The short version
- During a wildfire, the power, cell service and internet often go down.
- FireShield can be started four ways, and three of them need no internet: a button on the controller, a wireless button, or its own sensors.
- FireShield uses Wi-Fi (or ethernet), cellular and satellite. Satellite is standard. If one goes down, it switches to another on its own.
- If the power goes out, built-in backup power keeps the controller running. If it ever restarts, it picks up where it left off without needing the internet.
- If you're comparing systems, ask what can still start the system with no internet and no cell service.
A wildfire system needs to stay in touch, but wildfires often knock out power lines and cell towers.
When that happens, the power can go out or flicker, and cell towers may only run for a few hours on backup power. Utilities sometimes shut the power off ahead of time because of fire risk.
So for part of a fire, the system may not be connected. What matters is what it does then.
Four ways to start it
FireShield can be started in four ways, and any one of them is enough.
From the cloud. FireShield's servers watch the fire and send the start command when a fire comes within the activation distance set for your house and the delay runs out. This one needs a connection.
The other three don't need a connection:
A button on the controller.
A wireless button. You can put it by the door or in the garage and press it on your way out. It talks to the controller directly, not through the internet.
Its own sensors. Heat, smoke, flame or camera sensors wired to the controller can start it.
Because FireShield can be started from the cloud, it doesn't have to wait for a fire to reach the house. It can start based on the activation distance set for your house.
Wi-Fi, cellular and satellite
FireShield can use Wi-Fi (or ethernet), cellular or satellite to send and receive the same messages.
It uses Wi-Fi when it's available. If Wi-Fi goes down, it switches to cellular, and if cellular goes down, it switches to satellite, which comes standard. When a faster connection comes back, it switches back. Each one can be turned on or off in your settings.
About the satellite radio
The satellite radio has its own processor, so satellite messages can never slow down the valves.
The antenna goes on the roof, where it has a clear view of the sky, not on the controller.
Over any connection, FireShield can receive the full set of commands: start, delay, stop, drain and change settings. Software updates go over Wi-Fi or cellular.
If the power goes out while it's running
If the power fails while the system is running, built-in backup power takes over. If the controller ever restarts, it picks up where it left off.
Before it starts, FireShield records what it's doing and keeps that record up to date. After a restart, it reads the record, puts every valve back where it should be, and continues from the same zone.
The key phrase in FireShield's patent is that it resumes "without re-establishing communication with a remote backend." It does not need to contact a server. It does not wait for a server to tell it what it was doing. It already knows.
The same goes for the countdown: after a restart, it continues instead of starting over. A power outage can never push the start later.
If the software ever freezes, a separate circuit restarts it, and the same recovery runs.
A power outage doesn't stop your house from being protected.
Making sure commands are real
Because the system can be controlled remotely, it has to make sure every command really comes from you.
Every message is encrypted with a key unique to your controller and checked to make sure it hasn't been changed. Anything that fails the check is ignored.
Old or replaced commands are ignored too.
The enclosure also has a tamper sensor, and its warning stays on the screen even after a power loss, so you'll know if someone opened it while you were away.
What to ask before you sign
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| How many ways can this be started? | FireShield has four, and three need no internet. |
| Can I start it without internet or cell service? | With FireShield, yes: a button on the controller, a wireless button or its own sensors. |
| What happens if power cuts mid-cycle? | FireShield keeps running on built-in backup power, and after any reset it resumes from the exact zone it was on, without contacting a server. |
| Does the satellite radio share a processor with the valves? | In FireShield, no, so satellite messages can't affect the valves. |
| Where does the satellite antenna mount? | FireShield mounts it on the roof with a clear view of the sky. |
Ask FireShield and other companies these questions.
The real test is what a system does when the power and internet are out and nobody is home. Here's the whole sequence, step by step.
Next in this series
- Skip the Zones You Don't Need — Watering only part of your property, and why you might want to.
- The Setting You Can Change in Ten Seconds — How the settings fit the system to your house.
- Why Wildfire Controllers Fail on the Hottest Day — The cooling fan and the computer, and why FireShield has neither.
- What Actually Has to Work When Nobody's Home — The whole system, start to finish, in plain English.
About FireShield — FireShield builds automated exterior wildfire defense systems for homes across Southern California. The controller described here is covered by FireShield's patent. See the wildfire defense system or talk to us.