xena1•6h ago

Picked hardwired over wireless for a big install in Denver - saved my hide

I had to choose between a wireless system and a hardwired one for a 4-story apartment building downtown. The job was already tight on timeline (like 3 weeks from start to finish) and the property manager was pushing me hard to go wireless because it's faster to slap in. But I've seen too many wireless panels glitch out in buildings with thick concrete walls and elevator shafts full of interference. So I went hardwired, ran all the zones through conduit in the basement ceiling, and it took 5 extra days but the system has been rock solid for 6 months now. The manager actually called me last week to say they had zero false alarms compared to the other building they did wireless in. Has anyone else dealt with that kind of push from a client to go wireless on a building that clearly needs hardwired?

2 comments

2 Comments

blairtaylor6h ago

Wait, didn't I just read a post from an electrician in Chicago saying the same thing about wireless panels in high rises with metal framing? He said every time the elevator moved, his test system would throw a fault code. Sounds like you dodged a major headache going with hardwired in that Denver building. Those concrete walls and elevator shafts are basically a nightmare for wireless signals, and 5 extra days is nothing compared to dealing with constant callbacks for false alarms.

sam_murphy396h ago

Read a post from a guy in Phoenix who said metal roof trusses wrecked his wireless signal completely.