When searching for the best alarm system for your home or commercial premises, you will stumble across two solutions – wired and wireless alarm systems. Both have their pros and cons but you need to pick a solution that is best suited for your needs and requirements.
As such, we have put together a detailed overview where both wired and wireless alarm systems are stacked against one another to see how they perform in different categories. This should help you get a solid understanding of both these security solutions so that you can choose the right one for you.
So without further ado, let’s get started:
1- Installation
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Wired Alarm Systems:
Installing a wired home alarm system usually takes longer, in some cases, even a couple of days. You will need to drill holes into your walls, and get busy routing all the wires properly.
This might even require professional help as you need to have the right kind of equipment to get the job done.
Wireless Alarm Systems:
On the flip side, a wireless home alarm system can be installed within a couple of minutes to a maximum of a few hours. And the best part is that it doesn’t require you to have any technical expertise. This is why wireless security solutions are preferable for DIY alarm systems for homes and small offices.
For example, you just need to place (no installation necessary) our new security gadget Mimic GO™ on a surface or an object and you are good to go.
It is a one-of-a-kind wireless personal security system that can protect almost anything with its built-in powerful alarm. The setup process is also extremely straightforward and only consists of pairing it with the companion app on your phone.
Conclusion: Wireless alarm systems are much easier and quicker to install.
2- Flexibility
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Wired Alarm Systems:
Wired Alarm Systems aren’t the most flexible or user friendly options in the market. Once you have an alarm system in place, if you wish to install an extra security module, you will again need to do all the drilling and wiring.
Furthermore, getting the wires in far reaching corners of your home or office can be difficult. And thus, it will restrict you to limited positioning options.
Wireless Alarm Systems:
Wireless alarm systems make it much easier to add extensions and new security modules. All you have to do is get the sensor, install it in your desired location, and program it to work with your central security system and that’s it.
For example, you can start out securing your home by getting a couple of Mimic GO™ devices to protect your doors and windows. And later, you can easily get more devices to secure the garage door, backyard, and other household items like safes and drawers.
It also makes it simple to place the sensors in any remote or obscure position in your room as no wiring is necessary. However, you will need to make sure that the wireless signals aren’t blocked by walls and other household objects.
Conclusion: Wireless alarm systems allow you to easily add more modules and extend your security system.
3- Portability
Wired Alarm Systems:
A wired alarm system is installed to stay there for a long time. It isn’t recommended if you stay at a rented place and plan to shift often. Moving a wired alarm system means disconnecting all the devices including the central hub and all its external sirens.
Then you need to take it to the new location and reinstall everything from scratch. This is a hectic process, and your alarm company might not even provide you a free relocation and reinstallation option.
Wireless Alarm Systems:
Wireless alarm systems are far more portable and ideal for home owners or individuals who move around a lot. To shift a wireless alarm system, all you need to do is unscrew the control panel and all the wireless devices off the wall, put it in your bag, and screw them back in your new place.
And Mimic GO™ takes this one step further. Its pocket-able form factor makes it one of the most portable wireless home security systems. You can even take it with you on vacations and place it on the doors of your hotel or AirBnB room(s).
If someone opens the door at night when you are sleeping or in your absence, a loud alarm will go off scaring them away. You will also get a notification on your phone, alerting you about the intrusion.
Conclusion: Wireless alarm systems are more portable.
4- Reliability (What Happens During a Power Outage)
Wired Alarm Systems:
Once installed, a wired security system will keep your house protected through thick and thin, unless it is cut off from the power. This is why it is important to have a dedicated inverter battery to keep your wired alarm systems running even during a power outage.
Again, since wires are involved, the system can be compromised if one or more of the wires are cut – either by burglars or by household rodents.
Wireless Alarm Systems:
The control panel of your wireless alarm system, just like your WiFi router, is wired and needs to be connected to a power source. In fact without power, it wouldn’t be working.
As such, don’t think you are safer in case of a power outage if you have a wireless alarm system. The “wireless” tag in its name is purely because of the wireless sensors. It still needs access to a dedicated power supply to keep working.
That being said, modern security gadgets like our Mimic GO™ can help you stay safe during a power cut. It comes with a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts upto 3 months on a single charge.
Conclusion: Both wired and wireless alarm systems are vulnerable to power outages and load sheddings. As such, it is recommended that you keep a secondary source of power like solar power or inverter batteries.
5- Affordability
Wired Alarm Systems:
The individual wired sensors including the alarm panel costs comparatively less. But at the same time, you will also need to factor in the costs of cables, cable clips, trunking, not to mention the labour charge for installation.
That being said, once installed, since it is connected to your electric supply, you don’t need to worry or spend extra on any batteries.
Note: Don’t forget to factor in the cost of the backup battery for power outages.
Wireless Alarm Systems:
Each individual part of the wireless alarm system is comparatively more expensive. You also need to factor in the ongoing cost of replacing the sensor batteries which can stack up over time.
However, you will also save money as you don’t have to buy any wires or cables, and there are negligible, if any, installation charges for setting up the wireless alarm system.
Modern security gadgets like Mimic GO™ are making wireless home security solutions even more affordable. You can get a bundle of these devices at a hugely discounted price.
Check out Mimic GO™ bundle prices here.
Conclusion: After installation, whether you are getting a dedicated wired or wireless alarm system, the overall costs are pretty much the same. However, wired systems are slightly cheaper in the long run as you don’t need to replace the batteries.
6- Hacking Threats
Wired Alarm Systems:
Your wired alarm system is perfectly safe and secure from hackers. There is practically no way a burglar can hack it from outside.
They would need to physically tap into the wires or the control panel of the system in order to gain access. However, the security system would already trigger an alarm informing you of the intrusion before they can make their move.
That being said, you are at risk if they cut off the power supply, thereby turning off the security system. This is why we recommended having a secondary source of power in place.
Wireless Alarm Systems:
Wireless alarm systems used to be much easier to hack and therefore much less secure. This is also the case with many low-end wireless alarm systems circulating the market today.
However, the modern wireless solutions coming from reputed brands implement stronger data encryptions. This makes it harder to hack, albeit not completely impossible.
Other than this, wireless systems are also vulnerable to structural and electromagnetic interference which can mess with the alarms getting triggered.
Conclusion: Between the two, wireless alarm systems are more likely to get hacked.
To prevent this, pick one from a well-known manufacturer with good levels of encryption. Also make sure that the system firmware is up-to-date and has strict restrictions in place surrounding third-party app access.
Wired or Wireless Alarm Systems: Which One is Right For you?
So this was our short comparison between wired and wireless security solutions.
As you can see, it is hard to pin-point a winner between the two options as both of them have their unique merits and demerits.
A wired alarm system seems best for small homes and offices as it requires less cabling and thus saves you money. But then again, if you tend to move around a lot, wireless alarm systems are the way to go – despite the hefty initial investment.
Wireless alarm systems are also ideal for larger space, since it saves you tons of money in cabling and installation costs. But even then, wired alarm systems being more secure makes it a preferred choice for many business and office premises, irrespective of the size.
As such, you need to weigh the pros and cons for yourself and see which one best fulfills your security needs and requirements.
Keep following our blog for more security tips and tricks. And don’t forget to share it with your friends and family so they too can be safer and more protected.