Picked wireless over hardwired for a retrofit job last month

I had this older house in Cincinnati where running wires through the walls was going to be a nightmare with all that knob and tube still in there. Decided to go with a Qolsys IQ system instead of my usual DSC hardwired setup. Took me about 4 hours to get everything programmed and mounted versus probably 2 full days of fishing wires. Customer was happy with how clean it looked but I am still wondering if the wireless sensors will hold up as well long term. Has anyone else swapped to wireless for a tough retrofit and regretted it down the road?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea_knight19d ago

Wait, what kind of wireless sensors did you go with? The Qolsys stuff is solid but I've had problems with the battery life on their door/window contacts. Drops to 50% way faster than I expected. Did you use their recessed ones or the surface mounts?

sagelane18d ago

Oh man, that battery drop is such a pain. I feel you on that one, its super annoying when you think you're set and then the battery just tanks way early. I used the surface mount ones actually, not the recessed, mostly cause my doors are old and weirdly sized so the recessed ones were a no go. But yeah, I've had the same issue with them dropping to like 50% after just a few months. Its like they go from 100% to 50% quick and then kinda hang there for a while, which is weird too. Honestly I just started keeping spare batteries on hand cause it happens so often.