Electricity isn’t just a convenience to power our favorite appliances or keep the lights turned on; electricity also keeps us safe. We need power for our alarm systems to protect our homes, and we need the ability to keep smoke detectors and fire alarms monitoring our homes, alerting us in the event of a fire. Of all the tragedies involving a home fire, many went undetected due to a failing smoke detector or fire alarm.
Fire Alarm vs. Smoke Detector
Smoke detectors and fire alarms are not synonymous; there’s a significant difference. A smoke detector will sense smoke and sound an alarm in the area where there is smoke. A fire alarm is triggered by the smoke detector and will sound an alarm in the entire house or building. For smaller homes, having smoke detectors can be sufficient. However, in larger homes, estates, or buildings, having a fire alarm is necessary to alert everyone to a potential fire.
One thing they have in common is the need for proper installation.
Installing Smoke Detectors
Smoke detectors can be battery operated or wired into your homes electrical grid. With a battery operated smoke detector, there are potential risks. A battery can run down, become loose, wrongly installed, or be removed rendering the smoke detector useless. You may not realize the battery has run out until it is too late. A smoke detector that is wired into your electrical grid is a bit more reliable unless there is a power outage.
Smoke detectors should be installed in the major areas of the home, as well as bedrooms. Each section of the house should have a smoke detector.
Installing Fire Alarms
A fire alarm needs to be wired for each smoke detector to be effective. Installing your fire alarm wrong can be a potential danger to the entire home or building. If the smoke detectors are sending smoke but are not properly wired to the fire alarm, the alarm won’t be alerted by the smoke detector and a fire may go unnoticed.
Wiring Your Smoke Detectors and Fire Alarms
Not only does a correctly installed fire system alert the home to a fire, but the system will also activate a sprinkler system to put out the fire, as well as inform the fire department.
Smoke detectors and fire alarms will save lives and property. We recommend you hire a professional electrician to make sure your fire systems are wired adequately into your homes electrical grid, and that fire alarms are properly connected to each smoke detector.
