The Best Driveway Alarm in 2022

Keeping a watchful eye on who’s pulling into your driveway or up to your house is important not just to know who’s coming but also for security purposes. Whether you’re in the kitchen or bedroom, installing a driveway alarm will help you know when someone visits your property. 

Plus, hooking one up to an existing alarm or home automation system can mean you get alerts on your phone wherever you happen to be at the time!

In this post, we are going to show you our top pick of driveway alarms and where they’ll work best. If you’re in a hurry, we have summarized the best driveway alarms below. Or if you want more details, go ahead and scroll down to check out our reviews.

Imagine when you’re at home late at night and suddenly someone pulls his car in front of your house. Or, you step into the laundry room for a few minutes and come out to see someone standing at your front door. 

A driveway alarm can help you avoid these situations by warning you ahead of time.

If you’re in an area where meth and other drugs are driving burglary rates up in recent years, I think investing in a driveway alarm system is worth every penny.

You may even want to consider installing a driveway gate and connecting it to your home automation system.

A driveway alarm consists of a sensor and receiver that detects vehicles, people, or animals stepping on your property (depending on the type of sensor). The sensor helps detect movements and sends notifications through a base station or your smartphone. You can use a driveway alarm as a standalone unit or integrate it as part of your home security system. When installed in a larger security system, a driveway sensor can be used to trigger cameras to automatically record a footage or send you notifications when someone is on your property.

Most homeowners tend to forget their driveway when installing a home security system without knowing that it can be a first line of defense against criminals.

The driveway sensors are typically installed outside your home where visitors or strangers will likely pass by when going to your house. When the sensors are triggered, the system will alert you through a beep or notification on your smartphone.

A driveway sensor is also very useful if you live in a rural area and you have a long driveway. And in addition to protecting you and your home, a driveway alarm can also help you protect your vehicles from being stolen if you keep them outside. 

Driveway alarms are available as wired or wireless, each having their pros and cons.

A wired driveway alarm is generally more reliable because it doesn’t need a battery to operate. You don’t have to be worried about checking and changing the batteries, especially when you’re out of town. However, installing a wired system could be inconvenient since you need to drill holes and wire your system to the nearest power source. If you are integrating it with a security system, you may need to plan how to wire it into your existing system to connect the driveway alarm sensor.

A wireless driveway alarm is easier to install compared to a wired alarm. You only need batteries to operate it so you don’t need to rewire your system to make room for the alarm. However, you do need to make sure that the batteries are full and change them from time to time when needed.

If you have a long driveway, you may need an alarm that provides a long range connection. Determine where you want to install your sensors and receivers so that you will know the distance the device should cover. If you choose a driveway alarm with a short range connection, it may not detect and alert you to motion accurately. Some of the best driveway alarms can transmit up to half a mile.

Check if the driveway alarm can be expanded to multiple sensors and the maximum number of units you can add. The expandability of the device will allow you to create multiple zones and cover more areas of your property.

Most of the units will be installed outside your house. Make sure that the units can withstand dust, wind, rain, and extreme weather conditions. Having a unit that’s rated IP67 would be great.

Wireless driveway alarms are in general more desirable because they are easier to install compared to wired devices. However, they can also be power hungry. We recommend you choose a device that’s low power and with batteries that are rechargeable. This will help you save money in the long run. Units that can be powered using a solar panel are also a great way to keep your units autonomous and free of worry about dead batteries.

Alarms with multiple alarm options will make your device flexible and more convenient to use. For example, if you want to install sensors in multiple zones, you can assign different alarm sounds so you will know easily where the alarm comes from. Audio modes like beep, LED flashing, or mute will also help you set your preferences.

Some driveway alarms can be too sensitive. An overly sensitive alarm may detect strong winds, rain or animals. Make sure you check the reviews of the device to learn about its sensitivity and frequency of false alarms for the types of things you’d like to detect and based on your possible sources of false alarms (deer, squirrels, etc.)

As mentioned above, driveway alarms are available as wired or wireless, each having their own pros and cons. However, wireless alarms are definitely convenient because they are easier to install and save you money and effort from burying cable.

If you have an existing home automation system, you can easily integrate a driveway alarm as part of the system. You can make this work using Z-wave, Zigbee, Bluetooth, Insteon, and many others.

To do this, you can add a window or door sensor which should be triggered by the sensors outside via the receiver. When the window/ door sensor is triggered, it will send a Z-Wave message to its registered hub and from there, you can set any of your home automation device that you want.

You can see the full instructions here.

Detection Range: 50 ft.

Transmission Range: 1,000 ft.

Sensor Style: Passive infrared

Power Source: 2 AA batteries for sensor, AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Bare minimum features
• LED counter to count sensor triggers

Cons:

• Price is too high for its limited features

If you’re a minimalist and don’t like to be confused with a lot of features, then Rodann could be the best option for you. The product comes with a single sensor and receiver that will send you an alarm when triggered. The unit is also small and inconspicuous, so even intruders will find it difficult to spot. The sensors are powered with two AA batteries while the receiver uses a 12-volts power supply. 

You can place the sensors at a maximum of 1,000 feet away from the receiver. However, the sensors have a limited detection range. The received comes with an LED that will notify you whenever the sensors are triggered.

Detection Range: 50 ft.

Transmission Range: 1,000 ft.

Sensor Style: Infrared sensor

Power Source: 2 AA batteries for sensor, AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Can be used with an external speaker for the alarm
• Can be mounted
• Comes with digital display

Cons:

• Doesn’t include batteries

Another product that works well and gets great reviews is the Driveway Informer. The product can be installed with multiple sensors and receivers to allow you to use it on multiple zones. You can also set the alarm sounds to different tunes so you can easily assign a sound to a specific site and adjust its volume as loud as you want. And, the manufacturer claims that the batteries can last up to 2 years. 

Detection Range: 40 ft.

Transmission Range: 500 ft.

Sensor Style: Passive infrared

Power Source: 4 AA batteries for sensor, 4 AAA batteries or AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Customizable alarm tones
• Lifetime warranty

Cons:

• Prone to false alarms due to overly sensitive sensors
• Transmission distance is not as long as  other brands

When it comes to driveway alarms, Guardline is considered one of the most reliable and high-quality products in the market. It comes with 30 different alarm sounds and can be extended up to 16 sensors. You can set four zones with four sensors each, and assign specific sounds for each so you will easily know which area the alarm comes from without looking.

The sensors are designed to be weather-proof and can communicate to the receiver up to 500 feet away. You can also purchase the higher model to reach longer distances, but take note that walls and heavy foliage can reduce the range. So, make sure you plan ahead where to place your sensors for better coverage.

Detection Range: 12 ft.

Transmission Range: 1,000 ft.

Sensor Style: Electromagnetic probe

Power Source: Battery, solar-powered

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Looks like a solar driveway light, making it inconspicuous
• Sensors can only detect vehicles, making it less prone to false alarms

Cons:

• Sensor range is limited to 12 feet

The Safety Technology driveway alarm boasts its wireless capability of up to 12 feet and is cleverly enclosed in a package that looks like a solar driveway light to avoid standing out to intruders who might avoid normal driveway alarms.. Using a magnetic sensor, the unit is designed to ignore animals, shadows, and people and can only detect passing vehicles. This will help eliminate false triggers, but it won’t detect people on foot. The sensors are also solar-powered so you don’t have to worry about changing the batteries.

Detection Range: 30 ft.

Transmission Range: ½ mile

Sensor Style: Passive infrared

Power Source: 4 AA batteries for sensor, 4 AAA batteries or AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Comes with a battery backup
• Detection range is up to 30 feet
• Transmission range reaches half a mile

Cons:

• Unit is fragile and can be easily worn out

Compared to other driveway alarms, the device from Chamberlain is minimal - it comes with only a single sensor and receiver. However, the plus side is that it’s cheaper and you can purchase more sensors later on to add to your unit. The sensor can detect movement up to 30 feet and communicate with a receiver a maximum of half of a mile away. However, the sensor and receiver has to be within line-of-sight to reach the maximum distance. For the power source, you can use batteries or an AC adapter.

Detection Range: 30 ft.

Transmission Range: Up to 1/2 mile

Sensor Style: Infrared sensor

Power Source: Solar-powered sensors, AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Rechargeable batteries use solar panels
• Can be mounted

Cons:

• Prone to false alarms

Detection Range: 12 ft.

Transmission Range: 400 ft.

Sensor Style: Electromagnetic probe

Power Source: 2 AA batteries for transmitter, AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Less prone to false alarm
• Longer battery life

Cons:

• Some users think that the cable of the unit is too short

Detection Range: 26 ft.

Transmission Range: 918 ft.

Sensor Style: Infrared sensor

Power Source: 3 AA batteries

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Longer transmission range
• Reliable technology with infrared detection
• Comes with 36 alarm sounds

Cons:

• Not waterproof

The Govee Home Security Alarm boasts a transmission range between the sensor and receiver for up to 918 feet while the infrared sensors have a detection range of 26 feet. The unit is powered using batteries and can be easily mounted on the mailbox, porch, or anywhere you want. It also comes with 36 alarm sounds so you can assign different melodies. The light and volume can also be adjusted based on your preference. 

Detection Range: 300 ft.

Transmission Range: ½ mile

Sensor Style: Electromagnetic probe

Power Source: 4 CR-123A batteries for transmitter, AC adapter for receiver

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Batteries can be recharged using solar panels
• Sensors can be placed 300 feet away from each other
• Transmission range reaches half a mile

Cons:

• Expensive price

Detection Range: 20 ft.

Transmission Range: 328 ft.

Sensor Style: Infrared sensor

Power Source: Battery-powered

Unit Type: Wireless

Pros:

• Remote control doesn’t have safety lock, allowing multiple users
• Can use power adaptor instead of batteries

Cons:

• Detection capabilities of sensors are not as reliable as the other brands

Driveway alarms offer an additional layer of security for your home. There are many options to choose from, each product having its own pros and cons. We highly recommend you do your research and make a list of preferences to save your time and money. We hope that our list of best driveway alarms will guide you in choosing the right product for your home security. We have also written a post about DIY home security tips if you like to do your home automation yourself.

If you have other suggestions, please leave them below!

http://www.excite.com/content/home-security/sensor-detector/driveway-sensor

https://thewifechoice.com/best-driveway-alarms/

https://www.safewise.com/blog/best-driveway-alarm-sensors/

https://www.twowayradiotalk.com/best-wireless-driveway-alarm/