With so many choices, it can be difficult to know which signaling technology is best for the residential or commercial security customer. While electrical contractors with security divisions generally focus on hardwired cabling infrastructures, new opportunities have emerged to add wireless systems or include hardwired and wireless in a hybrid approach.


In the past, wireless was used sparsely to avoid trenching and cabling costs. Now, it’s deployed deeper in a facility’s infrastructure, securing IP server racks, hospital drug cabinets, data centers and other sensitive areas. Wireless is the practical workhorse of a contractor’s arsenal, allowing installation flexibility and the opportunity to present new applications to customers.


What to use and where


The product category of wireless for residential and commercial applications keeps transforming, adding safeguards, such as encryption, to prevent attacks from hackers, greater signal strength and longer read range. The wireless category is opening new options for residential and enterprise commercial customers. 


Each technology’s nuances affect successful deployment. In other words, certain signaling technologies are a better fit, depending on the nature of the protected premises and the customer’s goals, according to Peter Boriskin, vice president of commercial product management for Assa Abloy, New Haven, Conn.


“Early on during evaluation, we took a closer look at what customers wanted and what they needed to accomplish,” he said. “In the commercial market, we found they were split along the lines of those who wanted an online hardwired solution but needed to also extend the reach of their commercial systems without disturbing the existing infrastructure. When users need lots of access control transactions and high throughput, low bandwidth and a long battery life, ZigBee is best suited for the application.”


ZigBee is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4-based specification that provides communication protocols for intelligent devices.


Boriskin said other users wanted an intelligent edge device for which all of the ‘smarts’ would be downloaded to the reader.


“These devices are not always on or communicating; therefore, they can run on a secure Wi-Fi infrastructure,” he said. “At that point, we had to make a decision on what signaling technology to use to send the entire business logic to the edge. Campuses, office parks and others with a secure Wi-Fi network can use that infrastructure for fast communications and to push a lot of data.”


Assa Abloy has focused on delivering solutions primarily through those two methods.


“For customers who need real-time updates, ZigBee is the driving force,” Boriskin said. “For those who need the distributed network of intelligent solutions, it’s Wi-Fi.”


When the company launched its Wi-Fi locks, he said customers liked the concept and wanted the same architecture that didn’t require a battery, so it developed a way to leverage local power in a power over Ethernet (PoE) solution.


Residential nuances and capabilities


According to Donald Beene, product manager, Schlage Smart Home, Carmel, Ind., Z-Wave has traditionally been the most common wireless protocol in home-automation products.


“Bluetooth Smart offers direct connectivity to the lock with your smartphone, right out of the box—no fees or subscriptions required,” Beene said. “The new Schlage Sense works with your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, as well as Apple Watch.”


Bluetooth Smart is the intelligent, power-
friendly version of Bluetooth wireless technology, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Kirkland, Wash.


“Bluetooth Smart is becoming nearly 
ubiquitous in smartphones and personal electronics, which means that many people already have the technology they need in their pocket,” Beene said. “That trend is opening up new opportunities for innovative products to meet customer needs.”


The Schlage Sense Smart deadbolt has Bluetooth Smart built in.


“Wi-Fi is not needed when you’re within Bluetooth range of the Sense lock,” Beene said. “When you’re away from home, an Apple TV provides a path from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to your Schlage Sense lock.”


Kyle Smallwood, Schlage product manager, said Z-Wave is the communication protocol between the Schlage Connect lock and the home-automation platform’s hub.


“The hub usually converts the Z-Wave signal to Wi-Fi and communicates with your router,” he said.


With increased interest in the Internet of Things, residential communications technologies such as Z-Wave and Bluetooth Smart will continue to find new practical applications while new sensors and gateways develop to present greater functionality in the home. In the commercial market, wireless is protecting people, property and assets and assisting in logical decision-making.


“With the power of the cloud, small businesses can now leverage their security-management infrastructure, integrating wireless locks and access control as a mechanism to support business workflow,” Boriskin said. “For example, if an owner can’t be at all six store locations, they receive notification if a store opened on time. In the example of a prison, personnel have to pick up walkie-talkies and safety equipment prior to making rounds. That sets up a work-flow process. If they don’t pick up that necessary equipment, they won’t be able to gain access to other parts of the facility.”


Wireless signaling technologies add new possibilities for specifications and tangible value, with a flavor suited for every user.