Fire Alarm

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A community about the Fire Alarm Industry ranging for basic support to homeowners to technical advice between professionals (sprinkler, Installers, Engineers, etc)

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
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Hey all,

We moved into a new house about 3 years ago and have been plagued by nuisance alarms ever since. They happen most often in the middle of the night, but aren't uncommon in the daytime.

I have:

  • Replaced all the old hardwired detectors with new battery-only ones thinking it might be caused by EMI.
  • Ruled out insects crawling into the detectors.
  • Sealed the electrical boxes thinking it might be dust from the attic.
  • Installed an excellent filter system in the HVAC.

Other random info:

  • Only the ones on the second floor go off. There are five upstairs and two downstairs.
  • I'm pretty sure one (and only one) of the false alarms was caused by humidity from a shower.
  • Seems like they're happening less often since I installed a new HVAC system, but that could be due to less dust or due to smaller temperature swings (less of a setback at night).

I think at this point I want to get some fancy multi-criteria alarms, ones that are specifically for reducing your nuisance alarm rate. Also for increased capability, though - one of my coworkers just narrowly escaped a housefire with his wife and dog. Their fire alarms failed to go off and he was only woken by the sound of the flames.

Any suggestions for multi-criteria alarms that work with hardwired 120VAC three-pin connections?

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Noticed this community and it happens to be well timed: my smoke detector says it's too old. Assuming I should trust it on that, what should I replace it with? I've no wiring for those so am looking for the usual battery operated standalone one. Or it pretty much doesn't matter, they all work about as well?

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The name's Tenebralupo. I am a Moderator of the popular subreddit r/firealarms who decided to migrate here.

I aim to provide

  • Information about Fire Alarms such as news about the Industry or even events related to it.
  • Support for End Users wondering why their smoke alarms rings to technician needing a second view on their issue on a commercial fire alarm system
  • Safe haven for professional to vent about their projects/service calls
  • Space to show off fails or great installation.
  • Support among everyone of any skill level dharing tips, tricks, and how to.