Am I the only one who thinks wireless sensors are overhyped for residential installs?

I was at a supply house in Cleveland yesterday and overheard a sales guy telling a new customer that wireless is always better because it's faster to install. I mean yeah, I get it, no fishing wires through walls. But I've been doing this 8 years and I've replaced more wireless sensor batteries than I can count. Plus half the time the signal drops in a brick house or a metal stud setup. Maybe it's just me but I think a good hardwired system is still more reliable long term. How do you guys handle customers who want the cheapest wireless option over a wired system?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix_black22d agoTop Commenter

Wait, has anyone else noticed how sales guys always skip over the part about battery life when pitching wireless stuff? I used to be in the wireless camp myself, thinking it was faster and easier until I had to drive back to a job site three times in one year because the homeowner's kid kept messing with the sensor and killing the battery. That engineer in the talk was spot on about the interference thing too, especially in older houses with plaster and lathe walls where signals just don't go through. Now I always push for hardwired in the living areas and only use wireless for places like an attic or crawlspace where running wire is a real pain.

wendy62822d ago

Heard a talk from an engineer at a trade show last year who said wireless is great until you factor in the constant battery swaps and weird interference issues, basically called it a Band-Aid for lazy wiring.

blair_martin22d ago

Absolutely agree with that engineer. I had a nightmare job last year where we installed all wireless sensors in this big ranch house and it was a constant fight. The signal kept dropping in the master bedroom because of some metal ductwork in the walls, and the homeowner was calling me every other week thinking the system was broken. Turned out the only fix was to put a repeater in every other room, which completely killed the whole "wireless is faster" idea. Batteries were another headache, especially when the kitchen sensor died right before Thanksgiving and the alarm started chirping. The worst part is that by the time you add repeaters, extra mounting hardware, and a few spare batteries, the cost gets close to wired anyway. I just don't see the upside for anything that needs to be reliable 24/7. Have you had any luck with a specific brand that actually works through plaster walls?