TIL the new library in Springfield uses a wireless mesh network for their perimeter sensors.

I was there last week and noticed the control panel was a Qolsys IQ 4. The head of facilities said they chose it because running wire through the historic sections was a no-go. Has anyone else installed a full mesh system in a large public building like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray_patel1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wonder about the long term cost of battery swaps for all those wireless sensors though.

craig.grant10d ago

Yeah, the battery thing is a real hidden cost. I saw a case study where a school district had thousands of wireless sensors. They ended up hiring a part-time guy just to manage the battery swap schedule and track them all in a spreadsheet. It wasn't the price of the batteries that hurt, it was paying someone to constantly drive between buildings. They said the labor was way more than they ever budgeted for.

adam_young311mo ago

Gray's got a point about the batteries. We did a mesh system in an old clinic, and the first year was a headache. You have to set a strict schedule and label every sensor with the swap date. The worst is when a door contact in some back hallway dies and you get a false alarm at 2 AM. It's not the cost of the batteries, it's the labor to check them all.