Door Chimes – A Useful Device to Have in Your House

There will always be people who want to put signals on doors in order to alert them that a guest is coming in. During the medieval times, people installed elaborate knockers on their doors. This progressed to antique bell systems during the 17th century, and the electric buzzer decades later.

Joseph Henry invented the electric door bell in the 19th century. He was a prolific inventor and scientist, and was actually the Smithsonian Institute’s first Director. He made scientific advances in the field of communications and electricity. In fact, aside from inventing the door bell, he is also credited as having invented the early technology that made telegraphs possible. He also made significant progress in developing the first electric motor.

The problem with the electric buzzer is that its harsh sound annoyed most users. In the 1930’s, various companies started manufacturing musical door chimes that sounded a lot more soothing than the electric buzz. Telechime and Edwards were among the first companies who created solenoid-struck door chimes. During World War II, production had to be stopped for a while, although Rittenhouse, Nutone and Edwards were able to recover quickly after the war ended.

By the late 1960’s, door chimes were no longer considered to be luxury or novelty items since nearly all houses had them. This led to the closing of the major factories and the mushrooming of much smaller companies.

Now, there are so many different door chimes that can suit each personality. You can ever customize the system so that it will play your favourite song. You won’t need to complain about the door chimes sounds because you’ll be the one directly loading the song that will play.

If you need to buy a new door chime or replace your old one, you have two options – go for the traditional wired door chimes or choose wireless. If you choose the more modern wireless option, then your door chimes installation will be quite easy. You only need to attach the button at your gate and put the other end somewhere inside your house. Installing wired door chimes are another matter, and you should ask for assistance from a trained electrician when setting this up.

Of course, the usual problem with wireless door chimes is the reliability of the connection. There is also the problem of limited reach, so that you may have to install the bell very near to the door so that it can detect the signal from the button outside your house.