Where should I place home security sensors?

Home security sensors are an essential part of any home security system, helping you catch intruders even when you’re fast asleep or away from home. These sensors are specially designed to detect human motion and heat signatures instead of your pets, making them a highly accurate and effective part of your home security system alongside your indoor cameras, outdoor cameras, video doorbell, and SimpliSafe base station.

However, you may be hampering the effectiveness of your security sensors by installing them in the wrong place. To ensure you get the most out of your SimpliSafe sensors and overall security system, here are our top tips on where our home security sensor products should be placed.

Types of security sensors and how they work

Here at SimpliSafe, we offer multiple types of sensors to cover as many areas of your home as possible for comprehensive security. In addition to our range of home safety sensors, including our temperature sensors, water sensors and smoke detectors, we stock the following security sensors specifically for detecting home intruders:

Motion Sensors

A motion sensor does exactly what it says on the tin. Most home security motion sensors use passive infrared scanning (PIR) to detect heat, but you can also find some microwave sensors, ultrasonic sensors, vibration sensors and combined PIR and microwave sensors on the market. By detecting heat, motion sensors can identify a person’s body heat and therefore detect when someone is moving across its range of vision. This will trigger an alarm when the sensor is armed.

Our motion sensors have an impressive range of 35 ft. and a 90º field of view, allowing them to protect an entire room from a single location – which is beneficial for covert home security. Plus, our advanced sensors can tell the difference between a human heat signature and the heat signature of your pets, so you don’t need to worry about your pets triggering your home security system by mistake. 

Entry Sensors

Entry sensors, also known as contact sensors, are specifically designed for protecting your home’s main access points – such as your front door, back door and ground-floor windows. An entry sensor features two parts connected by a strong magnetic field. SimpliSafe entry sensors have a magnet that can go on the door or window and a sensor that can go on the frame (or vice versa), with a maximum distance of 2 inches between them. If the magnet moves more than 2 inches away from the sensor, the alarm will be triggered to signal that someone has opened the door or window.

Glassbreak Sensors

Our innovative glassbreak sensors are designed to detect the distinct sound of glass breaking from up to 20 feet away, so if an intruder breaks a window to gain access to your home, you’ll be instantly alerted. This type of home security sensor is perfect for rooms with lots of windows or sliding doors, especially in combination with a properly placed motion detector.

Where’s the best place to put home security system sensors?

Choosing the right home security sensors to add to your custom-built SimpliSafe home security system is only the first step. To ensure you get optimal performance from your security sensors, you need to know how and where to install them.

Where to install Motion Sensors

Install motion sensors in rooms you most want to protect, such as high-traffic areas like your living room, staircase or hallways. You should also cover rooms with lots of valuables (like jewellery), such as your master bedroom. 

The aim with your motion sensors is to ensure as much of the room as possible is covered by the sensor’s field of vision. To do this, we recommend placing your home security system motion sensor in the corner of the room at around 6-8 feet above the floor. Ideally you should simply mount it on the wall, but if you choose to place it on a shelf at least 6 feet above the floor, make sure it’s sitting flat and has an unobstructed view of the room. Remember that motion sensors are best at detecting side-to-side movement rather than movement directly towards or away from them, so keep this in mind when deciding where to put sensors in high-traffic areas like hallways, staircases and access points.

Because motion sensors detect motion through body heat, their performance can be reduced if there are large objects or walls in the way, so wherever you install your motion sensor, check that the high-traffic areas of the room (such as directly by the door) are in clear view. On the other hand, if you specifically want to protect a large, expensive item (such as your TV), you can choose to place your motion sensor behind it, so that if a burglar moves this item, the motion sensor will immediately detect this – and the sensor will initially be hidden from the intruder’s view!

Keep your motion sensor away from heat sources or direct sunlight. Since it works by detecting heat, sunlight or radiators can trigger a false alarm. 

Where to install Entry Sensors

Entry sensors are specifically designed to detect when a door or window opens, so you should install them on common access points in your home – like your front door, ground-floor windows, and any side doors or back doors. These are the most likely places for an intruder to attempt to break in.

Our entry sensors will only be triggered when there’s more than 2 inches between the magnet and sensor, so they’ll fit a wide variety of different door and window sizes and styles. Test the alignment of both parts of the device before adhering them to the door or window frame. Our entry sensors feature simple peel and stick installation, so once you’re happy with the placement, you can peel off the adhesive backing and secure the components in place. 

Where to install Glassbreak Sensors

SimpliSafe Glassbreak sensors can detect the frequency of glass breaking up to 20 feet away, so you should install your sensors up to 20 feet from the windows you want to monitor. You can either adhere your sensor to the wall or place it on a nearby shelf. 

However, thick fabric can dull the sound of breaking glass, so install your glassbreak sensor around 5-10 feet away from your window if you have heavy curtains. Plus, the sound of glass clinking can trigger false alarms, so you may not want to place your glassbreak sensor in your kitchen. Any other room with plenty of windows or sliding glass doors – such as a living room or conservatory – would be the ideal location.

Where not to install home security sensors

By following the advice laid out above, you should be getting the maximum effectiveness out of your home security system. But before you get started with installing your security cameras and sensors, here are key things to avoid when installing your new sensors:

• Don’t install motion sensors in direct sunlight or next to heat sources, as this can confuse the sensor and lead to false alarms or missed intruders.

• Don’t install sensors where they’re obstructed by large objects, walls or furniture. Ensure they have a good field of view by installing them 6-8 feet from the floor in the corner of the room – even better if they cover high-traffic areas like hallways, staircases and doorways.

• Don’t forget upper floors – whilst it’s more common for intruders to enter through your front door or ground-floor windows, some burglars may try to avoid ground-floor security systems by entering through an upper-floor window. Install motion sensors in all rooms containing valuables to ensure your home security system is comprehensive, including upstairs bedrooms.

• Don’t forget your basement (if you have one) – similar to the point above, a burglar could attempt to bypass your security system by entering through the basement. Stop them in their tracks with sensors in the basement or covering the staircase up to the ground floor.

Home security system sensors work best when paired with indoor cameras, outdoor cameras and video doorbells as part of a comprehensive home security system, all controlled with ease from a central Base Station. Discover our SimpliSafe home security packages to find one with all the right devices for the size of your home, or build your own system to customise it to your exact needs. No matter the size or configuration of your home, we can help you keep it secure to protect your valuables and peace of mind. 

Want 24/7 home protection? Add our professional monitoring service to your home security package to get all alerts sent to a 24/7 professional monitoring centre, so you never need to worry about missing notifications from your system while you’re away. Get in touch to learn more or get personalised installation advice from our customer service team.