When choosing a fire alarm system for your business, you need to consider whether a hard-wired or a wireless system will work better for you. There are advantages and disadvantages of each choice.
Hard-Wired Fire Alarms
Wired alarm systems are a great choice for new buildings where wires can be hidden inside of finished walls and ceilings. However, wired alarms may not be the best option for historical buildings where the wires cannot be hidden very easily and doing so could do damage to the building. Some of the advantages of a wired fire alarm system include:
- Cheaper – The devices in a wired alarm system are typically cheaper than the devices used in a wireless system.
- No signal interference – Wired alarms don’t receive signals through radio frequencies which means you won’t have to worry about signal interference like you might with a wireless alarm.
- More common – Wired systems are more common than wireless systems which could make finding spare parts easier and cheaper.
- Don’t require batteries – Since wired alarm systems are powered through the main power source, you don’t have to worry about replacing batteries which makes them more reliable than wireless alarms.
Wireless Fire Alarm Systems
- Quicker and cheaper to install – You may be able save time, money and have less disruption to your business during the installation process. Since wireless systems don’t need wiring, they require less labor to install.
- More flexible – Wireless fire alarm devices can be installed on any wall material and can be easily removed or relocated. The flexibility of a wireless alarm system makes it easier to maintain, upgrade or expand upon.
- Better looking – Wireless systems don’t have cables or wires that could ruin the look of your building. Applications that are worried about aesthetics may want to choose a wireless system for this reason.
Which Alarm System is Right for You?
Are you trying to decide which type of fire alarm system to install in your application? If you are building a new facility, you may want to consider a wired system for increased reliability and cheaper parts. However, if you are concerned about aesthetics and flexibility and need an alarm system for your existing building, you may want to choose a wireless system.