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?

- Yes


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.

Wireless means wireless. I noticed that my local electrical supply company is now carrying wireless smoke alarms. I had a customer who wanted to add smoke alarms to an existing wired system. The fire inspector told him it was acceptable to switch to a wireless system.


John Grabowski
http://www.MrElectrician.TV