Do the wireless home alarm systems create more radiation in the home? Also, what do you think of the systems in general?

Your home is already full of radio frequencies. Think of all of the local AM and FM radio and television stations you can receive. The receivers themselves are also sources of electromagnetic radiation. Add the communication systems for emergency responders (police, fire, ambulance, et al). Citizen band radios and amateur (ham) radios provide more. Of course, your cell phone, computer and laptop also radiate radio frequencies, oh and your microwave oven. The addition of a dozen or so intrusion detection devices sending bluetooth or wifi signals will not significantly increase the RF noise.

While the cost of devices for a wired home alarm system is less than for a wireless system, the added cost of the installation will likely make it more expensive. Renters are likely to use a wireless system. Since a wired system cannot be easily transferred to a new home, homeowners can add the wired security system to the asking price or go wireless. Depending on your intentions, a mix of wired and wireless devices may provide the most economical system.

Wireless actually means wire less. I do not know which systems you are considering, but the sensors need some kind of power supply to monitor and send their signal to the master unit. That power can come from batteries which need to be changed regularly or your electrical system. You can get some outdoor units that use solar. The link to the base can be wireless. the sensing elements put out a trivial amount of energy. They only transmit to the base when there is an intrusion or when the base periodically interrogates and self-tests.
As @Bill1939 said above, we all are already bathed in radio frequency waves. The addition of a home system is nothing.

The broader question is one of security systems in general. Do they work in the first place? (I don’t mean mechanically)

Does having a security system (and a security system sign outside) really cut down on theft?

Is it worth it? Are they effective?

Do false alarms occur, and do people become immune to listening to alarms?

I have always doubted their effectiveness and deterrent capability.

I’m in the office, sitting in front of a laptop, next to a desktop, in front of a printer, under fluorescent lights, with a CD player going. I probably have more stuff at home than here. I don’t think the additional radiation will matter. As for their effectiveness I remember an article about a burglar that went around looking for the alarm systems he was good at dismantling, than targeting those homes with the signs out front. I think good neighbors are more effective.

I was looking at the Iris system sold at Lowe’s.

Ahhh. I get it. My recommendation is to wait at least a few months. That system looks great but it just came out and who knows what kind of bugs they will find. (Like the early Nest issues, since fixed, which practically told intruders which homes were unoccupied.)

I favor stand alone systems with their own batteries, cameras, and recording systems. I simply do not trust a system that relies 100% on the web for its operation. If the system resets, the router is reset, a wire is cut, the power goes out, a nearby lightning strike, or any other disturbance happens the system becomes useless.

What if it is made in china and they intentionally left a software back door open?

Lol. Paranoid. I like that about you.

It isn’t paranoia if it’s fact. :-)

(I’m still mad about the electronic picture frames made in china and sold at many department stores just before Christmas that came with 4 different malware “presents”: a keylogger, a back door, a worm and spyware. They said it came from an employee who brought it into the factory. Yeah, right.)

Looks like I got ninja’d…

@LuckyGuy Well, “employee” could mean “government liason”; technically a company employee, but with two bosses. Kind of like working for both Intel and the NSA at the same time. Or maybe it really was an actual employee acting under orders from the Chinese Ministry of State Security.

As an aside, is a claymore mine considered “wired”?

@jerv. People bought those frames, plugged in the software, and if the virus protection balked, they overode it assuming it was ok. 4 different types of viruses!
How many hundreds of thousands were sold? I’ll bet most are still out there.
I prefer a mix of wired and wireless, passive and active. I’m confident your c-more fits in there somewhere.