“Hard Wired” or “Wireless” Sensors?

When the alarm estimator provides you with a quotation they will estimate how many of the devices will be installed using “hard wired” technology (using cables to connect the devices to the main control panel), and how many will be installed using “wireless” technology (using miniature wireless transmitters to connect the devices to the main control panel). This will depend on the location of the devices, construction of the building, interior finishings, and other factors. When the installer first arrives he will spend some time looking around the building in more detail, determining wiring routes and finalizing the exact location of devices. The installer will then make the final decision as to which devices will be hard wired and which will be wireless.

Hard wired devices are connected to the main control panel through small, low voltage cables. They also receive their power directly from the main control panel. Hard wired devices are very reliable, less expensive to service than wireless devices, and will always be compatible with any future system upgrades. Wireless devices run from standard alkaline or lithium batteries. Depending on the device and the amount of activity in the building, batteries in wireless devices may last anywhere from 1 to 5 years.You can change the batteries yourself, or you can have one of our technicians change them for you. Each of the wireless devices “reports to” the main alarm control panel every few hours. This allows the control panel to determine that all of the wireless devices are transmitting properly. The devices will also inform the main control if their batteries are low in power. The system will then alert you to this by creating a trouble condition on the keypad. This normally occurs when the device still has several weeks of power left, allowing you time to purchase and replace the batteries without interruption to the operation of your alarm system.

Certain devices such as the power transformer, keypads, alarm sirens and telephone connection, will always be hard wired. We will also make a special effort to install hard wired motion sensors, glassbreak sensors and smoke detectors whenever possible. Wireless door and window switches are very reliable and have batteries which normally last 3 to 5 years. However we will still hard wire these devices wherever it is practical to do so. We are often surprised when we arrive in a building with an alarm system installed by one of our competitors to find wireless sensors located where hard wired sensors could have been installed just as easily. This is a sign that the company either has technicians who are not fully qualified to install hard wired systems, or they have been instructed to complete the installation as quickly as possible, rather than to the best of their abilities.

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