Vent: I was certain wireless sensors were garbage until a commercial job changed my mind

I've been installing hardwired systems for 12 years and always told customers wireless was just a shortcut for lazy installers. Last month I took a job at a historic church downtown that wouldn't let me run a single wire through their 1880s plaster walls. I had to use Honeywell 5800 series wireless sensors and figured I'd be back there every month fixing false alarms. To my surprise, after 6 weeks not a single trouble signal and the pastor told me he sleeps better. Has anyone else been forced into wireless and actually had it work out better than expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_hayes252mo ago

You called wireless "lazy" but now you'll be replacing those batteries in a year.

the_margaret2mo ago

Wait, hold on... "replacing those batteries in a year"? That's a pretty wild thing to say... I mean, I've had my wireless mouse for like three years now and I think I've changed the batteries maybe twice? And that's with heavy use. I can't imagine a year unless you're using some super cheap off brand or something. Even my wireless keyboard lasts ages on a set of AAs. Maybe you just had a bad experience with one model or something, but that's not the norm from what I've seen.

simonl111mo ago

Different folks have different experiences, I suppose. My Logitech mouse needed new batteries about every eight months with daily use, so a year isn't that far off for some models. Battery life really depends on the brand and how much you use the thing, not just general reputation.