We have just had solar panels and a battery installed. The inverter and battery are in the loft. I was thinking it might be a good idea to have a smoke detector up there.
What is the recommendation for a loft? Optical or heat (or both)?
Thanks
Alan
I personally would have both, as is in my hallway.
I would have thought optical - they are good at detecting smouldering fires. Lofts can have big temperature swings, which might make heat alarms more liable to false trips.
I'm surprised that it was recommended putting batteries or electronics in a loft space which can get very hot (unless the equipment is below the insulation).
The big problem is dust and spiders.
Bill
Well, optical I would have thought, but I still have one using an isotope to ionise the air. Brian
When I was doing the HS2 compulsory housing along the M18 corridor an optical smoke was specified for the loft.
OK so I never did one with solar panels but I would imagine by the time a heat detector has gone off then the optical detector would have been sounding minutes before.
would not false trigs be better than after event alarms ?
Heat alarms can only react to fire after it is well established. An optical smoke alarm will catch it when it is still smouldering.
However an optical alarm won't give an alarm when the sun comes out on a hot day and the loft gets really hot...
So ISTM there is no advantage to the heat alarm (unless you feel the need for extra exercise climbing up into the loft to check if there actually is a fire!) :-)
Our interlinked alarms triggered the other night at 3am. For a few seconds, too short to see what the cause was.
And again at half past...
False alarms can be a real pain.
(I changed all the backup batteries, and hope that will stop it.)
Andy
I hope it does but I am doubtful it will work.
A better bet - or at least in addition - might be to give them a good vacuuming.
Most likely spiders.
Bill
Our smoke detector / alarm was fitted by the Fire Brigade years ago in our hallway, and it picks up fumes from the toaster and grill pan in the kitchen. To stop the alarm going off we have to shut the kitchen door.
Would an Optical Alarm work the same way, ie pick up fumes from the kitchen, or does it just detect smoke from a fire.
Thanks
An optical detector would be less likely trigger in your case.
thanks for that.
Building control no longer allow ionisation units on most new builds I have worked at for a couple of years.
That's mainly Scunthorpe and Wakefield but others are probably the same.
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