Where to put fire/CO alarms, which type to use, etc.

[DIYNotIan]

Hi

I've got someone coming to quote for a load of electrical work later next week. Amongst the work will be installing fire/CO alarms around the house. I'll discuss the options and details with him, but wanted to get a heads up first so I can think about the options and requirements.

Here's the layout of the house:



I've marked where we will be having woodburners, and where the oil boiler is. The three red circles are where I was thinking makes sense for alarms/detectors...

- The kitchen is half open plan to the dining room, so one takes care of that side of the house. I guess it could go in the dining room if that's better, but it will be a lot easier to install in the kitchen because some of the floorboards above are already up. The dining on the other hand is single storey with no roof access.

- The sitting room is open to the stairwell, so I thought one on the stairwell ceiling would take care of the sitting room and upstairs.

- The utility room and studio are in the former cowshed and separated from the rest of the house by a metre thick wall. I'll spend a lot of time in the studio as it is like a living room as well. So I thought definitely one in there but wasn't sure if I needed one in the utility room as well.


I'm by no means fixed on any of that though - it's just the first idea that came to me. So I'm open to all suggestions. It would also be really helpful to know what type would be best where, in what areas CO alarms are needed, and any other useful info.

Cheers

 

[secureiam]

There is plenty of information online and I do not do fire installations.

Here is a link to CO installation very basic but it should give you some idea of where.

 

[Europlex]

I would put repeat sounders in each bedroom, they will be heard then.

Remember Grenfell Tower? ( as an example )

 

[DIYNotIan]

Hi

Many thanks for the replies

Well, I've just been in touch with Aico and they have been very helpful indeed. I'm just waiting to hear back from them now with further info.

In the meantime...

- Seeing as the kitchen / Dining room is more or less open plan, and that the kitchen has a cooker and the dining room will have a woodburner, is there a way to have one detector cover both rooms. I'm just thinking that if the CO needs to be within 3m of the woodburner... Could I maybe put a Heat and CO combined detector no more than 3m from the woodburner or would that be too far away from the cooker then?

- EasiChange. I was looking at these last night and they seem like a good idea. Has anyone used them? Are they as good as they look? If so, are all Aico detectors compatible with them or do Aico do their own equivalent?

- Can you get combined heat, smoke and CO detectors? Seems that manufacturers tend to pair these up in various ways but I can't see any that do all three...

Cheers

 

[DIYNotIan]

Well, I can answer some of my own questions...

It doesn't seem as there are any combined heat, smoke and CO (all 3) detectors about. None that I could find anyhow.

Easichange should be compatible with all Aico units. Will need to find out about other manufacturers...

I'm still not sure about whether one unit can cover both the kitchen and dining room.

Also, whilst Aico were very helpful, they unfortunately do not do combined smoke/CO detectors, so I'm going to have to look at other manufacturers for at least some of the detectors. In Aico's plan I would need 10 detectors in all, but that's because in 3 areas there are separate CO and optical smoke detectors. And perhaps one or two that are surplus to requirements elsewhere. Very helpful company indeed though.

The other thing I am now going to look into is what systems are available for telling whether detectors are being set off by smoke or CO. I'm guessing that will be pretty valuable in a mixed set up.

 

[bsr]

I'm not a pro.

I don't know why you would want a combined heat/smoke. I think a heat is only used when a smoke is not suitable. If you can use a smoke, do. If not (kitchen, woodburner) use a heat.

I use Fireangel; they use different tones for fire and CO and the different tones are repeated through the interlinked alarms so you know what type of alarm has triggered.

 

[DIYNotIan]

Just wanted to revisit this to clarify some of this....

I don't know why you would want a combined heat/smoke. I think a heat is only used when a smoke is not suitable. If you can use a smoke, do. If not (kitchen, woodburner) use a heat.

Aico and Fire Angel both say to use Smoke where there is a woodburner. They say heat should only be used in kitchens (enclosed), garages, and lofts. But in my case - for the kitchen - heat is only needed when it is an enclosed room (four walls). So they recommended a heat/smoke combined because the room is open to the dining room and the one detector will cover both rooms.

I use Fireangel; they use different tones for fire and CO and the different tones are repeated through the interlinked alarms so you know what type of alarm has triggered.

When it comes to Aico (who seem a very popular choice), they are different... In Aico systems, all of the alarms activate regardless of what is detected. And furthermore, when CO is detected, the unit that has detected it gives a different alarm (intermittent sound rather than continuous). But all the other detectors in the house give the same alarm as they would in the event of a fire.

With their control panel installed it isn't so much of a problem as this would allow you to isolate which alarm is sounding. But otherwise...

So with respect to that, the Fireangel system seems better imo.