Perimeter Security Array Design and Installation

A Perimeter Security Array is a series of parallel wires that block access to an area.

The wires are run close together – usually 3″ to 6″ apart – so that they have to be pushed apart or broken to get through. They’re run high enough that they can’t be jumped over.

An electrical current is then run through the wires to detect tampering. By running an opposite charge through alternating wires in the array, it can be detected if the wires are shorted together, or if a jumper wire is attached in an attempt to bypass the array.

There are three ways a current can be run through a perimeter security array:

Low voltage currents of 12 to 100 volts can detect tampering with the array but are harmless when the wires are touched. These are often used in urban settings, adjacent to parks, playgrounds, etc.

High voltage currents can be used which will electrocute anything that touches the array. These arrays are usually protected on both sides by another fence that keeps animals and people out of incidental contact with the array.

We recommend high-voltage, low amperage pulsed currents, like those used in electric fences for livestock control. A voltage of 5,000 to 25,000 volts is pulsed onto the array for about 0.00005 seconds, once a second. This is enough to give a painful shock but is harmless to people or animals. The equipment we use to do this is UL listed, which means its been tested and rated “safe for human use.”

Perimeter security array overview:

We Are Security Specialists

Here at Intelligent Fencing Systems we’ve specialized in perimeter security for over 10 years and have been in the security business for over 40.

We build safe, effective, reliable perimeter security systems that have never been defeated.

We build pulse-type high voltage systems, then monitor the actual voltage on the fence at all times, generating an alarm any time an array is cut, shorted or grounded. Our systems are so smart that they warn you when the voltage on your fence is falling due to vegetation growth, and let you know it’s time to cut back the weeds or brush.

The high voltage pulse makes it impossible to climb the fence or array. The alternating electrified and grounded wires trigger an alarm if you try to push through the wires, or throw something like a mattress over it. Cutting the array also generates an alarm.

In 10 years nobody has ever defeated one of our systems.

The patented, computerized Fence Hawk™ monitor we use is able to detect the difference between minor breaches like wildlife and vegetation, and serious breaches like intruders or cut wires. This logic system prevents false alarms. No other system on the market today can do this as reliably.

Perimeter Security Alternatives

Guards are effective perimeter protection as long as they have good vantage points to view the area and can be trusted to stay alert and honest. Very expensive.

Fence shake and motion detectors cost three or four times as much as our systems, and are subject to false alarms every time the wind gusts up or a squirrel climbs your fence. These forms of systems are usually used in conjunction with a reduced guard force.

Motion detectors, laser beams and cameras can cost ten times as much as our systems. They’re effective as long as you’re willing to pay a human being to keep an eye on the system 24/7. Expensive and limited effectiveness.

Our systems are bribe-proof, they never sleep, and cost a fraction to install compared to other forms of perimeter security. All-in-all, they are the most cost-effective form of perimeter security protection there is, AND the most reliable. Intruders don’t just decrease when you install an electrified security array, they go to zero, instantly.

Perimeter security alternatives:

Compare the Competition

There are five other brands of electric security array monitors besides the Fence Hawk. All others use an antiquated method of monitoring the fence voltage, patented almost 35 years ago.

The computerized, patent pending, made-in-the-USA Fence Hawk™ that we use measures the actual voltage on the line, and makes decisions based on the current voltage state over time. That’s how it prevents false alarms and other bad decisions.

We believe that a system that generates false alarms is worse than no security system at all.

Converting Electric Guard Dog and Gallagher Fences

We have two major imitators:

The first is Gallagher, who developed the 1970′s monitoring patent, and is still using it today. The problem with this technology is that it doesn’t detect the decrease of the voltage over time due to vegetation, corrosion or equipment aging. The intermittent high voltage can fall so low as to be ineffective, and unless you’re regularly testing your array with a high-speed digital voltmeter, you won’t realize it until it’s too late.

The other company is Electric Guard Dog. They use the antiquated Gallagher technology and equipment. Their business model is not to sell the system, but to install it and lease it to you at greatly inflated prices, said lease to run forever.

For what Electric Guard Dog charges for a leased system, you can pay for a commercially installed high voltage perimeter security array in two years or less. If you install the array yourself, typical payback is one year vs. Electric Guard Dog prices.

How to install a high voltage array inside a chain link fence:

Click on the icon in the bottom right corner for full screen video.
For downloadable videos, click here.

Kits to Replace Electric Guard Dog and Gallagher

We offer kits to replace the electronics in Electric Guard Dog and Gallagher installations. The contents are based on how much you let them remove when you cancel your contract.

Let us make this plain: Our systems are all a one-time deal, a one-time price, an outright sale. We do not charge you hundreds of dollars a month for the rest of your life. You pay for our systems only once; lease purchase is available.

The typical replacement scenario is this:

1) Electric Guard Dog notifies you that your lease is up, and they are going to renew it automatically for you, often at even more than you’re currently paying.

2) You call us and we ship you a basic Electric Guard Dog or Gallagher replacement kit:
http://perimetersecurityarray.com/?page_id=41#guarddog

Whether you want central station monitoring, or a dialer system that calls you in case of an alarm, or bells, whistles or sirens, we can supply all of those in a kit, with free engineering and technical support.

3) You call Electric Guard Dog and refuse to pay, and request that they remove their system. You schedule a date for them to do so.

4) They show up and remove their electronics, leaving everything else.

In our opinion, the only thing Electric Guard Dog can legally remove is their electronics and monitoring equipment. The actual fiberglass array poles and wiring is your property because it’s permanently installed.

If you’re renting an apartment and hang up a picture, it’s only hanging on the wall and you’re allowed to take it with you. But when you install a new window, or anything physically attached to the dwelling, it immediately becomes the property of the owner and you’re required by law to leave it. In our opinion, that applies to your perimeter security array – the posts and the wiring.

5) After Electric Guard Dog has left you email us photos or call us with a list of what you have and what’s been removed, and we respond with installation sketches, wiring diagrams and a materials list of anything else you may need. We’ll help you utilize what’s left, and replace what’s needed. In most cases our “basic replacement kit” will contain everything that you need. Replacement time can take as little as thirty minutes.

6) When you go to work the next morning your trucks, tools and heavy equipment – all the stuff that was left outside – is still there, waiting for you and ready to go. No theft, no vandalism, no problems, and no lifetime of payments to Electric Guard Dog.

The patent pending, computerized Fence Hawk and how it works:

Alarm System Integration

Fence Hawk systems are designed to be integrated with any form or brand of security system in the world and can easily be added to your office security system.

Our system can be installed as stand-alone with sirens, strobe lights and/or a phone dialer, or it can be integrated with existing security systems for access control, intruder detection, or integrated security, where zones can be disabled and enabled.

It’s a flexible and smart system. If you don’t have an alarm panel already, we can supply a pre-programmed one for a low, one-time price. We can also supply UL-approved Central Station Alarm Monitoring for $30 a month.

If you already have an alarm system, we’re happy to work with your installer. Hooking up our system is as simple as connecting any motion detector or smoke alarm to your existing security panel.

If you’re an alarm company, security company, fence company, hardware store, feed store, government agency, nursery, or wholesaler, retailer or dealer, please contact us. We’d love to work with you and give you sales and installation referrals.

More short, entertaining videos on installing a perimeter security array:
http://YouTube.com/FenceHawk

If you prefer, we have a division that will do perimeter security and alarm installations and conversions for you, and also has lease plans (with $1 buyouts): FenceGuardian.com

Our online store: http://intelligentfencing.com/store/