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Lockable window handle vs alarm: which one holds the sash

Updated: October 2026

You are at a window in a UK house, the lever still turns, and you are choosing between a noise and a sash that stays shut. The hanging siren wakes you if the handle moves. A key-locking handle is there to hold the sash. Neither is a PAS 24 window. The hanger listings stay on the [window handle with alarm comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/window-handle-with-alarm). The Products Compared editorial team used Approved Document Q, PAS 24:2022+A1:2024, the NPSA note, an ABUS FG300A page and an ERA Charisma listing, with no laboratory test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are at a window in a UK house, the lever still turns, and you are choosing between a noise and a sash that stays shut. The hanging siren wakes you if the handle moves. A key-locking handle is there to hold the sash.

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On this page
  1. 1.A siren does not lock
  2. 2.What a key-locking handle does
  3. 3.PAS 24 and a new home
  4. 4.Siren, lock, or both

A siren does not lock

A hanging alarm will not stop the window opening. These products are battery sirens you hang on a door or window handle. They sound when the handle is touched or moved. They do not throw a bolt, and clipping one on does not meet Approved Document Q. The five products on the main comparison are the portable noise, and this page does not rank them again. EL00002 and EL00237, the top pick and the best value, are hangers. They can wake you, and they stop there.

What a key-locking handle does

A key-locking window handle stops the handle, or the nose it drives, from turning. The ERA Charisma cockspur, a UK spare, is a key deadlock with a 12 mm or a 21 mm nose, and it is handed. Stack height has to match the window. The NPSA note points to a lockable cockspur when the aim is to lock the window. ABUS FG300A is a keyed handle with a 110 dBA siren on two AAA cells, not an ASIN in this set. The maker's DIN 18267 class 2 and 200 Nm line is not a UK test.
Defender Defender Ultra Slim

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PAS 24 and a new home

PAS 24 tests the manufactured window or doorset, not a loose handle and not a clip-on siren. The edition here is BSI PAS 24:2022+A1:2024. GAI's specifier note says the test is the whole frame, not a component you add later. Screwing on a cockspur, or hanging EL00237, does not copy a PAS 24 result onto a sash that was never tested that way. Approved Document Q, requirement Q1, is the security rule for new dwellings in England. It looks for secure windows, normally a PAS 24 design, fixed to the structure. A stick-on alarm is not that requirement. An older house does not meet Q1 because a hanger is on the handle, and this research does not say an insurer accepts these ASINs.

Siren, lock, or both

Buy the lock when the sash must stay shut, sized to the hand, the nose and the stack height. On the ERA Charisma the nose is 12 mm or 21 mm. Buy the siren when you only need a noise and the window still locks with its own hardware. Buy both when you already lock the window and still want a wake-up. The siren does not add PAS 24. ProtectUK's note is key-operated locks on accessible windows unless the window is a fire escape. Approved Document B still allows a lock on an escape window if it can be opened. Leave the hanger off that exit unless you can silence it at once. If the nose, hand or stack height will not match, ask a window fitter. Hanging a siren is in how to fit a window handle alarm. What to weigh first is in the window handle alarm buying guide. A conditional pick is in the best window handle alarm.

Common questions

Will a hanging alarm stop the window opening?
No. A hanging window handle alarm is a battery siren. It can sound if the handle is touched or moved, and it does not hold the sash shut. Someone who can already turn the handle may wake you, and the window can still open. When the sash must stay shut, you need a key-locking handle sized to that window.
What does a key-locking cockspur actually do?
It deadlocks with a key so the handle does not turn freely. The ERA Charisma, sold as a UK spare, has a 12 mm or a 21 mm nose, and it is handed. Stack height has to match the window. It locks, and it has no siren. A hanger does not hold the sash the way that deadlock does.
Is a lockable window handle the same as PAS 24?
No. PAS 24:2022+A1:2024 tests the manufactured window or doorset, not a loose handle and not a clip-on siren. GAI's specifier note says the component is not the test. A keyed cockspur can lock that sash and still leave the window short of PAS 24. On a new dwelling in England, Approved Document Q expects a secure window fixed to the structure.
Can I use both a lock and a siren?
Yes, when you already lock the window and you still want a noise. The key handle holds the sash. The hanger wakes you if the handle is tried. Together they are still not a PAS 24 window. Leave the siren off a fire-escape window if nobody can switch it off quickly.
What about a fire-escape window?
ProtectUK's note is key-operated locks on accessible windows unless the window is a fire escape. Approved Document B still allows a lock on an escape window if it can be opened. A hanging siren is a poor fit on that exit when you cannot switch it off quickly. Keep the escape path openable.

Related pages

PAS 24 is the whole window

Window handle with alarm

Best door handle alarm UK: metal handle or a hotel

UK window handle alarms: sensor, fit and batteries

Hotel door handle alarm to pack when you cannot drill

How to fit a door handle alarm on your first night

Sources

Public UK sources and the manufacturer note below. amazon.co.uk listings checked on 15 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK: Approved Document Q, security in dwellings (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. BSI: PAS 24:2022+A1:2024 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. NPSA: security afforded by domestic windows (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. ProtectUK: security at home (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Greater Manchester Police: window security (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Sold Secure: ratings (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Secured by Design: Defender Ultra Slim Door Handle Alarm (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Defender: EL00237 instructions (retrieved 15 October 2026)