Interconnected smoke detectors - no circuit breaker?

There HAS to be a breaker. It will likely be shared with another circuit - in USA the code required the smoke detectors to be on AFCI breakers, I believe.they are GENERALLY connected to a bedroom circuit

- which also requires AFCI protection.. This is NOT a code requirement but is acceptable best practice..

Agree. And it obviously can't be hard to figure out which breaker it is.

- in USA the code required the smoke detectors to be on AFCI

I don't believe that is correct, either then or now. AFCIs were required for circuits in bedrooms, what year that went into effect, IDK. But smoke detectors are not necessarily required to be in the actual bedroom. Here I believe having them close to the bedroom is sufficient. If the smoke detector is in a hallway right outside a bedroom in an area not required to be AFCI protected, then I don't think it has to be.

I believe.they are GENERALLY connected to a bedroom circuit

I don't see why connecting smoke detectors to a bedroom circuit is best practice.

The smoke detectors are most likely connected to a breaker that won't normally be turned off by a homeowner. Typically it is wired to the furnace circuit. Open up the panel, it should be the only breaker with 2 hot wires connected to the breaker.

Note: items like furnaces have service switches at the unit to prevent anyone from powering up the device without the service personnel knowing about it. This is true for remote AC units as well.

Dan

Maybe, assuming the breaker is rated for double tapping. I've seen quite a few homes here in NJ with hardwired smoke detectors both old and new construction, none had double tapped breakers on anything.

Not even the main?

For the last few cycles AFCIs have been everywhere. Even in 02 when they first showed up in bedrooms the smokes had to be on the AFCI.

I bet the smokes are on a breaker with one of the bedroom ceiling lights,

Home built in 2005. These are interconnected Fireex smoke detectors (I believe because they have a yellow wire connected to the red wire). All the breakers are marked, but I don't see one for the smoke alarms.

Now I was away on business and my wife had an alarm chirping and couldn't get it to stop so she literally in wired it while it was hot! Could have killed herself.

Problem is I want to rewire it and I don't know how to cut the power to it since there is no breaker.

Thoughts?

Oh boy you are real nerd

They have to be on an AFCI, but it does NOT have to be on a bedroom circuit. THAT is what is "best practice" and not required by code.

There HAS to be a breaker by code.... Connect a light or radio to the wires and turn off every breaker in the house, one at a time. Working on live wires is stupid, unless you're an electrician. SHUT OFF THE MAIN BREAKER, if nothing else works. (During the day, so you can see, or use a flashlight).

lieve because they have a yellow wire connected to the red wire). All the breakers are marked, but I don't see one for the smoke alarms.

get it to stop so she literally in wired it while it was hot! Could have killed herself.

t since there is no breaker.

In my state the smoke alarms cannot be on their own circuit breaker. They must be connected to a receptacle or lighting circuit. This is so people d o not shut off the smoke alarms due to false alarms and have no protection as a result. In my state the smoke alarms are also required to have a batt ery backup in case the power goes out or the circuit breaker trips.

Using a non-contact voltage tester (This is what I use:

John Grabowski

Please cite for us the code section that requires AFCI to be on an AFCI. For starters, it makes no sense. As I said, it's my understanding that the requirement for AFCI is tied to where the outlet is, not to what's on it. Today because AFCI is required in the living spaces, if the smoke detector is in a hallway, it would need to be on an AFCI. But the poster's home was built in 2005 when AFCI was only required in BEDROOMS. If his smoke detector is in a hallway, AFAIK, there was no requirement that it be on an AFCI. His house could be prefectly code compliant with the NEC code when built and if so, it's still code compliant today. If you have a cite for the code section that says that smoke detectors here in the USA must have been on an aFCI in 2005 or even today, I'd like to see it.

I assume you mean "that requires smoke detectors to be on an AFCI"

... and goes on to list all of the acceptable types of AFCI That is pretty unambiguous. Bear in mind an "outlet" is "A point on the wiring system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment" (Article 100)

There was a requirement for smokes in every "sleeping space"

Which again is exactly what I said. That the code doesn't specifically say that smoke detectors must be on an AFCI, only that the outlets in certain locations must be and that it's when a smoke detector is in one of those areas that it becomes covered, just like a receptacle would. What you cite is current code, which again, I said results in smoke detectors being on AFCI by virtue of where they are located because now bedrooms and hallways are required to have AFCI.

BUT, the poster's home was built in 2005. And I believe back then, AFCI was not required in hallways, only in bedrooms. So, I believe his home could have smoke detectors in hallways outside a bedroom on a non-AFCI circuit and it could have been code compliant then and it's still grandfathered today.

But depending on where he's located, there may not have been a requirement that the SMOKE DETECTOR also be in the bedroom. If the smoke detector was in the hallway outside the bedroom, which was and still is permitted in many locations, then AFCI was not required in 2005. And if it was not required in 2005, then there is no need to update it now. Do you agree?

On the other hand, if they're all interconnected and on the same breaker, a nd even one is in a bedroom, then the AFCI is probably required.

I'm not sure that's a good idea, really. If you have an arc somewhere and it trips the breaker, hope it kills the circuit before starting a fire. An d there's no other source of ignition (smoking, unattended cooking, etc.) t hat burns the house down while the smoke detectors are inactive.

That is why they require battery backup.

, and even one is in a bedroom, then the AFCI is probably required.

nd it trips the breaker, hope it kills the circuit before starting a fire. And there's no other source of ignition (smoking, unattended cooking, etc. ) that burns the house down while the smoke detectors are inactive.

I think you'll find whether a hardwired smoke detector needs to have battery backup or not varies from state to state. IMO, it's overkill and a nuisance. A friend here has a new home and it has about

Every fire death I can recall in the news, it was not the result of AC power being lost to alarms that were working. The typical scenario is no smoke alarms, smoke alarms removed, smoke alarm broken, smoke alarm with a dead battery, etc. My house has AC only alarms and that's what I prefer.

Yes, I think we all agree AFCI would be required for new construction and back to whenever the code requiring them went into effect.