Like the proverbial frog-in-pot that gets used to the water temperature rising and doesn’t even realise it is going to be too late soon, the average South African has gotten used to load shedding as a way of life from day to day.  We arrange our day around the load shedding schedule – getting up earlier to make coffee, cooking dinner at 16:00, buying candles/ battery operated lights for the 22:00 outage, and the list goes on.

All areas of our lives, households and businesses are affected; included in the turmoil is our home and office security systems.

Most of our security systems need electricity to function properly, albeit motorized gates, electric fences, alarms, cameras, CCTV, etc.

With the recurring and prolonged power outages we are experiencing, our security systems are at risk.  Batteries fail due to constant discharging and not enough time to recharge. Security signals to security control rooms fail and are unreliable due to false alarms. Electric fences malfunction owing to constant power surges. Response times are influenced as traffic gets jammed up because of traffic lights that are off… Shall we continue?

The fact is that, in South Africa, at least for the time being, load shedding is our common expectation and we will have to make provision for it – be it by buying more candles, cooking earlier, or making sure that our security systems are supplemented somehow.

At Broubart, our client’s safety is important. Broubart suggests the following:

• Investing in alternative energy sources: solar panels, battery packs, inverters etc.
• Make sure your batteries are still in top working condition and able to provide sufficient power to your security systems during power outages.
• Assist your service provider by cancelling false alarms with the control room, prior to them dispatching a response vehicle.
• Make use of more traditional security measures if needed: use strong chains and locks to lock your motorised gate at night, make sure your burglar bars are intact and security gates are closed.
• Communicate to your control room if you find that your security system is compromised.

Take responsibility for your safety and let Broubart help you overcome the load shedding security blues, contact us today and have one of our team members assess your needs and propose a customised solution for consideration.