WiFi vs Bluetooth vs Cellular-...

People ask us from time to time, why we went with WiFi?

It was really a process of what we felt was the most reliable.

Bluetooth has a limited range and often loses connection.

Cellular you can lose a signal in thunderstorms which often cause interference or dropped service. There are a lot of carriers, some have better coverage and reliability than others.

“First, from a perspective of access, keeping Wi-Fi available rather than having to fall back to cellular data during a storm means you have a better chance of staying online. Cellular access depends on backup batteries or generators at multiple affected locations staying online—you need the towers up and operating, you need their backhaul links operating, and you need the power up at the uplink point where the cell towers’ backhaul connects to the rest of the Internet. For your home’s Internet connection to stay up, there are (typically, but not always) fewer links in the upstream chain that need to stay powered—usually just your ISP’s local termination point.”

WiFi typically comes from a landline and usually very reliable. The downside to WiFi is if there is a power outage you lose your internet connection and ability to get alerts.

Power Outages There is a fairly inexpensive to stay connected during a power outage –

UPS Battery Backup (uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your WiFi Router. What’s the difference between a UPS is the process of filtering power. Brownouts, flickering power, and power surges won’t always trigger a battery backup, but a UPS filters that power, so devices gain steady and consistent power. … While a UPS is 3-4x the cost of a battery backup, they are not all made equal.

“While there’s not much to do for a multi-day power outage aside from buying a generator—a solution that comes with its own problems, since generator-related deaths tend to outnumber storm-related deaths in any given US-landed hurricane—there is a quick way to bridge the power gaps posed by a few isolated hours without power here and there: hook your infrastructure components up to an uninterruptible power supply.”

It’s definitely worth the money to get a UPS system if you travel, work away from home or want to be alerted if you are sleeping.

It’s up to you whether you act on your alerts or take action, but it’s nice to have peace of mind knowing what is going on with your sump system to make that call.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/09/storm-related-life-hacks-ups-your-cable-modem-and-wi-fi/
Roy Spencer - President of Basement Defender
Roy is a respected authority in the waterproofing industry, with over 40 years of experience under his belt. His company, Perma-Seal, has earned a reputation as Chicagoland’s premier waterproofing contractor, thanks to Roy’s unwavering commitment to quality, integrity, and customer satisfaction. His latest innovation, the Basement DefenderTM, is a testament to his dedication to providing homeowners with the best possible protection against basement flooding, representing a major leap forward in the industry’s efforts to prevent water damage and save homeowners from costly repairs.