When selecting the right PGS for your facility, there’s a lot to consider, including accuracy, installation, and per-space costs. For this analysis of three popular PGS solutions, our use case is a 400-space, high-utilization garage with medium complexity driving patterns.

Cost benefit analysis observations

The counting solutions, despite requiring minimal design and planning time, pose a challenge due to their lower real-life accuracy. This necessitates frequent manual space count adjustments and correction of the PGS count, thereby escalating operational costs due to continuous staff involvement. In high-utilization facilities, the limited value generated by these counting systems substantially diminishes the final “Solution Value” score compared to per-space systems.

The wired ultrasonic solution with overhead per-space lights falls short of being an optimal choice. This is attributed to the highest solution costs, longest installation times, substantial design and planning time, and hefty additional costs for any post-installation modifications compared to other options. This collectively diminishes the overall “Solution Value” for wired ultrasonic solution with overhead lights.

In contrast, the per-space wireless PGS with Entrance and Directional DMS emerge as the most valuable solutions for this specific facility. In comparison to counting systems, these systems excel due to the lack of necessity for manual resets, given the high-utilization of the facility. When matched against wired per-space systems, the cost-effectiveness and shorter installation times of per-space wireless PGS and directional DMS provide a competitive edge.

Key takeaways:

Wireless counting vs. per-space solutions

• Counting solutions in general, and wireless counting in particular, present cost-efficient entrance-level PGS solutions, provided the limitations of counting solutions.
• Counting solutions require less hardware to install and maintain, thus reducing the initial and hardware replacement and maintenance costs.
• Counting solutions are much faster to install, they require the least design and planning time.
• However, counting solutions exhibit lower real-life accuracy and require regular manual space count and correction/reset of the PGS count, increasing the operational costs due to a need for regular human staff engagement.
• Limited value generated by counting systems in high-utilization facilities significantly reduces the final “Solution Value” for counting systems vs. per-space systems for a high-utilization garage.

Wired ultrasonic solution with overhead per-space lights is less than optimal.

• Overall “Solution Value” for wired ultrasonic solution with overhead per-space lights is reduced by the highest solution costs and longest installation times (relatively to other options). They also involve substantial design and planning time, with any post-installation changes leading to significant additional design and re-installation costs.

Per-space wireless PGS with Entrance and Directional DMS present the best value for this particular facility vs other solution options:

• vs. counting systems – due to the high-utilization nature of this facility, no need for manual resets.
• vs. wired per-space systems – due to the lower solution cost, shorter installation times.
• vs. other wireless PGS options – due to higher costs but limited value contribution from adding overhead lights.

Learn more about PGS and how going wireless is lowering costs and simplifying installation.

Nwave wireless PGS powers the world’s top tech enterprises and proptech projects. With minimal conduits and cabling requirements, planning and deployment are agile and swift, taking just a fraction of the time compared to traditional systems. While initially designed for outdoor environments, wireless PGS is gaining popularity indoors due to low cost, easy installation and simplicity.

Learn how Nwave can help your parking facility solve it’s biggest challenges.