Most homeowners I deal with want wireless everything until they see the battery bill for their own house

Had a job in Spokane last month for a lady named Carol who insisted on all wireless sensors because she "didn't want wires everywhere." After I installed 12 window sensors, 3 door sensors, and a motion detector, she called me back 5 weeks later complaining the batteries were already dying and she'd spent $38 replacing them. She finally admitted she should have let me run the wires through the attic like I suggested. Anyone else have customers who change their tune once they see the real cost of going battery-only?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo374d ago

Read an article last year from some security blog that said wireless sensors can burn through batteries 3x faster than the specs claim if you live in an area with a lot of interference. Carol's house was near a cell tower and had a big metal roof, which the writer said can make the sensors work harder to keep their signal up. Told that to a customer of mine who was on the fence about wired vs wireless, and he ended up letting me run the wires through his attic crawlspace. Saved him a headache and about $40 a year in batteries from what I can figure.

stellag213d ago

Right, that makes so much sense when you think about it. It's like when your phone's signal is weak and the battery just tanks because it's scrambling to find a tower. I swear, the whole "smart home" idea is great until you realize half of it fights you every step of the way. We had a similar nightmare with a wifi thermostat in our old house with plaster walls, it just kept losing connection and jacked up our heating bill before we replaced it.