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Smoke Alarms and Heat Detectors
Smoke alarms and heat detectors installed correctly save lives. Fires in the home result in around 50 deaths and 1300 injuries each year, many which could have been prevented if people had an early warning and were able to get out in time. In fact you are twice as likely to die in a house fire that has no smoke alarm than a house that does. Fitting a smoke alarm could help save your home and the lives of you and your family.
There are many different types of smoke alarm and heat detector available to buy and it can be difficult to decide which to fit. However, for peace of mind we would always recommend fitting mains powered smoke alarms and heat detectors as they don’t rely on batteries. We would also recommend inter-connecting smoke and heat alarms. With this set up if one alarm is triggered, all the connected detectors are activated. This is particularly useful in larger properties.
Our fully qualified electricians suggest the best place to have your smoke and heat alarms fitted. This makes sure that the alarms will work at all times.
What type of smoke alarms are available?
There are mainly four types of smoke alarm currently on the market – ionisation, optical (also described as photo electronic), heat and combined.
Ionisation: An ionisation smoke detector will typically detect the fire before the smoke thickens giving occupants plenty of time to escape the premises. They are very sensitive to small particles of smoke produced by fast flaming fires, such as paper and wood, and will detect this type of fire before the smoke gets too thick. They are marginally less sensitive to slow burning and smouldering fires which give off larger quantities of smoke before flaming occurs. They can however also be too over-sensitive near kitchens.
Optical: These are more expensive but more effective at detecting larger particles of smoke produced by slow-burning fires, such as smouldering foam-filled upholstery and overheated PVC wiring. They are marginally less sensitive to fast flaming fires. Optical alarms can be installed near (not in) kitchens, as they are less likely than ionisation alarms to go off when toast is burned.
Heat Alarms: They detect the increase in temperature from a fire and are insensitive to smoke. They can therefore be installed in kitchens. They only cover a relatively small area of a room, so potentially several heat alarms need to be installed in a large kitchen.
Combined Optical Smoke and Heat Alarms: Combinations of optical and heat alarms in one unit to reduce the amount of false alarms while increasing the speed of detection.
Combined Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms: Alarms that combine both smoke detection and CO alarm protection in one ceiling-mounted unit. This reduces costs and takes up less of your living space.
Interlinked Dectors: We recommend that Smoke Detectors, Carbon monoxide detectors and heat detectors in your property should all be interlinked.
The amount and locations of your detectors will depend on the size and nature of the property. For example if you have a three or four storey property and the smoke alarm is triggered on the ground floor, it is quite possible that you wouldn't hear it on a higher floor. This is why we must interlink them so if one sounds, they all sound, alerting the entire building to the risk
This can be achieved in one of two ways or a mixture of both. Installation permitting we would normally take initial power to the closest detector to the consumer unit, we would then interlink cabling from one detector to the next, to the next, and so on.
In many cases, however, the property is decorated and lived in, so retrofitting cables right from top to bottom of the property if simply not financially viable.
In these cases we can install radio linked smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and heat detectors. This solution greatly lowers the need to get into the structure of the building, thus reducing costs and disturbance.
Which smoke alarm should I choose?
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Kitchen and Garage: Heat Alarms.
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Landings: Ionisation smoke alarms or combined optical smoke and heat alarms.
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Bedrooms, living rooms and hallway: Optical smoke alarms or combined optical smoke and heat alarms.
How many should I fit in my home?
The number of smoke alarms to fit in your property depends on your particular circumstances. Fires can start anywhere, so the more that are fitted, the higher the level of protection.
For maximum protection an alarm should be fitted in every room (except bathrooms). You should choose the type most suited to the risk in each room. For minimum protection if your home is on one floor, one smoke alarm, preferably of the optical type, may be enough to provide you with early warning of a fire. If your home has more than one floor, at least one alarm should be fitted on each level. In this case a combination of optical and ionisation alarms, preferably interconnected, will give the best protection.
Smoke Alarms for Landlords
If you are a landlord in the UK it is now a legal requirement that you have the correct arrangement of mains wired smoke alarms and heat detectors installed in all of your properties.
Current laws require landlords to fit working heat and smoke alarms. It is now also a requirement to install working carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding those used solely for cooking) to make sure tenants are safe.
Landlord smoke alarm guide:
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One smoke alarm in the most frequently used daytime room.
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One smoke alarm in each circulation space, e.g. hallways.
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Every kitchen requires a heat alarm.
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Interlinking alarms is necessary.
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At least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their rental property which is used as living accommodation
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A carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where solid fuel is used
You should always wire your heat and smoke alarms into the main electricity supply, whilst also having a backup power supply. Smoke and heat alarm batteries run out over time and people forget to install replacements. Alarms wired in to the mains allows the alarms to always work even when their batteries run out. This ensures maximum safety at all times. The biggest advantage to having detectors wired into the main power supply is that there is no need to worry about battery life. However, a back up power supply is still needed therefore your alarms should always contain charged batteries.
Please be aware that if the property is an HMO (house in multiple occupation) there will be extra fire safety criteria to meet.
As NICEIC Approved electrical contractors we can fit mains wired smoke alarms and heat detectors to meet current fire regulations.
We can also offer landlords a complete electrical service to ensure compliance with all electrical regulations, including Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR) and PAT testing.
