Overheard a customer say her alarm went off because of a ghost

I was installing a new panel in a 1970s house outside Cleveland last Wednesday and the homeowner comes in laughing. She said her old alarm used to trigger at 3am every night until she moved a floor lamp away from the motion sensor. Turns out the lamp's heat from the bulb was setting it off, not any ghost. Made me check placement way more carefully on every job now. Has anyone else run into weird false alarm causes that aren't in the manual?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_kim6318d ago

Did you ever check how much the lamp was heating up that area or just moved it and called it good? I had a buddy who chased a false alarm for weeks caused by a space heater in a hallway, but it only kicked on when the house temp dropped enough. Seems like heat sources throw off passive sensors more than the manuals ever mention.

richard_ramirez18d ago

Pretty sure my own alarm system called me out once for being the ghost. I set it off coming home late and stumbling right in front of the sensor. Manual definitely didn't cover that level of clumsiness.