Detection layer

Motion & Glass Break Sensor Installation in San Mateo, CA

The detection layer, placed against how people actually get into houses on the Peninsula.

Have your openings assessed — (650) 414-4958
A wall-mounted security sensor covering an interior room in a San Mateo home

Detection Is Where a System Succeeds or Annoys You

Sensors are the part of a system homeowners think least about and live with most. Get security sensor installation in San Mateo right and the alarm is quiet for years and then catches the one event that matters. Get it wrong and it fires at the cat, at a draft through an old sash window, or at the heater kicking on, until the household stops arming it entirely. San Mateo Home Security treats placement and sensitivity as a design problem specific to your house. A Shoreview single-story with sliders onto a fenced yard has a completely different exposure profile from a three-story Aragon home where the reachable openings are all at the front. We identify which openings a person could realistically use, which interior paths anyone moving through the house has to cross, and which elevations justify glass break coverage.

What Gets Installed and Tuned

Coverage is layered — perimeter first, interior second, environmental third — so a single defeated sensor never leaves the house blind.

  1. 01

    Exterior door contacts

    Every exterior door, including the garage service door and any side entrance, gets a magnetic contact aligned so a properly closed door reads closed every time.

  2. 02

    Reachable window contacts

    Windows accessible from the ground, a fence, a low roof, or a deck are contacted, while genuinely unreachable openings are left off so you are not paying for coverage that adds nothing.

  3. 03

    Sliding door and French door coverage

    Sliders get contacts positioned for the actual travel of the panel, with additional detection where the glass itself is the weak point.

  4. 04

    Pet-immune interior motion sensors

    PIR sensors are mounted to cover the movement paths between rooms, selected and calibrated so a dog or cat under a set weight does not trip them.

  5. 05

    Glass break detectors

    Acoustic detectors are placed to cover the rooms with large or exposed glazing, tuned to the frequency signature of breaking glass rather than any loud noise.

  6. 06

    Interior pathway and stairwell coverage

    Hallways and stair landings are covered because anyone moving through the house must pass them, which catches an entry we did not anticipate.

  7. 07

    Water and flood sensors

    Sensors go under water heaters, beneath sinks, and near washer connections, which is the failure that quietly does the most damage to a house.

  8. 08

    Smoke and carbon monoxide sensing

    Monitored smoke and CO detection reports to the central station, so a fire in an empty house is not waiting on a neighbor to hear the alarm.

  9. 09

    Sensitivity tuning for the household

    Entry delays, sensor thresholds, and pet settings are adjusted around your real routine, which is what prevents the false-alarm cycle from starting.

  10. 10

    Full zone testing and labeling

    Every sensor is tripped, confirmed at the panel, and named in plain language, so the app tells you "kitchen slider" instead of "zone 14."

How Sensor Coverage Gets Planned

01

Walk the Openings

The technician goes door to door and window to window with you, noting what is reachable, what is already secured, and what a person would actually try. Interior paths and glazing get assessed at the same time. You receive a zone-by-zone list with a flat-rate written price attached.

02

Mount and Program

Sensors are fitted, aligned, and programmed into the panel one zone at a time. Contacts are positioned for reliable magnet alignment, motion sensors are set at the correct height and angle for pet immunity, and glass break detectors are placed within range of the glazing they cover. Most homes are completed within a day.

03

Trip Everything, Then Tune

Every zone is deliberately triggered and confirmed, and where monitoring is active the station confirms each signal. We then adjust delays and sensitivity based on how the household moves, and revisit settings if anything misbehaves in the first weeks. A system that never cries wolf is one that stays armed.

Coverage That Does Not Punish You

False Alarms Are Treated as a Defect

Repeat false alarms cost you money and cost you the response. We treat a recurring trip as something to diagnose and fix, not as an unavoidable side effect of owning an alarm.

Pet Households Are Planned For, Not Apologized To

Pet-immune sensors only work when they are chosen and mounted correctly for the animal in question. We ask about the pets before we specify anything, and we adjust after if the dog surprises us.

Layered So One Gap Is Not a Hole

Perimeter contacts, interior motion, and glass break each catch what the others miss. Defeating one still leaves an intruder crossing the next layer, which is the difference between coverage and a single tripwire.

  • Licensed & Insured
  • Flat-Rate Written Pricing
  • Pet-immune motion coverage
  • Water, smoke and CO sensing available
  • False-alarm reduction included

Find Out Which Openings Are Actually Exposed

Most homeowners are surprised by which windows a technician flags and which ones turn out to be irrelevant. The walkthrough gives you a zone list and a fixed price, and it usually costs less than the mental version people have been carrying around.

(650) 414-4958Get your openings assessed — (650) 414-4958