Hardwired vs. wireless for new construction - which side are you on?

I had a job last Tuesday at a new build in Austin and the homeowner wanted all wireless sensors. I argued that hardwired is still more reliable for big houses like that one. After 3 years in the trade, I'm starting to wonder if wireless has caught up enough - what do you guys think?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_christopher2d ago

You mentioned "all wireless sensors" for that new build, and I think one thing people miss is how wireless systems can fight for signal with all the other smart home gadgets these days. I've seen homes where the wireless alarm keeps dropping out because the baby monitor and the wifi router are on overlapping frequencies. Hardwired might be more work to install, but you never have to worry about someone's new microwave messing with your sensor signal.

finleyl392d ago

My friend's house had a similar issue with his Ring system, turns out his new 5GHz router was totally stomping on the alarm's 2.4GHz band. He ended up having to hardwire three of the sensors just to keep the thing from going off randomly at 2 AM. The worst part was the microwave like you said, I've seen it kill a motion sensor dead in its tracks during dinner time. It's one of those things you don't think about until you're standing in the dark trying to figure out why the back door won't chime. Honestly, a few extra hours of wiring during a new build can save you from so many headaches down the road.