Sump Pump Alarms

For total fail-safe home basement protection

Sump pump alarms are designed to inform you when your cellar, basement, other area that you are protecting from flooding, has water building up. Although the pump will turn on automatically, you might still like to know when water is coming in, or you might prefer to set it as warning that the pump is having little or no effect.

A sump pump is needed when have a basement or cellar that can flood. This is a bigger problem for homes located near a river or other low land area where water can accumulate. Sometimes the water table rises in certain weather conditions, or there could be any one of many other reasons for the water level around your house to rise.

If you live in a flood prone area and your home has a basement, then you're already familiar with sump pumps and their roll in protecting your home. But you might not have a sump pump alarm.

Also commonly known as a high water alert system, the sump pump alarm is designed to sound off when the water level reaches a level that is preset by you. Just like the pump, it is usually electrically powered, and subject to outages just like the pump. A battery back-up system for the alarm would at least alert the occupant to the need for manual pumping or other action in the event of a pump failure.

When deciding on how high to set the alarm float sensor it's a good idea to set it just above the sump pumps sensor level. Doing this means you will only be alerted when there's a problem. Either the pump as failed or for whatever reason, the pump is unable to keep up with a heavy influx of water.

There can be many reasons for pump failure - a heavy storm that is creating the conditions suitable for water ingress into your basement, which can also cause a general power outage. Water can cause circuit breakers or GFI units to cut power or a mechanical breakdown - all of these can interrupt normal sump pumping cycles.

Most systems do have a battery back-up system, but this no help during a mechanical breakdown such as a motor that has burned up due to overuse or lack of maintenance. A sump pump alarm is designed to alert you of problems like this. What to do about it is another subject, but it would be wise to have some sort of backup or manual pump available.

One last thing about the difference between float switches and sensors - float switches work with some buoyant device that makes an electrical contact. As the water raises, so does the float until it triggers the electrical contact. A senor works by sensing a change in electrical resistance caused by contact with water. Sensors are more reliable than floats because there are no moving parts to stick, sink, or fail.

A sump pump alarm, then, can be used in two basic ways. Either to inform you when water is coming in, even though it has not yet reached a level high enough to activate the pump, or to sound an alarm when the water has risen so far that the pump is either not working or the water is coming in at a faster rate than the pump can handle.

Which way suites you best is your decision.