Zoning issues and dualtec PIR issue

[Guest bacoms]

This is my first post so before I go any further, "Hi all". Great site with lots of useful help and advice.

My reason for posting is that I'm looking at installing a moderately priced security system that's going to be reliable and durable. My first thoughts were to buy an off-the-shelf system (from the likes of Screwfix or B & Q) but have moved away from that as I want decent PIRs (dual tech) and a smarter looking bell-box (that's not white).

Trying to put my own system together from individual components has made me realise just how much I don't know about how a modern domestic security system works. Here are some examples of my ignorance:

As I live in a bungalow in which the bedrooms are all grouped at one end and the living areas at the other with the main entrance in-between, I thought dividing the house up into a living areas zone, a bedrooms zone and a garage/workshop zone, each covered by one or more PIRs, would be right, right?

1st question: If the keypad is located in the hallway by the front-door and this hallway is covered by a PIR that's on the living areas zone, how do I arm this zone before retiring if I then have to walk through part of it to get to the bedrooms? Is arming delayed, just like when you leave the house, by an interval (preferably programmable) that would enable me to clear this zone before it is armed?

2nd question: If a PIR in an armed zone is triggered, does the alarm bell sound immediately or is there a similar delay sufficient for the alarm to be cancelled?

3rd question: Assuming that there is a delay before the alarm sounds, how can you tell a zone has been triggered? Presumably you can see from LEDs flashing on the control panel and, possibly, the remote keypad but do you hear anything such as a buzzer, preferably on the RKP. Is this what extension speakers are used for?

4th question: Regarding dualtec PIRs, I read in the forums here to 'avoid pointing detectors at false alarm sources like boilers or fires'. Given that I'm unlikely to have my coal-effect gas fire on when I go out, why should this be a problem? Is it because, should I turn the fire off just as I go out, the PIR detects a cooling heat source and thinks that it's movement? How critical is the distance between the PIR and the fire? (I've a situation in the lounge where the most appropriate position for the PIR is in one corner of the room almost opposite the fire about 6.5m away.)

I'd better stop there before I go into overdrive. (On re-reading this I realise that there are rather more than 4 questions but one question just seems to generate another.)

Thanks in advance for your patience with what to you folks are probably pretty dumb questions but your answers will, I'm sure, help me buy the right system rather than the wrong system. (this is from someone whose first VCR used the Betamax system of recording)

Regards,

Bryan

[FASTCAR]

Hi ,

Have a look at the spec of the Texecom R8 , you will see it has 8 zones , a FULL and a PART setting .The function of these zones can change depending on whether the system is full set or part set.So in full set the front door is the Ex/Ent route , and in part set the occupied bedrooms are ommited and the hall pir becomes timed .The timers are also adjustable per setting , giving a longer entry timer when PART set etc.