Had a customer in Austin tell me her system was 'too loud' at 3 AM

She lived in a townhouse with thin walls. The siren went off during a false alarm from a spider web on the motion detector. The whole street woke up. She asked if I could lower the volume. Told her that's not really a thing with UL listed panels. Ended up putting a wireless siren in her garage instead. Has anyone else dealt with noise complaints on residential installs?

3 comments

3 Comments

joel_butler1mo ago

Mentioned to a buddy at the alarm shop that UL listing doesn't actually mandate a specific decibel level, just that it's audible at a certain distance. So technically you could swap in a lower rated siren and still be code compliant, assuming it hits the required sound pressure at the panel.

the_stella1mo ago

Huh, never really thought about it that way but I think you're onto something there.

nancythomas1mo ago

Say you buddy is onto something for sure. Honestly, UL standards are more about the system working as a whole, not nitpicking one buzzer. I’ve seen people swap out horns for quieter ones and still pass inspection because the sound pressure was just barely there. So yeah, if you can prove the siren hits that SPL at the panel, you’re golden. Ngl, it’s the kind of loophole that makes you wonder how much of the code is really about safety versus just selling expensive gear.