Pyrexx PX-1 Smoke Alarm Black

Product Information

Now that the alarms law has changed in Scotland, you'll need to install interlinked heat and smoke alarms in your home. Smoke particles change the balance of the current. When this happens a signal is sent to the integrated circuit and the alarm sounds. So if you’re out of your home and not near your phone when the messages come through, you’ll have no way of knowing the alarm was sounding.

Different makes and models will be slower or faster to detect smoke coming through and have different alarms working at different volumes. Some even feature voice alarms or strobing lights. However, any alarms sold in the UK have to meet BS EN 14604:2005, which specifies the requirements, tests and performance criteria for smoke alarms using optical or ionisation sensors. Heat alarms are governed by the separate BS 5446-3:2003 standard. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to use optical alarms in living rooms, bedrooms or downstairs hallways where you either have a lot of upholstered furniture and soft furnishings or the alarm is likely to be set off by cooking fumes. Keep ionisation alarms for upstairs hallways or areas where dust or exposure to the elements (say, through an open door) might potentially set off an optical sensor. If in doubt, go optical or use a multi-sensor alarm. Use of ionisation alarms is generally being discouraged by many fire services, and some manufacturers have now discontinued their ionisation products. On a lighter note, Google’s data also revealed that the day when smoke alarms are most likely to sound in the UK is pancake day. Is the Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm suitable for homes in Scotland now that the law has changed?Heat (thermal) alarms detect heat (hot air) instead of smoke. The alarm is triggered when the temperature within the sensor chamber reaches over 58 degrees Celsius – generally when a fire is well established. As of February 2022, the Nest protect smoke and CO alarm no longer meet the requirements of the new Scottish alarm laws. This is because, while it can be linked to other Nest alarms, it has no way of detecting heat rises or of being linked to another heat alarm. If you buy a battery-powered smoke alarm (rather than a mains-powered one), you'll need to decide whether you want one with a replaceable 9V battery, or sealed fixed-life battery

Horizontal optical bench housing infra-red emitter and sensor, arranged radially to detect forward scattered light. WeightThe latter are pricier when you buy for the first time, but you won't have to factor in the expense of replacement battery costs. Pros: Good for bedrooms, landings and hallways, and near to kitchens as they aren’t as prone to false alarms from cooking. Of course, it is entirely possible to get connected smoke alarms that hook up directly to your home network via Wi-Fi, or through a proprietary connection or a Zigbee or Z-Wave hub. The advantage with these is that they can warn you of a fire through an alarm or alert on your smartphone, and also, with some systems, trigger smart lighting to come on. How we test smoke alarms