An alarm you will wake to,and a doorbell you will notice.
Alerting systems that turn the doorbell, the telephone, and the smoke alarm into a flashing light, a much louder sound, or a shaker under the pillow.
A smoke alarm only worksif it wakes you.
Every house in Victoria is required to have working smoke alarms, and for most households that is the end of the discussion. For somebody who is profoundly deaf, or whose hearing has gone in the frequencies an alarm uses, or who takes medication that makes them sleep heavily, a compliant alarm on the ceiling can sound all night in an empty-feeling house.
The same gap runs through the ordinary day. A doorbell that cannot be heard means a support worker standing outside, a delivery going back, and a visitor assuming nobody is home. A telephone that cannot be heard means the call from the hospital is missed.
An alerting system does not replace any of those devices. It adds a second channel — light, vibration, or a great deal more volume — so that the alarm, the doorbell, and the phone reach the person they were installed for.
What an alertingsystem covers.
Transmitters watch for an event; receivers turn it into something noticeable.
Doorbell alerts
A push button at the door, and a receiver that responds with a much louder chime, a flashing light, or both. The receiver can be portable, so it goes to the room the person is actually in rather than staying in the hall.
Smoke and fire alerts
A smoke transmitter that relays the alarm to a receiver in the bedroom, so the alert arrives where somebody is sleeping instead of only at the ceiling in the hallway.
Flash receivers
Bright, coloured light signals, with different colours identifying which event has occurred — the door, the telephone, or an emergency. Useful in a room where sound was never going to be the answer.
Bed shakers
A pad placed under the pillow or mattress that vibrates when a signal arrives. For most profoundly deaf people this is the component that actually does the waking, and it is the reason the system works at night.
Alarm clock receivers
A bedside clock that doubles as a receiver, so the same device that wakes somebody in the morning is the one that wakes them in a fire. One device, one place, nothing extra to remember.
Telephone alerts
An incoming call converted into a light or a vibration, and amplified where some hearing remains. It is the difference between a missed appointment and a returned call.
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What we can andcannot tell you.
Smoke alarms in Australia are governed by AS 3786, which sets what an alarm has to detect and how it has to behave. Photoelectric alarms — the type that responds best to smouldering fires, which is how most house fires that kill people begin — are what safety authorities recommend for domestic use, and a sealed long-life battery removes the flat-battery chirp that gets alarms disconnected.
What we will not do is repeat a manufacturer’s decibel ratings, radio ranges, or battery life figures back to you as though we had tested them. Those numbers belong to whoever made the equipment, and on this page they are safety claims rather than product specifications.
What we will do is tell you honestly which parts of an alerting system need a licensed electrician, which are self-contained, and how the pieces have to be laid out in a particular house so the bedroom is genuinely covered. Where a system is prescribed by an audiologist or an occupational therapist, we work to that specification.
Worth knowingbefore you specify one.
This adds to your smoke alarms, it does not replace them
A property still needs compliant smoke alarms installed and maintained in the required positions. An alerting system is a second channel on top of that obligation, not an alternative to it.
Power failures are the case that matters
A fire and a power cut arrive together more often than people expect. Battery backup on the receiver is what keeps the system working at the moment it is most needed, so it is one of the first things we check.
Systems expand, so start with the bedroom
Transmitters and receivers can be added later. If the budget only covers part of it now, cover the sleeping area first — that is where the risk is highest and where the person is least able to notice anything themselves.
Funding is often available
Alerting equipment is commonly funded under the NDIS, aged care packages, and DVA, and some states run their own subsidy schemes. Tell us the funding you hold and we will quote it in a form your provider can approve.
Brochuresand guides.
What an occupational therapist, audiologist, or plan manager needs to specify an alerting system.
Product brochures
- Home alerting system rangeComing soon
Quote request requirements
- Minor modifications — quote request requirementsComing soon
Questions
What people ask abouthome alerting systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is a home alerting system for?
Does an alerting system replace my smoke alarms?
What happens to the system in a power cut?
Can an alerting system be added to over time?
Can’t see your question? Call us on +61 3 8658 1358 — we’re happy to talk it through.
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