All you need to know about smoke alarm installation

Smoke alarm installation is necessary for all types of residential dwellings because it helps prevent fires which could result in property damage or loss of life.To ensure that you get the best use out of your smoke alarms, you need to be very strategic when deciding where to install them. Here’s what you need to know about smoke alarm installation.

Where to install smoke alarms

You want to make sure that the smoke alarms are heard by everyone when they go off, so make sure that they are well spread across the house. In a multistory house, they should be installed on every floor. There should be an alarm in each bedroom, as well as other sleeping areas within the property. Alarms should also be placed in living areas and hallways.

To ensure that you get the best protection, you should install smoke alarms that are interconnected. These alarms are linked to each other, so that if one of them is triggered, all the alarms in the house will go off, and everybody will be able to hear them and take action. Hardwired smoke alarms (alarms that are linked to the home’s power supply, but also have backup batteries) are preferable because they are less likely to malfunction.

Avoid installing smoke alarms in the following places

Regular false alarms can force you to disable or remove your smoke alarms. To ensure that your smoke alarms are effective, and to reduce the nuisance of frequent false alarms, you have to avoid installing them in areas that are prone to a lot of smoke or steam. Don’t install a smoke alarm in or right outside the kitchen because it’s likely to be set off by smoke or steam from cooking.

Other areas to avoid include: In or near the bathroom or laundry room where there’s a lot of steam, areas above or close to fireplaces, water heaters and space heaters, and around doors or windows which are near outdoor barbeque areas.

The effectiveness of smoke alarms is also reduced in areas where there’s a lot of air movement, so you should avoid placing the alarms above doors, windows, ceiling fans, or air conditioning ducts.

Smoke Alarm Types and Features

At Albert Corn & Son we can install a number of different types of fire alarms to suit an array of different people and situations. Some features and types of smoke alarms include

• Brooks Smoke Alarm for deaf and hearing impaired:
  • High sensitivity strobe with vibration pad

• Standard PSA Smoke Alarm Features:
  • 240VAC with sealed rechargeable lithium back-up battery designed to last for 10 years
  • Low battery warning delay – silence low battery beeping for 8 hours, giving you time to change the smoke alarm
  • Compatible with wireless interlink base
  • Test mode
  • Smoke Alarm Memory: The red LED will flash 3 times every 40 seconds on the unit that has activated. Pressing the TEST button will emit short beeping before resetting.
  • Chamber Fault Mode: The smoke alarm continuously monitors the condition of its smoke detection chamber. Smoke alarm will beep 3 times every 40 seconds if it requires maintenance and cleaning.

Hire professional installers

Ensure that your smoke alarm installation is done by professionals. Experienced installers will be able to inspect your house and determine the best locations for your smoke alarms. Installation of interconnected and hardwired smoke alarms can only be done by licensed electricians, so you should check to ensure that your installer has the right credentials.

Albert Corn & Son is an electrical contracting business in Geelong that specialises in smoke alarm installation and maintenance. Contact us today for more information.