How common are wireless smoke alarms in both the US and UK?

[Heatblizzard]

Just curious as I have seen them pop up when looking how smokes work and are wired so it intrigued me to further investigate. What are your thoughts on them? Pros and cons? Where would you most likely find them in use? New homes? Old homes? Apartments?.etc

Wireless alarms usually have a special symbol on them so I wonder how they send data especially to each other? Could they also work as stand alone? With mains you can just remove (not that you should) the 'red' wire but the alarms still function as normal meaning they will quite loudly alarm in a fire regardless if they communicate to each other or not.

[Xautos]

wireless alarms are quite common in the UK, they are usually circular or square in shape with parts inside a plastic case, some have lights, some don't, some are basic, some have more options... but they are all connected to a battery that lasts a very long time. none of them are connected to anything else except the ceiling or wall.

[Heatblizzard]

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

wireless alarms are quite common in the UK, they are usually circular or square in shape with parts inside a plastic case, some have lights, some don't, some are basic, some have more options... but they are all connected to a battery that lasts a very long time. none of them are connected to anything else except the ceiling or wall.

Can wireless alarms do a battery check for percentage left? I know NEST alarms have the ability to do a self test of it's battery life at any time. How does that self check work but MAN they are way overpriced for meger features that should be common on all but the cheapest alarms!

[Heatblizzard]

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

wireless alarms are quite common in the UK, they are usually circular or square in shape with parts inside a plastic case, some have lights, some don't, some are basic, some have more options... but they are all connected to a battery that lasts a very long time. none of them are connected to anything else except the ceiling or wall.

Do they usually (in the UK) make other alarms ring so you wind up not knowing what alarm is the affected when they sing Hazy The Smoke song?

[Phénomènes Mystiques]

Wireless smoke alarms are very dangerous if you are using them to protect a home. Most often they die quickly are either too sensitive or not sensitive enough.

I will stick to a hardwire detector with battery backup.

[Heatblizzard]

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

wireless alarms are quite common in the UK, they are usually circular or square in shape with parts inside a plastic case, some have lights, some don't, some are basic, some have more options... but they are all connected to a battery that lasts a very long time. none of them are connected to anything else except the ceiling or wall.

I'm surprised because I thought a lot of UK smoke alarms would be old fashion battery type (maybe these days the 10 year kind)

[[N]ebsun]

wireless as in wifi ? or wireless as in battery powered ?

battery powered ones are the only ones I know of, and are in every house here - new and old.

[Heatblizzard]

Първоначално публикувано от Wynters:

Wireless smoke alarms are very dangerous if you are using them to protect a home. Most often they die quickly are either too sensitive or not sensitive enough.

I will stick to a hardwire detector with battery backup. :csdsmile:

Pretty much. Though it seems to be battery ones should be the best because of a much lower risk being affected by voltage drops/surges that could cause hidden damage in an alarm. (Test button is not always a good indicator as it only confirms the beeper speaker works)

Being battery means no overcurrent or undercurrent would ever touch it regardless of battery backup or not. (Some mains powered alarms actually DON'T have battery backup at all and are fully mains only) but I have never seen any but have heard they exist. Can't imagine where.

Sure you may have to feed the alarm more often with batteries and some idiots would neglect to do it but that's a small price to have permanent power (for as long as the detectors life) and the 'idiots' are sadly the only ones that make it to the news so it skewers the data making it look like everyone is that way. Free hint: Most of us aren't.

[Xautos]

Първоначално публикувано от Heatblizzard:

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

wireless alarms are quite common in the UK, they are usually circular or square in shape with parts inside a plastic case, some have lights, some don't, some are basic, some have more options... but they are all connected to a battery that lasts a very long time. none of them are connected to anything else except the ceiling or wall.

Do they usually (in the UK) make other alarms ring so you wind up not knowing what alarm is the affected when they sing Hazy The Smoke song?

before i was forced out of my previous residence, there were three alarms in the house, two smoke alarms and a carbon dioxide alarm in the kitchen. now all three lasted 15+ years without any issue and eventually the old smoke alarms had to be replaced.

most alarms have a loud high pitched beep noise.

[Heatblizzard]

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

Първоначално публикувано от Heatblizzard:

Do they usually (in the UK) make other alarms ring so you wind up not knowing what alarm is the affected when they sing Hazy The Smoke song?

before i was forced out of my previous residence, there were three alarms in the house, two smoke alarms and a carbon dioxide alarm in the kitchen. now all three lasted 15+ years without any issue and eventually the old smoke alarms had to be replaced.

most alarms have a loud high pitched beep noise.

You know what's interesting? It's turning out that for older deaf people a lower pitch is actually more effective at waking them up especially if they can 'talk' if they can be programmed with a family members voice all the better.

A high pitch alarm your much more likely to sleep thru as your hearing is lowered yet lower pitch sounds are more likely to wake you up. My Dad is so sensitive he often could hear a portable tape recorder whirl (without a tape playing when it ends) when going camping back in the late 80s. That is a definite low pitch sound but it might as well have been a full on fire alarm.

[Xautos]

Първоначално публикувано от Heatblizzard:

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

before i was forced out of my previous residence, there were three alarms in the house, two smoke alarms and a carbon dioxide alarm in the kitchen. now all three lasted 15+ years without any issue and eventually the old smoke alarms had to be replaced.

most alarms have a loud high pitched beep noise.

You know what's interesting? It's turning out that for older deaf people a lower pitch is actually more effective at waking them up especially if they can 'talk' if they can be programmed with a family members voice all the better.

A high pitch alarm your much more likely to sleep thru as your hearing is lowered yet lower pitch sounds are more likely to wake you up. My Dad is so sensitive he often could hear a portable tape recorder whirl (without a tape playing when it ends) when going camping back in the late 80s. That is a definite low pitch sound but it might as well have been a full on fire alarm.

well whatever, the sound is hard to ignore and keeps beeping until you press the button to stop it.

[Γαῖα]

The whole point of a smoke detector is to alert a person/s that are actually in said house for the sole purpose to preserve life. Sure if you can tackle said fire, great but thats not what is legally implied in the event of.

Instead of making things wireless, time should be spent making a smoke detector be able to know the difference between burnt toast and a sofa fire.
Another interesting flaw is what happens when the fire is electrical and it trips out the circuit your wifi is on. Wifi functions on a standard socket circuit so would need its own circuit to bypass this issue.
Its currently a gimmick that until tied to say a sprinkler system is just over priced junk selling an idea that has no credibility for the purpose that smoke detectors exist.

[Pocahawtness]

Първоначално публикувано от Heatblizzard:

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

wireless alarms are quite common in the UK, they are usually circular or square in shape with parts inside a plastic case, some have lights, some don't, some are basic, some have more options... but they are all connected to a battery that lasts a very long time. none of them are connected to anything else except the ceiling or wall.

I'm surprised because I thought a lot of UK smoke alarms would be old fashion battery type (maybe these days the 10 year kind)

There are all types, so it largely comes down to what an individual prefers.

Carbon Monoxide alarms are popular too.

Personally, I have just one alarm and it's a combined heat, smoke, and carbon monoxide alarm. It's battery powered because of it's location, but it has a 10 year battery and long-life sensors. It's not wireless because are no other devices. When the 10 years is up they recommend replacing the entire thing. Sensors have a lifetime as well as batteries!

I am not sure why you would think they would be old fashioned.

A fairly popular type of wireless alarm in the UK is one that phones you up and tell you that your house is on fire! Handy, I suppose, if you are at work at the time.

[Heatblizzard]

Първоначално публикувано от Xautos:

Първоначално публикувано от Heatblizzard:

You know what's interesting? It's turning out that for older deaf people a lower pitch is actually more effective at waking them up especially if they can 'talk' if they can be programmed with a family members voice all the better.

A high pitch alarm your much more likely to sleep thru as your hearing is lowered yet lower pitch sounds are more likely to wake you up. My Dad is so sensitive he often could hear a portable tape recorder whirl (without a tape playing when it ends) when going camping back in the late 80s. That is a definite low pitch sound but it might as well have been a full on fire alarm.

well whatever, the sound is hard to ignore and keeps beeping until you press the button to stop it.

Older people tend to not hear high frequency sounds which is what smoke alarms use. On Youtube there are some examples of low frequency fire alarms being used more widely and personally to me they don't have that 'danger' vibe yet somehow they claim it's very effective for disabled people to notice. When I first heard onE I was like WTF?

[kilésengati]

Neither from the US nor UK, but smoke alarms are mandated here in Germany and many of them in commercially used buildings are wireless. I wouldn't be surprised if they are either meshed or use a mobile service network. But I hate those things that make a control beep instead of just having a continuously blinking control lamp.

[Morkonan]

Първоначално публикувано от Heatblizzard:

... What are your thoughts on them? Pros and cons? Where would you most likely find them in use? New homes? Old homes? Apartments?.etc

Wireless alarms usually have a special symbol on them so I wonder how they send data especially to each other? Could they also work as stand alone? With mains you can just remove (not that you should) the 'red' wire but the alarms still function as normal meaning they will quite loudly alarm in a fire regardless if they communicate to each other or not.

I don't really know how you're using the term "wireless."

Case 1 - As part of a central security system - They are the most common install type in the US these days. All transmit on the panel's assigned frequency and they are polled by the panel every xx_time segments to check their status. They will normally have battery-supplied power and will report a warning status to the panel and start a "blinking" indicator light to alert the user. Some will "chirp" as well. This will not work as a standalone smoke detector, typically.

Case 2 - Self-Contained Alarm in a box" - They're just a self-contained unit that is not hardwired and relies on a battery. They'll blink/chirp, but have no transmitter.

Hardlined Smoke Deterctors - They're common in mutli-family dwellings, like apartment complexes, and may have battery backup and may or may not submit a signal to some central monitoring point. They can also be included in a hardline install for home use, too. They are also common in Industrial settings, but those detectors can't usually be confused with commercial grade ones.


Your questions concerning disabling smoke alarms is suspicious and alarming.... Rest assured, if you're suspected of arson, your post history is going to be subpoenaed even if you delete this thread.