"TomR" wrote in message
...
I own a tenant-occupied, 2-story, 5 Bedroom, Colonial Style single family
detached home with an attached 2-car garage and an unfinished basement.
The home currently has individual battery powered smoke detectors and CO
detectors, but none of the detectors are interconnected. That meets the
current code for an existing single family home like this. So, under the
current code, I don't need to do anything.

However, I am considering installing a 110-volt interconnected alarm
system with battery backups so that if one detector alarm sounds, they all
sound at the same time.

I have two sets of questions.

The first is about how to wire a 110-volt interconnected alarm system.

And, the second is about whether there is such a thing as a battery
powered completely wireless interconnected alarm system that I could
install so I would not have to physically run wires to interconnect the
detectors in the new alarm system, but still have it function like an
interconnected alarm system where if one alarm goes off, they all go off.

1) Questions about wiring a 110-volt interconnected alarm system that is
NOT WIRELESS:

I know that one way to do the wiring is to run 14/2.from the electrical
panel to the first alarm, then 14/3 to the next alarm, then 14/3 to the
next alarm, and so on -- meaning that the wiring loop goes from the first
alarm, then to the next one, then the next one, until I get to the last
one, in one continuous loop.

But, to do that, I think it would be difficult to fish the wires in a way
so that one loop goes to all of them one after the other.

My question is, can I junction off of the first one, for example, and
split that into two circuits -- one going to the alarms on the right side
of the house and one going to the alarms on the left side of the house? I
have been doing Google searches to see if I could find an example of this
type of wiring diagram but I can't find one.

2) Questions about WIRELESS interconnected alarms:

While researching this, I am seeing wireless smoke alarms that appear to
be able to communicate with each other so that if one goes off they all go
off. But, I can't quite tell if that means that it is possible to create a
whole new interconnected wireless alarm system for the whole house without
having to run any interconnecting wires through the walls and ceilings
etc. That sounds too good to be true, but is that really an option? -- an
all wireless interconnected alarm system?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Thanks for the replies so far. Regardless of how I do the system, the plan
will be to use detectors that have built-in 10-year Lithium batteries. The
detectors themselves are supposed to be replaced every 10 years anyway, and
the Lithium batteries are theoretically supposed to last 10 years. And,
with built-in lithium batteries, the occupants don't take them out to power
their electronics which does happen with 9V batteries and AA or AAA
batteries. Some localities now require the 10-year batteries in battery
operated smoke detectors for that reason. Plus, the detectors will have
"Hush" buttons on them that the occupants can use to silence unwanted
alarms. That avoids them taking the batteries out to silence the alarm. I
won't be putting a detector in the kitchen so cooking fumes don't set off
the alarm. In kitchens, it is possible to put in a heat detector instead
of a smoke detector, but I probably won't do that. Also, the purpose of the
14/3 is to provide a black (hot) wire, a white (neutral) wire, and a third
(red) wire for the signal between the units. I am writing all of this just
as side information as an FYI, but it does not resolve the original
questions that I still have about the wiring diagram and about the
possibility of using wireless interconnected detectors.