Alarms, wireless or hardwired?

Worth the agro of feeding and hiding cables vs constantly changing batteries?

Worth the agro of feeding and hiding cables vs constantly very occasionally changing batteries?

FTFY
Change the sensor batteries like maybe once a year in high traffic areas, significantly less often in low traffic areas. YMMV depending on system obvs.

That’s good to hear. Are they reliable? I assume home WiFi, baby monitors, cordless phones etc don’t mess them up?

Yale wireless, change the control unit and sounder batteries maybe once a year. I don’t think I’ve changed all the pir and door sensor batteries yet, and we’ve been in the house 10 years!

Following with interest…

I have had a Visonic wireless alarm in the house since 2005 and it’s never given me a moment of trouble.
Main control panel and external sounder are hard wired everything else is wireless. Only ever had to change the batteries in the PIR’s and smoke alarms. Door window sensors and remote keypads are still on the same batteries.

If you have a choice then go wired, if the thought of installing wires everywhere fills you with dread then wireless.

For a retro-fit then I would imagine the vast majority (myself included) fit a wireless alarm. Installed mine* in May 2014 and haven’t had to change any batteries yet.

* Yale Smarthome

the guy that did my alarm in the last house did a mix of wires and wireless.. when he came back to service it he was saying the move seems to be towards a totally wireless system.
I think i had a dicky sensor though.. it was a shock sensor on a window and it went through a fair few batteries.

if your getting someone in to do it id guess you might not get the option of cables!

Just looking at the Yale ones – I assume they need to be plugged into a phone line to use the ringback facility – does the phone line have to be close to the base station or does it work remotely?

We had a wired system in the last house. Installed in 2005. They did a cracking job of hiding all the wires. I dint mind paying a bit more for labour if it makes for a better job, but so far, you folks seem to be okay with the wireless stuff.

For me the biggest benefit for a wireless system is the flexibility – adding sensors, adding cameras, adding smoke detectors etc – and they can be added wherever you need them and whenever you need them based on circumstances.

For example, I need to secure my house so will get a basic system, but in the new year we are looking to get a dog so I can add a camera (and move it to wherever I want it) that I can check up on the mutt on.

Get “pet” PIR detectors then if you’re going to be getting a dog.

Yale wireless here, had no problems, batteries don’t need changing very often maybe once a year at the most, range is very good, I have sensors in the bike lockup and workshop 20ft+ away from the house

Get “pet” PIR detectors then if you’re going to be getting a dog.

Yeah I shall be doing that 🙂

I fitted my wired system about 12 years back. (Must renew the batteries next year)
Its never played up as yet. although replaced the PIr’s with some blue led Bosch ones as the old ones were looking a bit discoloured.
If I was replacing the system it would be wired again.

Bear, do you mean wired or wireless? The mention of batteries has me confused.

Having this exact problem as well. Already have a wired system that hasn’t worked for years! Have seen the new Swann one system in Costco for £200 less then MRP! Looks a good system with the ability to add lighting and heating control amongst other features onto it.

Does these wireless systems work with rechargeable batteries? Only asking because our central heating wireless transmitter seems very precise about voltage and won’t play nicely with rechargables.

Ordinary batteries can be had so cheap online as to make the use of rechargeable ones pointless if you risk the system not working correctly.

Rechargeables have a much higher self discharge rate and aren’t really suited to very low current applications like alarm sensors.

Choosing between between wireless and wired ones is no issue. Most systems support mixing both systems these days so it really question of whether wired installations would be too much work.

My house has wired sensors for doors, smoke detectors and couple of sensors for main areas and few additional wireless sensors in other places.

The batteries I mean are in the alarm box and theres a big one in the control panel.
They are for backup during power cuts

Wired here for 15 years and it’s been great with <5 false/unexplained alarms in that time. If doing again then wireless sounds the better/easier option based on comments above.