.
Some systems provide more than one security profile, i.e. combination of sensors to be
armed/disarmed. For example, in ‘Maid Profile’, the user can configure master bedroom door to be
in armed state but kitchen door remains in disarmed state. If someone tries to open master
bedroom in ‘Maid Profile’, the system will trigger alarm.
Configuring & Scheduling Security Profiles
Advanced security systems provide user friendly ways to configure and schedule security profiles.
Using App/Web interface, the end user can configure a security profile, add/remove any sensor from
arming, schedule a specific profile to activate on specific time of a day etc. For example, the user
may want to schedule ‘AWAY’ profile every night from 11 PM and ‘DISARM’ profile every morning 6
AM.
App/Web Access
In a traditional security system, sensor status is available on the main control panel. However, the
panel may not be connected to the cloud/internet to provide you status of the sensor while you are
away from the house. It makes sense to install a system that provides these additional access to the
end-user.
Type of Security Alerts
In case of an alert, different security systems report the security breach in different manners. Here
are some possible options:
 Triggering different hooter patterns for different kind of alerts.
 Triggering autodialer to make phone calls with pre-recorded messages.
 Sending SMS with the pre-defined SMS message describing the alert type.
 Triggering other actions – switching ON lights etc.
Event Logs
Most of the control panels also provide logs of the events, i.e. security breach, arming/disarming
information, zone change etc.
Integrating Keyfob
In a typical security system, keyfob provides easy mechanism to the end user to arm/disarm the
system without accessing the control panel. Generally, more than one keyfobs can be paired with
the control panel.
Power Back-up & Battery indication
It is extremely important for a security system to have sufficient power back-up and low battery
indication. In a residential project, in case of mains failure, the DG system may take couple of
minutes to resume power supply, during this time all the sensors should be powered on and the
system should remain in the same arming mode to avoid any security breach.

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Guidelines to design a security system for a residential project
When it comes to designing a security system for a residential project, there are various options
available. Please follow the below guidelines to design the most suitable system for the prospective
buyer.
 It is very important to understand the budget and required type of the sensors for a project.
Suppose a person is only looking to install Gas Leak detector, then GSM autodialer based
system might be sufficient and most cost effective.
 Find out the status of the construction, if it is going to be retrofit solution, suggest any
wireless system, Silvan SECURE. Otherwise, wired systems like DSC PC 1832 + PK500 or
Silvan HA 2020 based system can be suggested.
 In case of a wireless system, consider one wireless repeater per floor. If a floor area is bigger
than 1500 sqft, consider two wireless repeaters.
 Explain the advantage of going for GSM based autodialer in comparison to PSTN based
autodialer. There is a tentative cost difference of around 5-6K, i.e. GSM based autodialer is
more expensive than PSTN based autodialer, but it doesn’t require any phone line.
 For a full blown system requirement, explain the benefits of SECURE and Silvan HA 2020
based systems, i.e. profiling, scheduling, web/app access, remote monitoring, ease of access
etc.
 Ask for site-survey, if the customer is looking for a full blow system.
 Most of the wireless systems can be used as hybrid systems also, i.e. they support
connecting couple of sensors over wired.
 Glass break detectors are prone to false alarms in Indian conditions. The similar security can
be achieved by providing door intrusion sensor on the glass door/window and a PIR motion
sensor installed inside. This combination can provide almost similar safety as glass break
detector.
 Most of the PIR sensors detect movement reliably within 10-meter range. Please plan
accordingly.
 Always check for the mounting option, location (inside or outside) and power option for the
sensors during the site survey. Generally, cost of the sensor varies if it is ceiling mount or
wall mount. There is a cost difference between indoor type and outdoor type of sensors.
Mounting indoor type of sensors in the exposed/outdoor locations is not recommended.
 Always verify compatibility of sensors and the selected control panel before finalizing the
solution.
 Always cross-check the limitation of the control panel in terms of the numbers of sensors
supported. If the project requires more number of sensors than the default capacity of the
control panel, consider providing zone expander.
 Always check for the mounting option for the main control panel. In case of a traditional
control panel without App/Web access, the control panel should be mounted near the main
entrance or at a visible location. In case of an advanced panel with App/Web access, the
control panel can be mounted in a hidden location. Other important criteria to select the
location is to optimize wireless coverage (in case of wireless system) or length of the wiring.
 In case of wired system, multicore 0.75 sqmm electrical cable is preferred for sensor wiring.
These cables should be run in separate conduits than electrical conduits.
 If the customer is going for a PSTN based autodialer, the phone should be terminating inside
the main control panel DB.

7. Silvan Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd 7
 In case of wireless system, understand and properly explain battery usage and low battery
indications of the sensors. Some sensors emits special LED indicator when the battery is low.
However some sensors may generate small buzzing sound when battery is about to die.
 In case of a wireless system, select a location of the sensor to optimize the battery usage.
For example, motion sensor should be mounted in a place where general motion is less and
motion is increased/detected only in case of a security breach. It ensures that the battery
lasts longer.
Summary
Almost all residential projects require some kind of safety and security features. These features can
be solved using various types of solutions. The solution must be selected based on the requirement
of the family. All security systems come with several default features. These features should be
explained properly to the end customer to ensure the full usage of the system.