The Scottish Government has introduced legislation requiring smoke and
heat alarms to be interlinked:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/fi...cottish-homes/
As I see it, this can either be done by hard wiring or wireless
connection. Leaving aside cost and aesthetics for the moment, am I
right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in case the
cables are damaged by the fire?

If I go for mains-powered units, could these be connected to the
lighting circuit or should there be a dedicated circuit?

I assume a separate link cable(s) is needed (not a signal via the
existing wiring). Should these be armoured to protect from fire :-)

Scott wrote:

am I right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in
case the cables are damaged by the fire?

Is it likely the cables will be damaged before the first smoke alarm
activates?

I'd rather trust a cable than a radio.

On 18/10/2020 10:41, Scott wrote:
The Scottish Government has introduced legislation requiring smoke and
heat alarms to be interlinked:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/fi...cottish-homes/
As I see it, this can either be done by hard wiring or wireless
connection. Leaving aside cost and aesthetics for the moment, am I
right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in case the
cables are damaged by the fire?

I think that it would be a major fire that damaged the cables. AFAIK,
though, wireless is standard. I fitted some battery powered ones to
MIL's bungalow years ago, and they worked really well.


If I go for mains-powered units, could these be connected to the
lighting circuit or should there be a dedicated circuit?

Yes, lighting circuit. They have back-up batteries in them, so they'll
continue working if the power is out.


I assume a separate link cable(s) is needed (not a signal via the
existing wiring). Should these be armoured to protect from fire :-)


You may be over-thinking this.

On 18/10/2020 10:45, Andy Burns wrote:

Scott wrote:

am I right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in
case the cables are damaged by the fire?

Is it likely the cables will be damaged before the first smoke alarm
activates?

I'd rather trust a cable than a radio.

I have mains powered smoke alarms. They have always triggered
(deafeningly) in the presence of extremely modest amounts of smoke or steam.

I have no doubt that they would do so well before a real fire got into
their cables.

--
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private property.

Karl Marx

On 18/10/2020 10:41, Scott wrote:
The Scottish Government has introduced legislation requiring smoke and
heat alarms to be interlinked:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/fi...cottish-homes/
As I see it, this can either be done by hard wiring or wireless
connection. Leaving aside cost and aesthetics for the moment, am I
right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in case the
cables are damaged by the fire?

How robust will a wireless system be if all properties around you fit
the same or similar systems? I would hope it may be more robust than
some wireless doorbell systems where if someone uses the same code then
your chime sounds when someone else bell push is activated.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:50:26 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

On 18/10/2020 10:45, Andy Burns wrote:

Scott wrote:

am I right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in
case the cables are damaged by the fire?

Is it likely the cables will be damaged before the first smoke alarm
activates?

I'd rather trust a cable than a radio.

I have mains powered smoke alarms. They have always triggered
(deafeningly) in the presence of extremely modest amounts of smoke or steam.

Are they interlinked?

On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:53:42 +0100, alan_m
wrote:

On 18/10/2020 10:41, Scott wrote:
The Scottish Government has introduced legislation requiring smoke and
heat alarms to be interlinked:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/fi...cottish-homes/
As I see it, this can either be done by hard wiring or wireless
connection. Leaving aside cost and aesthetics for the moment, am I
right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in case the
cables are damaged by the fire?

How robust will a wireless system be if all properties around you fit
the same or similar systems? I would hope it may be more robust than
some wireless doorbell systems where if someone uses the same code then
your chime sounds when someone else bell push is activated.

Arguably, if you live in a flat there would be logic in activating the
alams in neighbouring flats (though the Scottish Governement says this
is not a requirement).

On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:41:19 +0100, Scott wrote:

... am I right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in
case the cables are damaged by the fire?

Considering how sensitive smoke alarms are they'll have sounded *way*
before any fire has got big enough to break the cables. See other
thread about metal cable clips to stop wires dangling down trapping
firemen...

If I go for mains-powered units, could these be connected to the
lighting circuit or should there be a dedicated circuit?

Donno what the (new) scotish regs say but down here use of lighting
circuits is OK but IMHO increases the chances of a cock up. Like
feeding the smoke alarm from the switched side. Feeding interlinked
alarms from differnt lighting circuits, some alarms object to some
being powered and others not.

Ours are fed from their own MCB in the CU via red triple & earth that
loops one to the next. There could be case to have the same wiring
but fed from a lighting MCB so it's "obvious" if that circuit is off.
However all the alarms have "mains ok" LED which is clearly visble at
night and observable by day.

I assume a separate link cable(s) is needed (not a signal via the
existing wiring).

A single red triple and earth here.

Should these be armoured to protect from fire :-)

See above re cable damage before fire detection.

Might be worth fitting a remote test/silence/locate switch, if your
choosen system has that option. The "locate" bit probably being the
most useful as it shuts up all the alarms apart from the one that
triggered.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Ours are fed from their own MCB in the CU via red triple & earth that
loops one to the next. There could be case to have the same wiring
but fed from a lighting MCB so it's "obvious" if that circuit is off.

Put any non-maintained emergency lights on the same circuit as the
alarms to make it "super obvious"?

On Sunday, 18 October 2020 10:58:19 UTC+1, Scott wrote:
Arguably, if you live in a flat there would be logic in activating the
alams in neighbouring flats

Definately not, in most low-rise buildings with reasonable fire compartmentation. The certainty of false or even malicious alarms from neighbours at 3 am.

If a whole building alarm is needed it needs to be a proper panel system, preferably with C-Tec hush/isolation buttons for each dwelling.

Owain

I'd imagine the next rule will be your own personal fire engine in the
garden.
Brian

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Blind user, so no pictures please!

This document should only be read by those persons for whom Paranoia is
normal
and its contents are probably boring and confusing. If you receive this
e-Mail
message in error, do not notify the sender immediately, instead, print it
out and make
paper animals out of it. As the rest of this disclaimer is totally
incomprehensible, we have not bothered to attach it.
"Scott" wrote in message
...
The Scottish Government has introduced legislation requiring smoke and
heat alarms to be interlinked:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/fi...cottish-homes/
As I see it, this can either be done by hard wiring or wireless
connection. Leaving aside cost and aesthetics for the moment, am I
right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in case the
cables are damaged by the fire?

If I go for mains-powered units, could these be connected to the
lighting circuit or should there be a dedicated circuit?

I assume a separate link cable(s) is needed (not a signal via the
existing wiring). Should these be armoured to protect from fire :-)

On Sunday, 18 October 2020 14:51:02 UTC+1, Brian Gaff wrote:
I'd imagine the next rule will be your own personal fire engine in the
garden.

Absolutely, if you've got the space for it!

http://gtm.org.uk/exhibitions/gtm-pe...3-fire-engine/

Or if you live near Gordonstoun the local school can pop round

https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/news...spotlight.aspx

Owain

On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 11:31:41 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote:

Ours are fed from their own MCB in the CU via red triple & earth that
loops one to the next. There could be case to have the same wiring but
fed from a lighting MCB so it's "obvious" if that circuit is off.
However all the alarms have "mains ok" LED which is clearly visble at
night and observable by day.

I also attached a bulkhead emergency light to the circuit, halfway up the
stairs. Useful in a power cut, and it's obvious when the circuit has
tripped.



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 11:34:26 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Ours are fed from their own MCB in the CU via red triple & earth that
loops one to the next. There could be case to have the same wiring but
fed from a lighting MCB so it's "obvious" if that circuit is off.

Put any non-maintained emergency lights on the same circuit as the
alarms to make it "super obvious"?

What I did ten years ago!



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 18/10/2020 22:54, Bob Eager wrote:
On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 11:31:41 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote:

Ours are fed from their own MCB in the CU via red triple & earth that
loops one to the next. There could be case to have the same wiring but
fed from a lighting MCB so it's "obvious" if that circuit is off.
However all the alarms have "mains ok" LED which is clearly visble at
night and observable by day.

I also attached a bulkhead emergency light to the circuit, halfway up the
stairs. Useful in a power cut, and it's obvious when the circuit has
tripped.


I also have a non-maintained emergency light in my hallway - originally
a fluorescent tube type but replaced a few years back with a LED
version. Although only 3 or 4W the light from the LEDs is enough to
illuminate much of the rooms off the hallway in the event of power cut
at night.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 18/10/2020 10:45, Andy Burns wrote:

Scott wrote:

am I right in thinking that wireless might be the safer option in
case the cables are damaged by the fire?

Is it likely the cables will be damaged before the first smoke alarm
activates?

I'd rather trust a cable than a radio.

+1.

I tried (cheap) radio linked ones when I bought this house more than 30
years ago. They were pretty rubbish and I didn't try to keep them
working. I just made sure there were plenty of basic battery ones
scattered around.