Low voltage or hardwired? The big debate on reliability vs. cost

I've been doing installs for about 8 years now and I've noticed a split. Half my customers want the cheap wireless sensors because they're easy to hide and quick to put in. The other half insist on old school hardwired because they say batteries die at the worst times. Had a job last month in a 3,000 square foot house in Oregon where the homeowner went with all wireless and I was done in 6 hours. But I've also gone back to three of those houses in the last year to swap dead sensor batteries. What do you guys lean toward for new builds where you have access to the walls? Is the extra labor worth it or is wireless good enough now?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.diana22h ago

Batteries always give out right when you least expect it, like everything else in life.

margaret_nelson20h ago

Yeah for new builds where you can run wire in the walls before drywall, I always push for hardwired. It's way more labor upfront but I've never had a callback on a hardwired system for power issues, and that peace of mind for the homeowner is worth the extra day of work. Wireless is fine for retrofits where you don't want to tear walls open, but if you've got the chance to do it right from the start, don't cheap out on the install just to save a few hours.