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Part
1-The Physical Aspects of Wiring
written
by Dave / High Level Alarms
Copyrights
@High Level Alarms 2008
At one time, not so long ago alarm systems were wired and aside from
choosing an alarm company, there were few other choices that a buyer
needed to make.
For the purpose of this discussion,
let’s call wired equipment, “the old technology” and wireless,
“the new technology.” Now,
this shouldn’t imply anything, except that one pre-dated the other.
Since the old technology was here about thirty or more years
before the new, let’s begin by taking a look at the “wired
technology” first.
Let’s presume that we are at the stage
of the game where the home or business owner has already purchased an
alarm system and he’s in the process of having it installed. In all likelihood the first thing that he’s going to
see is that the alarm installer is carting in equipment, tool boxes,
perhaps a step ladder and surely a drill and a few long drill bits.
That last item, the drill, is probably the one that defines the real
difference between wired and wireless.
The fact that wires need to be run in and through walls is highly
important and as I’m sure you know, holes must be made to pass the
wires through and this leaves your home vulnerable to possible damage.
For this example, we don’t need to get into how holes are
drilled but rather, that drilling holes leaves the door open for remote
but nevertheless possible, negative results.
Maybe it doesn’t happen often but let’s have a look at it anyway.
A worse case scenario would have a drill penetrating such
incidentals as a water pipe, or a drainpipe, or even electrical wiring.
A water pipe with a hole in it should show up almost immediately
but a drainpipe hole may not be discovered for hours or even days and
the damage could be significant over time.
Drilling into an electrical wire could cause immediate hazards or
exposed wiring that could cause a fire at a later date and time.
In an extreme case you could even have a dead alarm installer on
your hands. I know
that these scenarios are extreme but I guarantee that such things have
crossed the mind of nearly every alarm installer.
At the very least we must accept that hazards are more common or
more likely an event in wired systems, than wireless systems.
I know that most people might expect that any mishap on the part of the
installer would be reported but since we’re talking real life we
should also try and be realistic.
In the case of an individual who owns and operates his own
business, then there is a chance that he will own up to his mistakes but
surely, this drops dramatically when the installer is merely an employee
of an alarm company. The
fact that he could get fired for screwing up changes everything.
OK, so we know for sure that mishaps are far more plausible with wired
than with wireless, essentially because drilling is a pre-requirement.
In case you’ve never seen an alarm installed, let’s take a
look at what gets drilled. If a window is to be protected with a window contact, then a
wire needs to be run either to the attic or the basement and over to the
main control box. If
the window is on a second story then the complications of said
installation grow exponentially.
Now imagine that a motion detector needs to be placed in a corner
of a room seven feet off the floor and that the wire needs to be buried
and hidden inside the wall, where once again it will run through the
floor and into the basement or up to the attic.
Slightly different but similar time consuming efforts are
involved and if you bought this cheap, trust me when I say that labor is
costly and therefore you must be getting bottom of the line equipment
because no one can stay in business without profit.
The same item for item installation, when using wireless becomes a
process of either, peel and stick contacts or a screw or tow to hold the
motion detector or contact to the wall and the job is done. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the
difference. Wireless
is so simple that virtually anyone can do it and it’s far safer for
the home. Even if you
have it professionally installed it has to cost less for labor, though
it will definitely cost more for parts.
The financial break down is that you should save money.
Still there are other issues to be considered. A wired door or window contact can be recessed into the
frame and virtually disappear, whereas the wireless counterpart is more
normally, mounted to the surface, large and very visible. There are some people who will disapprove and who will
not want wireless for esthetic reasons.
Personally, the look doesn’t bother me in the least as it’s
simply a sign of the times.
Although recessed wireless units are available and manufactured, they are
seldom utilized because both installers and homeowners generally get
wireless in order to save time and effort.
When it comes to all other parts including motion detectors, smoke
detectors and so on, the look of each item is pretty much the same on
wired or wireless, once the job is completed.
Go
to Part
2 - Comparing the Quality
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