Increase safety with a hard-wired pool alarm

Attention all homeowners! We’re currently in talks with a security company about some new, more robust pool alarms. We’re encouraging all homeowners to have them fitted. Please read on to find out why.

Earlier this month, we received extremely sad news about a drowning on the Windsor Hills resort community. While this thankfully didn’t affect any of our homeowners directly or involve any of the homes we manage, we are keen to do what we can to ensure that we never receive such sad news about one of our properties.

We want to support you to do everything you can to keep your guests safe.

To that end, we’ve been in contact with a local security company with a view to beefing up pool safety for our guests. We’re recommending that homeowners fit an integrated pool alarm on the pool access doors.

If you don’t currently have a pool alarm, or the one you do have is battery operated, please consider fitting one of these in your homes.

As well as making your property safer for guests, these pool alarms come with the added benefit that they prevent guests from leaving the pool doors open. This means that any air conditioning that’s running won’t be trying to cool down the outside areas – saving you from excessive electricity bills!

Why should I fit a pool alarm?

A pool alarm sounds an alarm whenever the pool access door is opened without first pressing the alarm button located beside the door. It is designed for guests who are travelling with young children, so they stay alert to where their kids are in the home at any one time. Simply, it means that should a young child open the door to the pool without an adult with them to press the button, the alarm will sound and the parents can swiftly get poolside.

We think its a great addition that really makes a difference for families travelling with toddlers and small children – both in terms of safety and peace of mind.

Why should I swap my battery-operated pool alarm for a hard-wired pool alarm?

The security company we are speaking with highly recommends a hard-wired design. It means that you don’t need to worry about batteries running out and the alarm not working.

Dead batteries in an alarm could make the property less safe as the unworking pool alarm would give parents have a false sense of security that they will be notified if the pool doors are opened.

Since a hard-wired alarm can’t run out of batteries, you avoid this safety issue.

You will save on any battery-related callouts, as well. If our groundcrew are called out to change the batteries in your pool alarm, you’ll be charged for a callout as well as for the batteries – just a few of these events would pay for the hard-wired alarm to be fitted!

How does the alarm work?

The alarm unit is mounted on the wall beside the pool door at adult height, so children can’t reach it to press the button.

The alarm runs to the nearest outlet/ electricity socket, where a transformer will be screwed into the outlet with a security screw so that it can’t be removed.

You’ll need an alarm for each door that accesses the pool area. You can also choose to have a unit added upstairs if you wish to ensure the alarm is heard around the property.

The alarms are designed to be very loud and screeching. It’s designed that way to ensure that it will be heard – even if you’re in the shower with an earful of water!

The security company is currently working to a two to three-week lead time because they are very busy fitting the alarms for homes at present. So the sooner you can let us know your interest, the better.

What will it cost to have the hard-wired pool alarm fitted in my home?

The first unit is charged at $295.

If you need a second unit for another pool door, this is also charged at $295.

Subsequent units (if you have more than two pool access doors) are charged at $245.

If you need power to run elsewhere (e.g. upstairs) this would incur and additional charge of $99.

Anything else I need to know?

The security company also recommends Infinite patio cal-locks for slider doors. This is a double-bolt system that requires the user to lift it up and down simultaneously to open the door. They are $69 installed and they can be installed at the same time as the pool alarms. As well as working to child-proof the access doors, these cal-locks also help prevent would-be thieves from being able to shimmy the sliding door.

What next?

If you would like to install either of these security features in your home, please reach out to our team. We’re taking bookings now, and we’re happy to answer any further questions you might have about the alarms and locks.