What is the best smoke alarm?

A smoke detector is the same as a smoke alarm the only difference is the name. So it is the same thing.  Many homes such as flats, bed sits and town houses can't have 110 or 240 volt hard wired smoke alarms  fitted because there may be only a concrete ceiling or no access into the roof cavity to wire it in. To comply with most building codes  a 10 year internal non replaceable battery smoke alarm is the best solution where a hard wired electrical smoke alarm can't practically be fitted.

The most popular 10 year battery smoke alarm used in Australia at the moment is the BROOKS 10 YEAR Smoke Alarm and (surprise, surpise) it is  made in Ireland not China! There is also another completely diferent  smoke alarm available that may cost more to install than usual and this is the photo electric smoke alarm.

So what is the best smoke alarm?

We're not talking about brands or models, simply the different mechanisms that make smoke alarms work. Over 90% of the smoke alarms fitted are of the Ionisation type, I like to refer to it as a smoke alarm that has a nose.  It sniffs for smoke. When this type of alarm is fitted it must be kept away from smoky environments such as lounge rooms with wood heaters and kitchens.  We all know the old problem with burning the toast and the smoke alarm goes off!

If you want to  avoid the problem of nuisance alarms install the photo electric smoke alarm.  It is often fitted in very small apartments where cooking often trigger false alarms. The photo electric smoke alarm uses it's ‘electronic eye' that sits in a special chamber in the alarm. It will sense the smoke and trigger the alarm.  It will actually look for a fire and is not prone to the false alarms that affects the ionization type smoke alarm. The photo electric smoke alarm is more expensive to install but it's a small price to pay for having the job done right the first time and to avoid being driven mad by a constant false alarms.

- Robert  Middleton

http://www.safetyswitch.net.au