Sirens may not be sexy, but they sure work

At Hormann, we sometimes think outdoor warning sirens get a bad rap, or at least that they are widely misunderstood. But not when they go off: When a warning siren sounds everyone in earshot knows that something is happening. Add public address capability and you can both alert and instruct. To us, that's what any warning system is supposed to do -- alert people that an emergency is taking place and inform them of how to protect their lives and property. It's just that sirens do it loudly.

Outdoor warning sirens are seen by some as relics of the Cold War, yet every year we install completely new siren and outdoor PA systems for some of the world's most progressive emergency management organizations. We've worked on sirens in Israel, where they save the lives of innocents during rocket attacks; in Colorado, where hazardous chemical spills and tornadoes threaten; at California refineries; in tsunami-prone coastal areas, and elsewhere.

The Hormann Advantage

We bring two things to every job: One is our Common Alerting Protocol experience, the second our independence. We work with all the major siren manufacturers and choose equipment that best meets a customer's needs or best integrates with what the customer already owns. Our AlertNET siren and public address controllers accept Common Alerting Protocol messages and, based upon the message content, will activate a siren or broadcast a recorded public address message. (You can either record the message yourself, select a message from a pre-recorded message library, or allow our text-to-speech option to create a spoken message for you).

And there's one more thing: We have the expertise to maintain and repair what we sell. Hormann systems are designed by us, the CAP controller software was written by us, the installed sirens are monitored by us, and routine maintenance and repairs are performed by us.

Siren vs. Public Address?

Hormann America can design and build any type of outdoor warning system your application requires. In general, tone-only systems are less expensive because they require fewer speakers and less power to cover a given area. Public address systems allow delivery of spoken announcements, whether live or pre-recorded.

Tone-only systems require ongoing education campaigns so people in their coverage range will know what to do when the tone is heard. This generally limits these systems to only one major application and it is helpful to have some place people can turn for additional information about the alert.

Public address systems are much more flexible, allowing a tone to be used to get the audience's attention and a spoken message to provide whatever level of detail of necessary. However, to achieve acceptable levels of intelligibility for the spoken message, outdoor PA systems require more speakers and power than a tone-only system covering the same area.