Came across a stat about wireless alarm panel battery life that caught me off guard

Was reading through some alarm system specs last night and saw that the average lithium backup battery in a wireless panel only lasts about 3-5 years before it starts losing capacity. I always figured they'd go 7-8 years easy. Has anyone else had to swap batteries way sooner than they expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_patel9828d ago

Funny how they slap a 10 year warranty on those things but the battery craps out before the panel pays for itself. Guess the alarm companies figure you'll be asleep when the low battery chirp starts at 2 AM. Had a buddy's panel start beeping every 30 seconds like it was training for a Morse code marathon. Three years in and it was already dead. Wireless tech is convenient until you're crawling under a desk at 3 in the morning with a screwdriver and a prayer.

alice8928d ago

Oh man, that 10 year warranty usually covers the hardware not the battery, so you're still stuck buying a new one when it dies in year three! The low battery chirp at 2 AM is basically a right of passage for anyone with wireless alarms, I've had customers tell me the same horror story. Honestly it's more like a 2-3 year battery lifespan in real world use, especially if the panel is in a cold or hot spot.

fiona_murphy27d ago

Three years? That's brutal. My buddy's panel died at two and a half years, no joke. Wasn't even in a cold spot, just sitting in a normal closet. The Morse code thing hits close to home. He had to sleep on the couch for a week because the beeping was driving his wife nuts. Wireless is great until you're at the hardware store buying a smoke detector battery at midnight. Honestly, I'd rather climb a ladder and change hardwired stuff than listen to that chirp again.