Security & low voltage
Security System Installation Cost Calculator
Prices system installation, where wireless saves labour and creates maintenance.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Hours times crew times rate, plus materials and the call-out. The main labour variable is wired against wireless. A wired system means a cable to every device, which in a finished building is substantial work and gives a system that needs no battery attention for years. A wireless system installs quickly with adhesive or screw-mounted devices and then needs batteries replaced across every device on a rolling cycle, which is a recurring task someone has to do.
What moves the number
- Wired against wireless, which trades install labour for ongoing maintenance.
- Number of devices and how far they are from the panel.
- Whether the building is occupied and finished.
- Programming and testing time, which is real and often underestimated.
Where this one goes wrong
Wireless is not maintenance-free, and that is worth saying at the quote rather than leaving the customer to discover a device dropping offline in two years. Batteries across a dozen devices need replacing on a cycle, and a sensor with a dead battery is a gap in coverage that the panel may report only as a trouble condition the owner learns to ignore. On programming, commissioning and testing every device, walk-testing motion coverage and verifying the signal path to the monitoring centre is real time, and a system installed without it frequently has a device that was never actually working.
Before you quote
- Explain the battery maintenance cycle on a wireless system.
- Walk-test every device and verify the path to monitoring.
- Document device locations and zone names for the owner.
Questions
About this calculator
Is a wireless alarm system as good as a wired one?
It detects the same things and installs far faster, at the cost of battery maintenance across every device on a rolling cycle. A wired system needs no battery attention for years but costs considerably more to install in a finished building. The trade is labour now against maintenance later.
How often do wireless sensor batteries need replacing?
Every few years per device, which across a dozen devices means something needing attention most years. A sensor with a dead battery is a coverage gap, and the trouble signal is easy to ignore, which is why the maintenance cycle should be explained rather than discovered.
Does the installer test the system?
They should, and it is real time: commissioning each device, walk-testing motion coverage, and confirming the signal actually reaches the monitoring centre. Systems installed without that testing not uncommonly have a device that never worked from the day it was fitted.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $115.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $900.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 8 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $115 |
| Parts and materials | $900 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $1,915 |
| Labour | $920 |
| Before tax | $1,915 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $1,915: $920 of labour, $900 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $58 | $1,459 |
| $86 | $1,683 |
| $115 example above | $1,915 |
| $173 | $2,379 |
| $230 | $2,835 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 8 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $115.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $900.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.