Instead of fitting out every window individually, an infrasound alarm system monitors the entire building envelope at once. We explain how our patented Triometik sensor technology detects genuine break-in attempts – and why cheap infrasound copies have left the idea with a poor reputation.
Pressure-based intrusion detection is not new as an idea. What decides whether it protects a home or annoys it with false alarms is the analysis behind the sensor – and that is exactly where a German-engineered, patented implementation parts ways with the cheap copies sold worldwide.
WE Elektronik develops and manufactures the SchutzAktiv Exklusiv and its Triometik sensor technology in-house in Norden, East Frisia. For readers comparing perimeter-protection technologies from abroad, that origin is worth understanding: infrasound as a burglar-alarm principle has been copied superficially by many vendors, which is why a web search often turns up as many complaints as endorsements. The difference is not the physics of low-frequency pressure waves – it is whether the system merely trips over a raw threshold or actually recognises the pattern of a genuine break-in.
That distinction shows up most clearly in real buildings. In a home with a dog or cat, whole-envelope pressure sensing means there is no indoor motion detector to trip, so the system can stay armed at night. In a glass-fronted property, or a period building where drilling into original frames is out of the question, a single wireless control panel covers every window, basement light-well and roof hatch at once – no detector to mount at each opening, no renovation damage. And because detection happens during the prying, before a pane is even broken, the alarm falls in the attempt phase, where a would-be intruder can still be deterred rather than merely recorded after the fact.
Infrasound is sound at a very low frequency, below the range the human ear can perceive. You do not feel it, yet it is measurably present everywhere inside the building – and it reacts sensitively to changes at doors and windows.
Anyone who pushes a door open, pries up a window or deforms a frame changes the air pressure inside for a brief moment. These low-frequency pressure waves spread through the whole house, much as ripples travel across a water surface. A single infrasound sensor in one location can therefore register them everywhere. That is exactly what makes the principle so interesting for burglary protection: you do not need a separate detector at every entry point to notice that something is being worked on somewhere against the building.
The second advantage is timing. Conventional sensors only respond once something has already happened – the pane shatters, the window contact breaks, someone walks through the room. Pressure waves, by contrast, arise while the intruder is still prying and pushing. Detection thus shifts forward, into the attempt phase, where deterrence can still take effect.
Measuring pressure waves is the easy part. The real skill lies in reliably telling a genuine break-in attempt apart from the hundred harmless pressure changes of a normal day. This is where our patented Triometik sensor technology comes in.
Cheap systems trigger as soon as the pressure exceeds a fixed value. Triometik, by contrast, compares the course of the signal with the characteristic signature of a prying attempt – so not just the "how strong" but the "how".
Instead of relying on a single pressure signal, the sensor technology evaluates several quantities in parallel. Only their interplay yields a reliable picture – like a fingerprint made up of many features.
Because the pattern takes priority over a crude threshold, the system can be set to be sensitive. It detects the attempt early without raising an alarm at every slamming door.
This pattern recognition is the reason infrasound works for us where other implementations fail. You will find more on the technology and the alerting chain behind it in our overview of infrasound and GSM technology
A conventional system is only as good as the spots where a detector sits. Forget a basement window or the roof hatch, and an open flank remains there. The infrasound alarm system does not have this problem: it monitors the entire building envelope with a single control panel.
Because the pressure waves spread through the whole house, the measuring principle physically captures every access point as well – including those that are easily overlooked when planning individual detectors. That reduces not only the number of devices but also the sources of error: fewer components, fewer batteries, fewer points at which something can fail.
Entire building envelope active
Glass-break detectors, motion detectors and magnetic contacts all have their place. Yet they usually detect the break-in only once it is already under way. The overview below shows where infrasound early detection takes a different approach.
| Feature | Infrasound & Triometik | Conventional detectors |
|---|---|---|
| Timing of detection | ✓ During prying, before entry | — Only on breakage or movement |
| Building coverage | ✓ Entire envelope with one panel | — Only the fitted-out spots |
| False-alarm behaviour | ✓ Pattern recognition filters out everyday events | — Prone to it depending on sensor type |
| Compatibility with pets | ✓ No indoor motion detector needed | — Motion detectors react to animals |
| Installation | ✓ Wireless, without drilling | — Mount a detector at every access point |
Which protection makes sense for your home depends on the property. For an overview of all the building blocks, see our guide to effective burglary protection for house and apartment
In some circles infrasound has a mixed reputation – and there is an understandable reason for that. It is not the principle that is the problem, but how cheaply it has often been implemented.
In recent years a number of providers have adopted the concept only superficially: a simple pressure sensor, a fixed threshold, barely any real signal analysis. Set such a system to be sensitive and it constantly reports harmless events – wind, a passing truck, a slammed door. Turn it down to be less sensitive and it misses the real break-in. A pure threshold technology cannot escape this dilemma.
That is exactly why we did not copy the principle but developed it from the ground up and had it patented. Triometik evaluates not only the strength of a pressure change but its pattern. This allows the sensor to be set sensitively without drowning in a flood of false alarms – while staying alert enough to notice the attempt early. Talk is cheap, so on request we demonstrate the detection directly at your premises: you see with your own eyes how the control panel detects a simulated break-in and cleanly separates it from everyday noise.
Read the full story behind the prejudices in our article Infrasound: prejudices and the difference Triometik makes
An infrasound alarm system detects the break-in attempt early. But what good is the best early detection if the alert gets stuck at the wrong moment? That is why, with us, detection is firmly tied to self-sufficient alerting.
Our control panel does not rely on Wi-Fi, a router or an app sending push notifications. It uses a built-in mobile module and, in an emergency, calls all the stored contacts one after another – in addition to an SMS. A phone call wakes you at night, where a silent notification goes unnoticed. And because the alerting chain has its own radio path and its own power reserve, it still works even when an intruder tries to cut the power or internet line.
How this independent alerting works in detail is explained on the page about the GSM alarm system without Wi-Fi and internet
Yes. Infrasound is a well-researched physical phenomenon: every attempt to pry or force an opening changes the air pressure inside the building in a measurable way. What matters is not the principle but the analysis. Our patented Triometik sensor technology reliably recognises the typical pressure pattern of a break-in – and on request we demonstrate this proof of function live, at your premises.
This is exactly where good technology separates from cheap technology. Simple pressure sensors react to anything that generates pressure. Triometik instead evaluates several measurands at the same time and compares them with the characteristic pattern of a genuine break-in. Wind, passing traffic or a slamming door have a different signature and therefore do not trigger an alarm.
No. Infrasound detection monitors the building envelope, not movement inside the living space. Because the armed perimeter protection needs no motion detector indoors, your dog and cat can move freely around the home without triggering an alarm – a common reason why conventional systems are never even armed at night.
As a rule, no. A single control panel monitors the entire building at once – including the spots people rarely think of with individual detectors, such as basement windows or roof hatches. Additional components such as smoke, water or panic alarms can be integrated into the same system if needed, but they are not a requirement for burglary protection on its own.
Triometik is our own patented sensor and analysis technology for infrasound. Instead of a single, crudely evaluated pressure signal, it captures several physical measurands in parallel and continuously compares them with the patterns of genuine break-in attempts. This keeps the system sensitive enough for early detection without raising an alarm at every harmless everyday event.
Yes, but ideally the system reports even earlier. Infrasound already detects the prying at the window, that is, before any glass breaks. If a pane does shatter, it produces a clear pressure change that is registered as well. The real advantage, however, lies in early detection: the alarm comes during the attempt, not only once the damage has been done.
A glass-break sensor listens for the sound of shattering glass, and a vibration sensor reacts to knocks on the exact surface it is fixed to – both respond only at the point where they are mounted, and only once force is applied. Infrasound instead measures low-frequency pressure changes that spread through the whole building, so a single control panel notices prying at any window or door and reacts during the attempt rather than after the damage. With Triometik it is the pressure pattern, not a raw threshold, that decides – which is what keeps everyday events from triggering an alarm.
Yes, and it is often the more considerate choice. Because the whole building envelope is monitored from one wireless control panel, there are no contacts to screw onto historic window frames and no cable runs to chase into original walls. That makes infrasound protection well suited to listed properties, older homes and rented flats where altering the fabric of the building is restricted, while still covering openings that are easy to overlook, such as basement windows and roof hatches.
How infrasound detection and self-sufficient GSM alerting work together.
View infrasound and GSM technologyWhy the alert runs over the mobile network – entirely without Wi-Fi and an app.
Discover the GSM alarm systemSchutzAktiv Exklusiv: the heart that unites infrasound and the alerting chain.
Discover SchutzAktiv ExklusivWhether infrasound is the right solution for your property is best clarified in a conversation – honest, easy to understand and, on request, with a live demonstration at your premises. The on-site consultation is free of charge.
Manufacturer based in Norden, Lower Saxony – at your service throughout Germany. We develop and produce our alarm systems in East Frisia and advise, deliver and install nationwide. In your region too: get in touch with our location.