Overheard a younger installer say 'wireless is the future' and I had to bite my tongue

I was at a supply house in Portland last week picking up some resistors and a 20-year-old kid in line was telling his buddy that hardwired systems are a waste of time. He said everything should be wireless now, like home wifi. I get it, wireless has its place, but I've been in this trade 18 years and I've seen too many wireless panels lose sync because of a neighbor's new baby monitor or a metal roof. Last month I had to tear out a whole wireless setup from a house in the hills because the signal couldn't reach the basement workshop. Hardwired still wins for reliability, especially on larger commercial jobs. Has anyone else noticed this push from younger guys to skip the wire runs?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly_rivera8d ago

Bet the kid's never had to explain why a smart lock went offline to a customer at 2 AM.

paulnguyen8d ago

Well hold on now, I think you're mixing up two different things. Wireless alarm panels and home wifi are not the same thing at all. That kid was probably thinking about wireless sensors that talk to a main panel, not about streaming Netflix. I've got nothing against wifi for most stuff around the house, but security systems need to work when the power's out or when someone's jamming signals on purpose. A hardwired zone isn't going to lose connection because your neighbor just got a new microwave. I had a job last year where a wireless motion detector kept tripping false alarms because of some radio interference from a cell tower. Took me two days to figure that one out.

shane1708d agoMost Upvoted

So you're saying my microwave could be an accomplice to a crime? That's just great, @paulnguyen, like I needed another thing to worry about.