Photoelectric Smoke Alarm – The Best Smoke Alarms For Your Home To Protect Your Family
You've made the decision to install or update your smoke alarms. Your family and the home you live in require the best protection against fires in the home but which one can give you the safety you're searching for? A photoelectric smoke alarm is the best choice. Let's take a look at why that is and why a photoelectric smoke alarm is the superior choice for your home or small office.
Firstly, we need to understand how fires typically begin in the home environment. It's important to realize that while smoke alarms alert you to the presence of a fire they cannot outright prevent them. But how do these fires begin? Fires in the home often begin due to faulty electrical wiring in items such as electric blankets, old TV's or an electrical heater that has been knocked over by accident.
These types of fires often smolder for quite some time before developing into a larger fire that can destroy your home and possibly injure or kill you and your family.
Looking at the examples of how fires in the home often begin, it make sense to look for a smoke alarm that is sensitive to smoke and not just fire. Many of these types of fires can slowly burn away and then erupt into a full blown house fire that can catch you unaware. That's why photoelectric smoke alarms are ideal for bedrooms, kitchens and dining rooms inside your house. They're suitable for every room of the home that contains any type of electrical equipment, furniture or material that is prone catching fire.
People may start to ask themselves why does it matter what type of smoke detector i purchase? I just need a smoke alarm! Did you know that not all smoke alarms are the same! A photoelectric smoke alarm contains a light emitting diode as well as a light sensor. Any smoke (or smoldering fire) that is in your home will be detected by the sensitive diode contained within the smoke detector thus alerting you that there is a fire hazard within your home and that you need to react promptly. Sometimes the difference between life and death are the few minutes you have to exit the home.
For the best protection, early detection and finally alerts, the photoelectric smoke alarm is the best choice to make when purchasing smoke alarms for your home.
Photoelectric Smoke Alarm – One Of Two Types Of Smoke Alarms
If you're considering installing a smoke alarm within your home and are a little confused about the various types of devices available to you, one could forgive you for feeling a little lost. With such a wide range of devices available for purchase, smoke alarms can be defined into two categories. The first is known as ionization smoke alarm, the second is a photoelectric smoke alarm.
Still confused? Let's take a look at the differences between these two types of smoke alarms and how they work, this will allow you to make an informed decision as to which is suitable for your home and family.
A great analogy for the way in which an ionization smoke alarm works is the same way in which your sense of smell functions. The device tests and detects the presence of smoke particles in the air. Ideally, these kinds of smoke detectors are suitable for industrial areas where fires ignite due to chemicals or explosive materials fueling the fire. Many people have made the mistake of installing these within their home, either not knowing or flat out ignoring the advice to do otherwise. Because fires within the home ignite in a different manner, this has left many people at risk of injury or death.
So if ionization smoke alarms are ideal for industrial areas or office buildings, lets look at why the photoelectric smoke alarm is the ideal smoke detector for your home or small office. Photoelectric smoke alarms differ in the way ionization smoke alarms work. Using an analogy again, a photoelectric smoke alarm functions in the same manner as your eyes do. It looks for the presence of smoke.
Photoelectric smoke alarms contain a Light Emitting Diode that scans the room for smoke. Being an optical device, should any smoke block the projected light, it will trigger the alarm. These are most effective for the home or small office because fires within these types of buildings generate a lot of smoke before a fire really takes hold. Whether it's electrical blankets, faulty electrical wiring in the laundry etc, home fires produce much more smoke than chemical or industrial fires do in their early phases.
Now that you understand the fundamental differences between the two smoke alarms, it's a no brainer that you should opt to install a photoelectric smoke alarm within your home. There is one last thing I'd like to share with you though. What if you want smoke alarms that detect the presence of fire in both ways? The great news is you can purchase dual ionization-photoelectric smoke alarms.
These devices utilize both methods of detection and because of that, they are a little more costly than a singular device. Having said that, if the cost is a non-issue for you, they're a great item to purchase. If value for money is a larger consideration, opt for the photoelectric smoke alarm over the ionization type. Photoelectric smoke alarms are far better in the detection of fire in your home, ionization smoke alarms are known to have a much higher failure rate which could put you at risk.
You can purchase photoelectric smoke alarms through Amazon.com for prompt delivery at an affordable price.
The photoelectric smoke alarm is your answer to annoying false positive fire alarms
Do you have a smoke alarm that constantly makes noise any time you begin cooking a meal for the family? It can be quite frustrating to hear the on-going noise and you might just be wondering if your smoke alarms are effective at all. False positives can be very frustrating. You don't even need to burn something to trip the alarm. You might be inclined to remove the batteries but it's not the wisest decision to make either. So what can you do about this problem while still maintaining an effective smoke detector in case of a house fire?
First of all, you may not be aware that there are two different types of smoke detectors and they both function differently. Which design you have can be all the difference between effective and ineffective detection of fire. The two types of technology used in these devices are known as ionization and photoelectric.
So what's the difference and which is suitable for your home?
Ionization smoke alarms work by detecting the presence of heat. If the smoke alarm in your kitchen is constantly going off, this may be the type of alarm you have installed. At first when you think about it, these types of alarms make sense given that fire produces heat, but are they the most effective type of smoke detector?
Unfortunately, they are not. So which is the best fire detector for you home? The photoelectric smoke alarm.
A photoelectric smoke alarm differs to the ionization model by detecting the presence of smoke. This is a fundamental difference in the design of the unit. While fire does produce heat, it also produces smoke. As is often the case in house fires, fires begin slowly by smoldering away, producing little heat but much smoke. A photoelectric smoke alarm is obviously better suited for environments such as the home.
If you want to have the best protection against fires for you home, I suggest removing your ionization models and installing photoelectric smoke alarms instead. They can be purchased affordably from Amazon.com and delivered to your front door in a timely manner. This way you can "hit two birds with one stone", ensuring your home has adequate smoke detectors and you'll avoid the false positive alarms that ionization models are associated with while cooking.
Photoelectric Smoke Detectors – The First Step In Your Fire Escape Plan
If a fire ignited within your home tonight, how would you and your family escape safely without injury. Are you prepared for such an event? The best prevention and protection against such things is to develop a home fire escape plan. If you're unsure what this involves, read on for our 7 step guide. It's simple, straight forward an effective.
1) Install and ensure all photoelectric smoke detectors within the home are functional. Besides changing the battery once every 12 months, it's also important to test the smoke detector on a monthly basis to ensure proper working order. All photoelectric smoke detectors should contain a button that allows you to test the alarm. If you cannot find the button, consult the manufacturers guide for further information.
2) Draw up a floor plan of your home and plot it out upon grid paper. If you live in a multistory building or block of units, you'll need to draw up a plan for each level of the building and distribute this to each member of the family.
3) On the floor plan you will want to note 2 emergency exits for every room of the home. It is often the case that when a home fire occurs, the doors can be blocked from possible escape due to the fire. Windows are naturally your second method of escape. If you have installed security shutters or security bars, ensure these have a quick release function that can be used from within the house.
4) Who might need assistance escaping? If you have elderly or sick parents living with you and/or younger children who are unable to walk, it's important to plan out who will assist them in the time of an emergency. You can save time in an emergency by placing people at higher risk, in rooms that are closer to escape exits.
5) Decide on a place to meet outside. Select an area where roll-call can be taken that is within walking distance from your home. Ideally this should be a friends or neighbors home. Everyone needs to be aware that this is the place to congregate at, in the event of a fire.
6) Contact the fire brigade once you have evacuated the home. Don't stop to make the call within the home or while on the way out as you'll lose focus and may panic. You could put yourself at risk of injury or death. Furthermore, do not stop to collect personal belongings or other items while exiting the building. The fire department can assist you in removing these items once the fire has been extinguished.
7) Practice your escape plan. With everyone present, go through the escape plan step by step, ensuring each member of your family understands what to do in the event of a fire. Schedule a fire drill once per year to refresh this in every ones mind.
Remember! Identify 2 ways of escaping each room, hold a fire drill once per year and ensure your photoelectric smoke detectors are installed and working correctly.
Photoelectric Versus Ionization – What Is Most Effective For You And Your Family?
Most people are unaware that there are different types of smoke detectors available. Perhaps they mistakenly purchased smoke alarms online or at the local hardware store, often based on advice that is well intended but misinformed and dated.
After arriving home and installing the smoke alarms, home owners then feel they've done the right thing and now have proper fire detection devices in their home. Unfortunately, many people opt to install smoke alarms which use ionization as the method of detection when they should install a photoelectric smoke alarm instead. The difference between the two are alarming and have the potential to save the life of you and your family.
The KEY report is a document that outlines why ionization smoke alarms are failing people and costing lives in the process. Most people are under the belief that their smoke alarms are annoying yet effective due to the constant sound of the alarm when opening an oven or burning their toast. All fires differ and generally speaking, fires within the home have a tendency to smolder which ionization smoke alarms are not designed to detect. This puts you and your family at unnecessary risk of injury or death. So what can be done about it?
Fortunately, change is at hand and many people are now becoming informed about the role a photoelectric smoke alarm plays in providing effective detection of fires within and around the home. The KEY Report, published by The World Fire Safety Foundation aims to inform consumers about the dangers of ionization smoke alarms and provides reading and video material to assist consumers in making an informed decision so they can best protect themselves in case of an emergency.
For further information, you can visit the website of The World Fire Safety Foundation and there you can find their offer of a free 25 page KEY report into why photoelectric smoke alarms are the best choice for your home and the dangers and risk that ionization smoke alarms are putting homes and families in.
