Overheard a home owner say 'it's just a sensor' and I had to bite my tongue

Went to a service call in a new build last week and the guy was waving off a bad door contact like it was no big deal. One bypass later and his whole system is blind on that zone. How do you explain redundancy to someone who thinks a single point of failure is fine?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilykelly1mo ago

Caught a podcast where a guy called those sensors "pretend security" and honestly that's stuck with me ever since. Having just one point of protection is like locking your front door but leaving the window wide open behind you.

nguyen.tara1mo ago

@lilykelly I get what that podcast guy was saying about "pretend security" but honestly I think people get a little dramatic about this stuff. I mean yeah, one bad sensor isn't great, but it's not like the whole house is suddenly wide open. Most break-ins aren't some heist movie where they probe for weaknesses, they're usually just someone kicking in a door or smashing a window. So one door contact being bypassed? That's annoying for sure, but the rest of the system still works fine. It's not ideal but calling it "pretend" feels like overselling the danger a bit. People act like a single faulty sensor means you might as well have no alarm at all, which just isn't true.