Choosing between wired and wireless burglar alarms is usually the first decision when you get an alarm fitted. Both protect a home well when they are properly installed. The difference is how the sensors talk to the control panel, and that affects how much mess the installation makes, what maintenance you take on, and how easy the system is to extend later. Here is how they compare, which suits which kind of home, and the monitoring question most people forget to ask.
How Wired and Wireless Alarms Work
Every burglar alarm has the same main parts: a control panel, a keypad or app to set and unset it, sensors on doors, windows and rooms, and an external sounder box (the bell box on the front of the house).
In a wired alarm, each sensor is connected to the control panel by a cable. The panel is powered from the mains, with a backup battery that keeps the system running in a power cut, and the sensors draw their power through the same cables.
In a wireless alarm, each sensor has its own battery and talks to the control panel by radio. Modern systems encrypt that signal. The control panel itself is still powered from the mains, with a backup battery, just like a wired system.
Wired vs Wireless Burglar Alarms at a Glance
| Wired | Wireless | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Cables run to every sensor, so more drilling and longer to fit | Little drilling, so quicker to fit |
| Best suited to | Renovations, rewires and new builds, where cables can be hidden | Finished, decorated homes and listed buildings |
| Sensor batteries | None to change | Need replacing every few years |
| Radio interference | Not affected | Good systems detect jamming and missing sensors |
| Adding sensors later | Needs a new cable | Quick and simple |
| Equipment cost | Usually cheaper to buy | Usually dearer to buy, but quicker to fit |
The Case for a Wired Alarm
A wired alarm has no sensor batteries to change and nothing that relies on a radio signal, so once it is in, there is very little to look after. The equipment itself is usually cheaper than the wireless equivalent. The catch is the installation: every door contact and motion sensor needs a cable back to the panel, which means lifting floorboards, drilling through walls and channelling or boxing in cables. In a finished, decorated home that can mean making good afterwards.
That is why the best time to fit a wired alarm is when the walls and floors are already open. If you are planning a full or partial rewire, a renovation or an extension, running alarm cables at the same time adds very little to the job, and you get a tidy, fully wired system with no extra disruption.
The Case for a Wireless Alarm
A wireless alarm needs no cables to the sensors, so it can be fitted in a lived-in home with very little mess, and more quickly than a wired system. That makes it the natural choice for a finished, decorated house, a rented property, or a listed building where you want to avoid drilling into old walls. It is also much easier to extend: adding a sensor to a new garden room or garage takes minutes rather than a new cable run.
The trade-offs are maintenance and radio. Each sensor runs on a battery that needs changing every few years, although the panel warns you before one runs out. And because the sensors use radio, you want a system that checks in with every sensor regularly and alerts you if a signal is blocked or a sensor goes quiet. Ask about jamming detection when you compare systems.
Can You Mix Wired and Wireless?
Yes. Many control panels accept both, so a hybrid system is common. You might wire the sensors that are easy to reach, such as the hallway and landing, and use wireless sensors for the conservatory, garage or a room that has just been decorated. It is also a good way to extend an older wired system without running new cables.
Monitoring: Who Responds When the Alarm Goes Off?
Wired or wireless, the bigger question is what happens when the alarm is triggered. There are three common options:
- Audible only. The bell box sounds and the lights flash outside, relying on the noise to scare an intruder off and on neighbours to notice.
- Self-monitored. The system also sends an alert to your phone, so you can check in, look at your cameras and decide what to do. This is a popular choice for homes.
- Professionally monitored. A monitoring centre receives the alert and contacts you or your keyholders, for an ongoing fee.
If you want the police to respond, the rules are stricter. Under the national police policy for security systems, police only respond to remotely monitored alarms that have a police reference number, and both the installing company and the monitoring centre must be certified by a UKAS-accredited body such as NSI or SSAIB. If you need police response, for example because your insurer requires it, choose an installer with that certification. For most homes, a self-monitored alarm combined with CCTV gives you the alert and the evidence without a monthly fee.
Can an Electrician Install a Burglar Alarm?
Yes. You do not need a special licence to install a home burglar alarm, and an electrician is well suited to the job. The control panel needs a safe mains connection, wired alarms need neat cable runs, and an electrician can fit the alarm alongside CCTV, a video doorbell or security lighting in the same visit. The one exception is police response, which needs the NSI or SSAIB certification described above. It is also worth checking your home insurance policy, as some policies set conditions on the type of alarm or who installs it.
Which Should You Choose?
As a rule of thumb:
- Choose wired if you are rewiring, renovating or building, and want a system you can largely forget about.
- Choose wireless if your home is finished and decorated, you rent, your home is listed, or you want to add sensors easily later.
- Choose a hybrid if some areas are easy to cable and others are not, or you are extending an existing wired alarm.
Pairing the alarm with cameras gives you both an alert and a record of what happened. Our CCTV installation cost guide explains what a camera system costs, and our guide to home CCTV and the law covers where you can point it.
Whichever you choose, an alarm works best as one layer alongside good locks, sensor lights and cameras. Our burglary and crime checker explains what the research says works and shows the burglaries recorded near your postcode.
Burglar Alarm Installation in Tunbridge Wells and Kent
We fit wired, wireless and hybrid intruder alarms across Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Crowborough and the wider Kent and East Sussex area, with door and window contacts, motion sensors, external sounders and optional phone alerts. We will look at your home at a free survey, recommend the type that suits it, and give you a fixed price. Find out more about our CCTV and alarm installation service, or get in touch for a free quote.