How to Choose Home Smoke Detectors
Conscientious homeowners should not skimp on products that protect their families and their homes. Homeowners should do their research when purchasing a smoke detector for their home. There are plenty of choices in residential smoke detectors that will have a positive impact on a family’s “fire safety rating.”
Placement of smoke detectors
Placement of smoke detectors is important. A plan should include detectors near any rooms where smoking or other flammability, like candle burning, will occur, or even in higher risk areas with large electrical boxes or other wiring. You can also boost the chances of quick reaction to a fire emergency by having mapped out an accessible fire route. The placing of fire detectors can be worked into an overall safety plan that tries to foresee where in the home an emergency will likely arise.
Battery powered -VS- electrical grid
Homeowners should consider the option of purchasing a residential smoke detector with a back-up battery system. Professionals can install residential smoke detectors that attach to a home’s electrical grid with a backup battery for power outages. Alternately, many older residential smoke detectors work only on battery power. These should be checked regularly for any battery-related problems. Another option is to use new, high-powered lithium batteries that have less chance of failure than yesterday’s old 9-volts.
UL rated residential smoke detectors
You should purchase residential smoke detectors rated by the national Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) system. Look for smoke detector models with these kinds of credentials to get units that are tested for accurate response to fire. Another innovation that is providing more fire safety is a ‘dual’ smoke detectors that works on the principles of ionization (good for keeping tabs on fires with a lot of flame) and photo-electricity (better with less flaming, smoky fires). It’s obvious how having this combination will enhance a home smoke detector’s reaction to the spectrum of fire types.
Smoke detector technology
Other new fire smoke detector types include those with voice activity features to wake sleepers in a fire emergency. Manufacturers are working to give home owners the best possible advantages for anticipating any kind of fire emergency. Consumers can benefit from this progressive technology to give themselves more of a buffer against those very unfortunate incidents that can never be fully predicted. As fires claim thousands of properties every year, a good set of detectors and a comprehensive fire plan are really the height or practicality.