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Rant: I still think wireless sensors are overrated for most houses
Honestly, I see everyone in these forums raving about going full wireless these days. I stuck with hardwired sensors for 12 years before I even tried a wireless setup on a job in Austin back in 2019. Tbh, the only reason I switched was because the customer had a concrete roof and running wires was going to be a nightmare. Ngl though, I still prefer hardwired for reliability. I've had to replace three wireless sensors in the last year alone because the batteries died or the signal got flaky after a storm. For a new build or a rewire job, I don't think you can beat the old-school stuff for peace of mind. Anyone else deal with wireless sensors dropping off the network more than they'd like?
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elizabeths511mo ago
Oh yeah, totally been there with battery drain during storms! @kellys78 you hit the nail on the head about that being the worst time for a failure. One thing I'd gently push back on though - hardwired can actually fail too in a big storm if the panel loses power or gets fried. I had a system go down during a lightning strike near the panel last summer, took out three zones. At least with wireless you can pop fresh batteries in and be back up fast, even if it's annoying. For new builds though, hardwired is still my go to for sure.
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Used to be a hardwired person through and through... then I did a retrofit on an old brick house where fishing wires was basically impossible. Wireless saved that job, even though I was nervous about it. But yeah, battery life has been my biggest gripe too, one sensor died in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm and I had no idea till morning. Still think hardwired is king for new builds, but wireless has its place when the walls fight you back.
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