Why Aren’t the Logitech WiLife Security Systems Wireless?

We get this question from many of our existing and potential customers, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to address it here. When it comes to surveillance, you want the most secure and reliable connection possible, and at this time, a wired connection is the best solution. However, running cables throughout your home or small business is usually a non-starter. So we use the next best thing… your existing power lines.

Now I know that some of the other surveillance systems out there market themselves as wireless, but in reality, in most cases, it’s only the video feed that they are referring to as wireless. AC power is still required to drive the electrical components of the camera. While you can buy battery-operated cameras, they’re not a practical solution because they only provide video for a few hours or days before the batteries need to be recharged or replaced.

WiLife uses your existing electrical wiring to provide a secure hardwired connection back to your PC so you can enjoy the security and stability of a hardwire connection without having to run new wires yourself. If you ask me, that’s even better than wireless!

Author

Chief Product Officer, WiLife

4 comments

  • First off, I think this looks like a great system and I plan on buying it if I can get a couple of questions answered.

    However, WiFi would be much easier for many users and locations. I do not have an electrical outlet near the front door which is the primary location at which I need a camera.

    So need to add one there. Since the camera will need to be powered anyway, I will need an electrician. The problem is, however, that I have 2 electrical panels and the one that has space for new breakers is not the same one into which the PC is plugged. The signal will need to be bridged between these somehow. (I paid the builder extra for a 400 Amp service which was installed as 2 panels of 200A each.)

    So WiFi would be easiest, then wired Ethernet, then powerline.

    PoE would be another way to go (Power over Ethernet), so it would be a single cable, no electrician required, and a smaller less obtrusive cable.

    • Hi Network Engineer,

      Having multiple sub-panels should not be a problem — I have one sub-panel for each of the three floors in my home and have adequate bandwidth to support six cameras across all three panels.

      Evan

  • When I installed my system, I found out that circuits with arc-fault breakers can affect the signal from the camera. Signal also suffers if the camera and computer are not on the same 120v power leg. Sadly your phone support techs did not know this. (They didn’t seem to understand the difference between ‘circuit breaker’ and ‘circuit breaker panel’). I suggest you add more information about choosing power circuits in your installation instructions; also your Master System, if designed for a “whole” house, should include power line bridge. (After all there’s not a house built here these days that doesn’t have at least two power legs coming in from the x-former.)

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