Linked Smoke Alarms

ash_scotland88 · 5 Apr 2021 at 21:25

Currently not looking for a smart system as I think it may be a hard sell to the other half...

What are poeple (maybe more aimed towards Scottish) for linked Smoke Alarms?

Utility room is an old wash room (attached to house but no direct door) so would like something in there incase the washer dryer goes up in flames.
Open fire in lounge and dining room (so carbon monoxide?)
And would need something upstairs under regs.
The boiler will be going in the old coal store, again attached to house but have to exit house.

Also any ideas for placements for alarms?

2004typer · 5 Apr 2021 at 22:38

Usual minimum locations are one on the landing at first floor, and one at ground floor in the hallway (if you have one) - generally on the circulation route to the exit points. Of course, if your stairs are open plan this will differ somewhat so needs appraising on an individual basis depending on the house layout. The alarms should be interlinked and mains wired, with an internal battery back up.

If you want to go further you can add additional alarms to risk rooms, such as a heat detector in the Kitchen, a smoke alarm in the utility as you mention above etc.

You can also get carbon monoxide alarms for the Lounge and Dining.

Psycho Sonny · 6 Apr 2021 at 11:26

I use nest protect because they link, do carbon monoxide and take 2 minutes to install. I have 2 wired which replaced 2 old wired and then a battery for where there was none before.

I went for kitchen. Downstairs hallway and upstairs hallway.

Regulations now say one in each bedroom but that is overkill IMO.

The main issue is improper use of candles and cheap Chinese electronics plugged into wall sockets. I would decrease use of both to reduce the risk in the first place.

Buffman · 6 Apr 2021 at 13:24

Interested in this thread as I was looking at similae

Psycho Sonny said:
I use nest protect because they link, do carbon monoxide and take 2 minutes to install. I have 2 wired which replaced 2 old wired and then a battery for where there was none before.

Does nest require a "hub" / Any additional interfacing? I think i might use hive or tado for the rest of my smart home.

Are the battery /wired units different? Think I can have 2x wired and 1x battery at new place (already 2 wired ones in)

Psycho Sonny · 6 Apr 2021 at 13:48

Buffman said:
Interested in this thread as I was looking at similae

Does nest require a "hub" / Any additional interfacing? I think i might use hive or tado for the rest of my smart home.

Are the battery /wired units different? Think I can have 2x wired and 1x battery at new place (already 2 wired ones in)

No hub all just through WiFi.

They are only different in terms of one being battery and the other wired.

The ones that are wired I have set to be used as pathlights, etc.

For all the functionality they are actually cheap. I didn't even know about half the features until I got them.

The batter one I don't use as night light and have half the functions off to preserve battery life. Been 4 years now and still going on original batteries.

They have a 10 year life and perform automatic sound checks once a month so they test themselves.

My mate bought 3 off the back of my recommendation again 2 wired and 1 battery and he's not had any issues.

I think the WiFi chip has died in his thermostat though seems to have lost connection. But he's not had any issues with the nest protects.

Smoke plus carbon monoxide in one is another huge plus point. Pathlights a d it has a motion sensor to advise someone is still home for the thermostat. It's a lot of tech inside them.

Nikumba · 6 Apr 2021 at 16:28

Will take a look at them in the new house but will look to have carbon monxide done by its own detector near floor level since its heavier than air, if it sets off a Nest alarm chances are your going to be in for a bad time

PlacidCasual · 6 Apr 2021 at 16:36

I like the Nest ones because they tell you where the fire is. So when my wife is making toast and I'm upstairs "There is smoke in the dining room". I also get a push notification very useful for asking my wife if she was making toast when I was at work

Puzzled · 6 Apr 2021 at 16:52

Nikumba said:
Will take a look at them in the new house but will look to have carbon monxide done by its own detector near floor level since its heavier than air, if it sets off a Nest alarm chances are your going to be in for a bad time

Dont you have that the wrong way round? Carbon monoxide is less dense than air, all the guides state they should be placed higher up

I bought some fireangel battery powered linked alarms but haven't got round to replacing the old ones yet. They have an optional hub for remote monitoring via an app but the reviews aren't great.

Derek W · 6 Apr 2021 at 18:57

Here's the updated regs which were introduced this past February. Covid has meant that there's been an extension on when you should have the new detection system fitted. https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-in-scottish-homes/

lewism · 6 Apr 2021 at 21:54

Aico all the way you won't go wrong. Nothing else compares.

PlacidCasual · 7 Apr 2021 at 09:19

Puzzled said:
Dont you have that the wrong way round? Carbon monoxide is less dense than air, all the guides state they should be placed higher up

We had to install industrial CO monitors at work above 150 tonne coal hoppers and we had the same concern. Expert advise was, CO is marginally heavier than air but CO is almost exclusively produced by combustion and the temperature related density reduction outweighs the room temperature density. Their advise was CO typically rises. This was the advise of engineers who design and build industrial CO detectors for a living.

That doesn't cover instances like trenches of confined spaces but is correct for the home.

ash_scotland88 · 7 Apr 2021 at 21:24

lewism said:
Aico all the way you won't go wrong. Nothing else compares.

Cheers, first look appeared to be loads of companies out there but the end up reappearing and Aico appears to be one.

Would you go for 10year life or a 9V? I keep reading of failures within a few years and no means to replace battery.

Ahleckz · 7 Apr 2021 at 21:29

I got the Fire Angel branded ones when I put my flat out to rent. Couple smoke alarms, heat alarm and a co2 alarm. Think I just needed a smoke alarm in the living room and another in the hallway and a heat alarm in the kitchen.

Very easy to install, worked fine when I tested. Does what they say on the tin!

Got them from Amazon.

lewism · 7 Apr 2021 at 21:33

ash_scotland88 said:
Cheers, first look appeared to be loads of companies out there but the end up reappearing and Aico appears to be one.

Would you go for 10year life or a 9V? I keep reading of failures within a few years and no means to replace battery.

10 Year inbuilt battery, I'm sure Aico offer a 5 year warranty on their products. There are so many threads on them because they are the most popular brand in Britain I would say. They are installed by the thousands each day. The RF Modules are also good if you want to add detection in later without having to hard wire the lot.

ash_scotland88 · 10 Apr 2021 at 17:27

lewism said:
10 Year inbuilt battery, I'm sure Aico offer a 5 year warranty on their products. There are so many threads on them because they are the most popular brand in Britain I would say. They are installed by the thousands each day. The RF Modules are also good if you want to add detection in later without having to hard wire the lot.

Thanks, hardwire is our of the question. Only thing might be if a RF module can be put on an extension. Eg if the utility room one doesn't sync then can drill a hole through the wall to feed a cable through just for the RF.

lewism · 10 Apr 2021 at 20:46

ash_scotland88 said:
Thanks, hardwire is our of the question. Only thing might be if a RF module can be put on an extension. Eg if the utility room one doesn't sync then can drill a hole through the wall to feed a cable through just for the RF.

You get Battery Heats/Opticals with RF. Each one acts as its own repeater.