Wireless Interlinked Smoke and Heat Alarm Scotland Bundle with 10 Year Battery Life, EN14604, CE Certified, Fire Alarms Scotland Interlinked, Low-Battery Alert, Pre Linked. 3 Pack

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For kitchen, garage or workshop use, fire services also recommend fitting a heat alarm. These sense hot air rather than smoke, and trigger when the air in the sensor chamber reaches a specific temperature, which is usually 58°C. Heat alarms are slower to respond than actual smoke alarms, but they’re also not as prone to false alarms. They won’t go off when you’re grilling sausages or burning toast, but they still provide ample warning if something catches fire in your kitchen.

If you are spending additional money on a smoke and heat detector combination alarm, then we recommend spending a little more on linked detectors. Interlinking when one alarm goes off, all the connected detectors are activated. This can be particularly useful in a larger house. Smoke detectors use a sensor to recognize fire particles in the air, triggering the alarm system within the unit. There are two types of sensors: photoelectric and ionization. “Ionization detectors are more responsive to fast-burning fires, while photoelectric detectors are more responsive to smoldering fires,” says Diana Rodriguez-Zaba. “I recommend having both types of detectors in your home or a combination detector that uses both technologies.” Batteries used to be the weakness of most household smoke alarms, requiring replacement every year or so and usually running out of charge, causing the low battery alarm to ring, in the middle of the night. As with carbon monoxide alarms, the trend is now towards alarms with a built-in, 10-year lithium battery, designed to work for the alarm’s effective lifespan. In Scotland, these are now a legal requirement. In England and Wales, however, you can still buy and use alarms with a replaceable 9V battery, and these often work out cheaper. We’d recommend paying extra for the convenience and peace of mind, but the choice is yours. Is there anything else worth looking out for? As a rule of thumb, it’s best to use optical alarms in living rooms, bedrooms or downstairs hallways where you either have a lot of upholstered furniture and soft furnishings or the alarm is likely to be set off by cooking fumes. Keep ionisation alarms for upstairs hallways or areas where dust or exposure to the elements (say, through an open door) might potentially set off an optical sensor. If in doubt, go optical or use a multi-sensor alarm. Use of ionisation alarms is generally being discouraged by many fire services, and some manufacturers have now discontinued their ionisation products.

A linked detector will set off all alarms in a home through radio signal, so you can be assured that even if you’re asleep and the furthest alarm activates, all other alarms will activate, ensuring you hear it immediately. A smoke detector can save your life. These small devices mount to the wall or ceiling and use a sensor to continuously monitor for conditions that indicate a fire. Smoke detectors are a must for virtually every room in your home and should be replaced every 10 years, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Smart smoke alarms are designed to sound the alarm when they detect smoke, as a conventional smoke alarm would. But the unique selling point of a smart smoke alarm is the ability to send alerts to your phone when there’s a fire. An interesting by-product of the new breed of smart alarms is the fire-related data being collected, as is the case with Google, which makes the Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm. Google told us that it uses data from its alarms to provide ‘meaningful insights’ for its customers and to improve the product. Battery-powered detectors are wireless and can be placed anywhere. They typically run on replaceable batteries (usually 9-volt or AA) or sealed lithium batteries that last 10 years.

The more time you have to react to a fire in your home, the better chance you and your family have of getting out safely. Go Linked Different makes and models will be slower or faster to detect smoke coming through and have different alarms working at different volumes. Some even feature voice alarms or strobing lights. However, any alarms sold in the UK have to meet BS EN 14604:2005, which specifies the requirements, tests and performance criteria for smoke alarms using optical or ionisation sensors. Heat alarms are governed by the separate BS 5446-3:2003 standard. In Scotland, since February 2022, interlinked smoke and heat alarms have needed to be fitted in all homes. If you own a Nest smoke and CO alarm, you will be able to continue to use it but it will need to be in addition to interlinked smoke and heat alarms. The best smoke alarms you can buy in 2023 1. Google Nest Protect: Best smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarmSome smart models sound an alarm on your smartphone and through the alarm itself when triggered – this is the most helpful kind of smart alarm. Ionisation alarms ionise the air between two electrodes. These are positively and negatively charged, creating a small current inside the chamber.