What happens to your security system during a power or NBN outage?
Alarm backup batteries, camera recording, Wi-Fi and remote access do different jobs. Here is what to check before an outage.
Short answer
Short answer
An alarm may keep protecting the property on its own backup battery, but cameras, the recorder, your router and the NBN equipment each need power too. Remote access also needs a working communications path. The only reliable answer is to check every link in your particular system rather than assuming one battery protects everything.
A power outage and an internet outage are different
During a power outage, every mains-powered part of the system needs its own source of backup power. During an NBN outage, powered local equipment may continue doing its job at the property while app access, alerts or monitoring paths that depend on the internet may be interrupted.
This is why a system should be discussed as a chain: the alarm panel, cameras, recorder, network switch, router, NBN connection equipment and any cellular backup all have a part to play.
What may continue locally
A maintained alarm battery can keep the alarm panel operating for a period. A camera system can keep recording locally only while its cameras, recorder and the network equipment between them remain powered. The exact behaviour depends on how the system was designed and maintained.
What usually disappears first
App access and off-site alerts rely on more than the security equipment. They also need the router and communications service. NBN advises that electronic equipment such as modems and Wi-Fi routers needs separate battery backup during a blackout, and recommends being prepared to be without internet and landline services for some time.
Four useful checks
- Ask when the alarm battery was last tested or replaced.
- Confirm which cameras, recorder, network switch and router are on backup power.
- Check whether the alarm has a cellular path that does not rely on the NBN connection.
- Test the arrangement safely instead of waiting for a real outage to reveal the gaps.
Official source: nbn: preparing for emergencies and outages(opens in a new tab)
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