Door chimes are melodious tones that sound when someone presses the doorbell. Door chimes do not actually emanate from the doorbell unit itself. A separate unit, which is centrally located in the house, produces the tones that can be heard throughout the home.

Traditional door chimes are hard wired to run from the actual doorbell push button to a transformer that activates the door chimes unit. The installation or repair of this type of system requires running electrical wires through existing walls or ceilings.

Newer door chimes rely on wireless systems, either from a simple plug-in electrical source, or a battery-operated system. These units work on a radio signal that picks up the action at the doorbell and transmits that signal to the unit, which then trips the door chimes.

Door chime kits are available in a wide selection of colors, sizes and styles to match any type of home décor. Several units can be operated by the same doorbell and placed strategically throughout the home, providing coverage to remote areas of the house, garage or garden. The volume of door chimes can be easily adjusted, and many manufacturers offer a wide selection of tones or tunes. For example, for the feng shui enthusiast, door chimes are produced to mimic the gentle strains of a wind chime. Maybe Westminster chimes are more your style. There are even recordable door chimes with CD-quality playback to hear 10 seconds of anything you like. Perhaps you'd like to record a few bars of your favorite song, or if you have a sense of humor, your own voice shouting, "Someone's at the door!"

Many people find that installing door chimes is a fairly simple task-especially the newer plug-in or battery-operated models. For door chimes that are hard wired into the house's infrastructure, you may want to consider hiring a professional electrician to do the work.

Door chimes produce more soothing tones than the old-fashioned buzzers or ringing bells and personalize your home. By installing door chimes, you will be giving yourself a gift every time someone pushes the doorbell.