Think­ing about get­ting a home secu­ri­ty sys­tem?  Picked out your secu­ri­ty cam­eras and mon­i­tor­ing plan?  Hav­ing trou­bles decid­ing between a wired or wire­less sys­tem?  No need to wor­ry. We have the answers you’re look­ing for. A decid­ing fac­tor when choos­ing an alarm mon­i­tor­ing sys­tem is whether to go with a wired or wire­less sys­tem as there are advan­tages and dis­ad­van­tages to each sys­tem.  The one you choose is based upon your lifestyle, needs and your over­all pref­er­ence.  To help make the choice a bit eas­i­er, here are the key dif­fer­ences, as well as the pros and cons of each sys­tem. Wired Sys­tem A wired secu­ri­ty sys­tem involves the use of sen­sors that are installed through­out the house, such as on your doors and win­dows.  The sen­sors are con­nect­ed to the secu­ri­ty sys­tem’s main pan­el with the wiring being dis­crete, being placed under car­pets and out of visu­al sight.  Along with sen­sors, a home own­er can also add secu­ri­ty cam­eras or any oth­er secu­ri­ty acces­sories to cater to their spe­cif­ic pro­tec­tion need which can all be con­trolled by the key­pad installed. Wire­less Sys­tem A wire­less sys­tem is sim­i­lar to a wired sys­tem except that a wire­less sys­tem pro­vides the secu­ri­ty and porta­bil­i­ty of an alarm sys­tem, with­out the wires.  Just like a wired sys­tem, sen­sors can be installed through­out the house and will be linked to the main con­trol pan­el using wire­less tech­nol­o­gy.  In this case, no wires are need­ed, which means noth­ing needs to be hid­den out of sight except for the sen­sors and cam­eras.  Secu­ri­ty cam­eras and any oth­er acces­sories can also be installed on this sys­tem, just like a wired sys­tem where they will be inte­grat­ed togeth­er with the key­pad installed. So, what are the dif­fer­ence between the two?

  • Wire­less sys­tems are quick­er, eas­i­er and less messier to install.  A wired sys­tem requires holes to be drilled into walls to run the wires (unless the house is a new build) and takes a while to make sure every­thing is con­nect­ed cor­rect­ly.
  • Wired sys­tems require much less main­te­nance.  The lithi­um bat­ter­ies in wire­less sys­tems must be checked and replaced over time to keep the sys­tem oper­at­ing at full strength.  Also, it is eas­i­er to find replace­ment parts for wired sys­tems than wire­less as the wire­less tech­nol­o­gy is in a state of con­tin­u­ous change.
  • Wired sys­tems pro­vides clear func­tions of the sys­tem with­out the inter­fer­ence of sig­nals from oth­er devices such as baby mon­i­tors.  A wire­less sys­tem can pick up sig­nals from oth­er devices and cause a false alarm.
  • Wire­less sys­tems are eas­i­er to relo­cate and pro­vide a porta­bil­i­ty option to home own­ers who move and want to take the sys­tem with them.  A wired sys­tem is hard­er to take with you if you move.
  • With a wired sys­tem, a bur­glar can dis­arm the sys­tem by cut­ting the wires while with a wire­less sys­tem, it’s hard­er to dis­arm.
  • Wire­less sys­tems are more expen­sive then a wired sys­tem so it depends on how much you want to spend on an alarm mon­i­tor­ing sys­tem.

Both wired and wire­less secu­ri­ty sys­tems have their advan­tages and dis­ad­van­tages.  How­ev­er, it does­n’t mat­ter whether you choose a wired or wire­less secu­ri­ty sys­tem as both pro­vide the most secure pro­tec­tion for your home or busi­ness.  The choice ulti­mate­ly depends on your lifestyle and pref­er­ence.  It comes down to whether or not you want holes drilled in your wall or not, if you plan to move with­in a few years and the cost as well.  Both sys­tems will pro­vide you with secure pro­tec­tion for your home and busi­ness but the choice ulti­mate­ly comes down to your lifestyle.

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Allan Baum
Security Industry veteran with over 30+ years in the industry. Founded family owned and operated Protection Plus in 1994 with his wife and has overseen its growth since. In addition to working with his wife and son, Allan has assigned the role of Chief Canine Officer to his trusted dog Waub, who joins him at the office every day.