Increased interest in wireless fire alarms

Published 23 Jun 2023

A type of fire protection that is now starting to gain more market share is wireless fire alarms. In Sweden, the wired fire alarms still make up a clear majority of sales, but interest is now growing in the wireless variants. Security today is very high and there is no longer as much difference in total cost compared to a wired system. A modern wireless fire alarm also has a significantly faster installation time than the wired variants, which is a big advantage.

Recently, it has been possible to see an increased interest in wireless fire alarms in Sweden, but it is even more noticeable in several European countries where wireless takes shares from wired variants.

- Wireless fire alarms with Mesh are about to gain more ground as they are simply better and more reliable than the previous variants that were on the market. It is very important that you can fully trust the system when it comes to fire safety, says Magnus Stenberg, who is responsible for sales of fire alarm systems at Kamic.

Still, the wireless mesh devices are slightly more expensive in terms of purchase cost than the traditional ones. However, prices have started to decrease and in the long term the differences are not expected to be as large as they are today.

- The biggest difference to the wired ones is that wireless components are equipped with transmitters and receivers for communication, says Magnus Stenberg.

The most interesting thing is the total cost of a project. When account is taken in the calculation for installation cost on time, cable cost, shipping and more, the differences are not that big. Here we also talk about sustainability and that contributes to the increased interest in wireless.

Can a wireless fire alarm be installed anywhere? Yes, if you are just careful enough in the planning stage and take care of the conditions in a property, it will work.

- One area that stands out where we at Kamic see increased use is in cultural buildings or premises where you want to avoid cabling for aesthetic reasons, for example in a church. In these cases, you also don't need to think about requirements regarding fastening, type of wiring or fire protection of the wiring, concludes Magnus Stenberg.

Are there no disadvantages then? Yes, there is a certain risk of interference from other radio equipment, but this can be minimized by using narrow bandwidths, qualified signal processing and other technology.

Advantages of wireless fire alarm

• The installation time is shorter, which results in significantly lower installation costs.
• Faster installation results in less disruption to premises that are in operation.
• Without wires, there will be less intervention in walls and ceilings. It is important for cultural buildings or premises where you want to avoid cables for aesthetic reasons.
• You don't need to think about special requirements in terms of cable type, fastening or fire protection of the cable.
• Quick installation (and quick dismantling) makes the system suitable even for temporary installations.
• The detectors can be kept in operation during renovations, as the fire risk is often higher than normal.
• Are there no disadvantages then? Yes, there is a certain risk of interference from other radio equipment, but this can be minimized by using narrow bandwidths, qualified signal processing and other technology.

Would you like to know more about wireless fire alarms? Contact our specialist Magnus Stenberg via e-mail: magnus.stenberg@kamic.se> or call: +46 709- 22 33 36.