Carbon monoxide detectors - interlink?

[Scott]

Scottish Government regulations (for a flat) say there should be a heat detector in the kitchen and smoke detectors in the hall and living room, all interlinked. In addition, there should be carbon monoxide detector in every room with a fuel burning appliance, which does not require to be interlinked.

The installer is suggesting the carbon monoxide detector should be interlinked to make sure it is heard. My thinking is that presence of CO2 should not set off the fire alarm as the immediate action is to open windows rather than to evacuate. The likely consequence would be that the fire brigade would be called then find there is no fire.

What do the experts here think - to link or not to link the CO2 detectors?

[Owain Lastname]

AIUI the CO detectors should not be interlinked with the fire unless there is a locator switch or other means of identifying which type of alarm it is.

This is in the BS or guidance note for the type of system, not the Scottish Gov regulations.

Owain

[Scott]

Thanks. Could you give me a pointer to where I can find this?

[Owain Lastname]

"We would normally discourage the interconnection of smoke alarms with CO alarms. This is because the action that should be taken is dependent upon which alarm had activated, ... However, we also recognise that there is a significant advantage to be gained by interconnecting smoke and CO alarms. The main reason for this is that it will improve audibility of the CO alarm signal throughout the property. In this situation, it is vital that the occupier of the house can easily identify the source of the alarm signal."

AICO have info about the standards here It appears that some types of alarm - perhaps the AICO dual smoke- and CO- alarms - do interlink with different tones depending on the type of activation.

Owain