Service and maintenance

John Kelly of

Hello installers
Does anyone know the exact situation officially re service and maintenance of alarms?
Do the standards require an annual service in order for alarm to remain up to standard?
I know that in practice very few people bother with this.

KoolKid

Regular servicing is a requirement of EN50131.

John Kelly of

thanks, I was too lazy to read the standard.
do you know would this apply to older alarms as well? pre En50131? or do they have an exemption? what I mean is that since they are not up to en50131 anyhow then what is the situation with them?
It is my impression when it comes to insurance companies and discounts that they dont really enforce anything on people

KoolKid

Insurance companies don't care what people have untill they make a claim. If the insurance policy states EN50131 then they will look for the last time it was serviced in the event of a claim. If anything else is stated them regular service will not be a requirement. The onus would still be on the home owner to ensure the system is working though.

John Kelly of

thanks again.
I just checked on quinn insurance and they simply state "does your property have a burglar alarm?"
well thats on the online quote form.
I suppose that means they dont care about en50131 then
I get the impression that this would be typical and that is why most people never get their alarms serviced

altor

Thats ok saying that online to get a quote but what you sign is a different story when it comes to a claim.