Smoke detectors are one of the few things that work almost all of the time and can save your life, and that of your family, kids, pets and whatever else you have living in your home.
When it comes to getting advice on the right equipment in MY home, and making sure that stuff is working properly, as well as when I get my clients’ homes inspected, I call on professional home inspector, Peter Walker, CCI, CAI, IAEI, and I have done so for 20 years.
He’s done inspections for nearly 30 years in California and has been president of almost every professional inspection association there is, county, state AND national. The California Real Estate Inspection Association has named him “One of the 25 Most Influential Individuals in the Profession.”
Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
So when it comes to esoteric things like “Which type smoke alarm should we have?” I defer to Peter. And here’s what he told me today about smoke alarms….
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Since becoming commercially available and affordable in the early 1970's, smoke alarms have decreased the number of fire-related deaths in the US by nearly half.
Studies show that fire alarms are one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to keep you and your family safe.
90% of American homes have smoke alarms BUT only 75% have working smoke alarms.
There are actually two types of smoke alarms and they work very differently, providing protection against different types of fires.
Home fires come in two main varieties: quick-burning and slow-burning.
Quick-burning fires are exactly that...fast. Something ignites a highly flammable object (curtains, paper, thin cloth, cooking oil, etc.) and creates tremendous heat and flame very quickly. That heat moves a lot of air.
Slow-burning fires start out smoldering, like a cigarette dropped on a bed spread or overheating electrical wires burning their coatings. Smoldering fires do not produce the same fast flames but do produce LARGE amounts of smoke.
Slow-burning fires are not any less dangerous. When they do flame up, there is already tremendous heat in the fire (from the smoldering materials) and, once they get going, a slow-starting, raging fire is still a raging fire.
And, since fire comes in different types, fire alarms needed to come in different types, too. And finally a second type has become available.
But let’s back up a bit. The common smoke detector that most homes have is an Ionization Chamber Smoke Detector (ICSD). The detection chamber ionizes air and uses that ionization to pass a tiny electric current between two electrodes.
When fast-burning fires heat up and move volumes of air, the moving un-ionized air disrupts the current and sets off the alarm.
This is why ICSDs are better for fast-burning fires.
The less common detector, that we all need to know about, is the photoelectric detector. While they've been available for a while, not a lot of research had really gone into detectors and fire types, and this type is a bit more expensive, so people tended to go with the ICSDs.
Photoelectric detectors use a tiny light source (often now a small LED) and a light sensor. When smoke enters the detection chamber, it changes the amount of light getting to the sensor, and sets off the alarm. Since it doesn't utilize air movement, it doesn't detect fast-burning fires as quickly, but is amazing at sensing the smoke from smoldering fires.
Both types of detectors work. ICSDs will detect slow-burning fires, just not as quickly.
Photoelectric detectors will detect fast-burning fires, as those still produce smoke, but not as quickly. Utilizing both types of detectors means increasing the speed at which the alarms go off, giving you and your family more time to get out of the house.
The difference between thirty seconds warning and three minutes warning is substantial where fire is involved!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++
See? Peter studies this stuff all the time and I love it that he uses the most modern testing, digital and photo tools to make his detailed inspection reports for me and my clients.
Visit his big web site at http://www.a1pi.com for more info.
Got Questions? You can always email me at Debbie@DebbieFerrari.com or call me at 949-463-4111 You can find ALL the MLS homes for sale or rent in Orange County by accessing my brand new super South Orange County site at www.DebbieFerrari.com which gives you an astonishing 100 layers of data for your home searches.
