Across the country, electrical contractors (ECs) are on a mission to increase their installation efficiencies, save labor costs and provide the most robust security to customers even in the toughest environments. A great way to accomplish those goals is by deploying wireless—from sensors and detectors to locks, access control and other security products and services.


Wireless and other radio frequency-­based (RF) systems are especially suited for concrete structures or locations with environmental noise, such as industrial processing plants. RFs designed for commercial premises have robust signal strength, strong digital repeaters and the capability of penetrating these types of buildings, often giving ECs the option of avoiding time- and labor-draining tasks like drilling and digging trenches.


Two of the most common RFs deployed in commercial wireless systems are 900 megahertz (MHz), which penetrates obstructed locations, and 2.4 gigahertz (GHz), which travels across long distances. These open RFs [Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Part 15] have strong penetration even through channel interference and signal echo, which traditionally bounced signals off larger objects and diminished quality. These concerns have been addressed with transmission and modulation schemes that counter these effects. 


Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a characteristic of secure wireless transmissions. With FHSS, data is transmitted on one channel at a time but is constantly changing, resulting in lower bandwidth and less power consumption.


Richard Soloway, chief executive officer of Napco Security Technologies, Amityville, N.Y., said wireless performs as well as hardwired in certain applications. 


“The new technology is bidirectional, operates in the FM spectrum instead of noisy AM, and utilizes FHSS, which makes for a cleaner and more reliable connection that is extremely hard to hack,” he said. “All of our high-security locking devices are available in wireless because of all the benefits provided.”


The security industry uses Advanced Encryption Standard 128, a government-­recognized encryption scheme. 


“This is a virtually impenetrable algorithm used by banking and other industries seeking to protect transmitted data,” Soloway said. 


The 900-MHz spectrum has particularly good properties for overcoming issues in noisy and challenging construction.


“By moving around and transmitting up and down the spectrum, the FCC rules allow for higher power transmission,” he said.


Attack resistance


The characteristics of RF technologies deployed in security today also resist malicious attacks because of the way in which they transmit. According to Mark Jarman, president of Inovonics, the FCC prohibits constant, prolonged transmission at 900 MHz, so frequency-hopping moves the signal up and down that particular spectrum.


“When a hacker tries to attack a system’s integrity with a prolonged or constant signal, that’s a good tip off and alert of malicious activity,” said Jarman, whose Louisville, Colo., company creates wireless networks for life safety applications. 


FHSS also randomizes signals, transmitting across the spectrum from 902–928 MHz, which alleviates jamming.


Jarman admitted to user doubt in the past over wireless reliability. 


“Most of the advancements have changed that,” he said. “In addition, intelligent repeaters, which provide the backbone of the network, accommodate virtually any size application, and the combination of short on-air time and sophisticated power management allows extended battery life.”


Efficiencies and cost savings


Wireless holds many inherent efficiencies for ECs. One is consistent job quotes and performance.


“You don’t have to deal with surprises uncovered with traditional construction,” Jarman said. 


He estimated a savings of 35–50 percent to install a wireless intrusion-detection system versus hardwired.


Wireless products are much easier to install than hardwired devices because they require little, if any, training. 


“[It] also allows us to program the credentials remotely, which is a huge time-saver,” Soloway said.


While wireless equipment is slightly more expensive to purchase, the labor savings easily make up for increased hardware costs.


“Because labor expenses make up the largest portion of a contracting job, going wireless will dramatically decrease the final bill,” he said. “Wireless products are plug-and-play, and they take virtually no time to learn how to install, making the process [much] faster than hardwiring. Eventually, we see hardwire disappearing entirely as wireless has so many advantages. Wireless connectivity is the future for just about everything in our lives.”


In buildings that seem like impenetrable fortresses, there are many benefits to using wireless, including reliability and labor savings. The technology continues to advance and may become the status quo in many facilities and vertical markets.