Honeywell 5800MINI vs Honeywell 5816

The Honeywell 5800 MINI and the Honeywell 5816 are both popular surface-mounted door and window contacts. They are very similar devices, though each has certain advantages and disadvantages. Either one will work very well as a wireless door or window contact for a complete security setup.

As surface-mounted contacts, both the 5800MINI and the 5816 are placed on the outside of a door or window. The sensor is placed on the door or window frame. The corresponding magnet is placed on the door or window itself, within a half inch of the sensor. When the door or window is opened, the magnet will separate from the sensor. This will cause an internal reed switch inside the sensor to activate. When this happens, a signal will be sent to the security panel to let it know about the faulted zone. Both sensors are very easy to install, and they can be held in place with either screws or double-sided sticky tape, both of which are included.

Additionally, both the 5800MINI and the 5816 are part of the Honeywell 5800 Series. both sensors communicate at a frequency of 345 MHz. This makes them perfect for use with Honeywell or 2GIG Panels. Both will operate at a distance of roughly 200 feet away from the security panel. A user can add a Honeywell 5800RP to further extend this range.

The 5800MINI is smaller and more compact than the 5816. Many users also prefer the more "rounded" appearance of the 5800MINI. These design considerations make the 5800MINI the more "aesthetically pleasing" choice of the two sensors. The 5800MINI also includes an LED light that displays the status of the sensor after recently powering on and after recently having been faulted. This can be helpful in setting up the sensor and for knowing when a fault has occurred. This LED light is not present on a 5816.

However, the 5816 does maintain one advantage over the 5800MINI. This advantage is that the 5816 can be used as a wireless transmitter for hardwired normally closed devices. The hardwired normally closed device will connect with the 5816 via the two provided screw terminals, and the 5816 will send a wireless signal to the panel on behalf of the hardwired device when it is opened. This will allow the hardwired device to communicate with the security panel.

The 5816 can perform double-duty by acting as both a door or window contact and as a wireless transmitter at the same time. Programming the device to Loop 1 will have it act as a wireless transmitter. Programming the sensor to Loop 2 will have it act as a door or window contact. With the sensor programmed to the panel twice, and both of its wireless zones set to these two different loops (1 and 2), the 5816 can monitor two separate points simultaneously.