Interlinked heat and smoke alarms
Discussion
AW10 said:
Thread resurrection time...
off to the father in law's on the east coast of Scotland over Easter and on the to do list is finally fitting smoke alarms. The house is a converted/extended U-shaped stable block with very thick stone walls. The only way to get reliable wifi was to install 3 BT whole home wifi discs. What are the odds radio interlinked alarms (battery operated) are going to be able to talk to one another? I note that Aico suggests aligning all of the alarms in the same direction whereas Hispec says nothing.
Would be grateful for any comments and real world experiences.
I suppose at the end of the day even if not all of the links work some alarms in the house are better than the current complete lack thereof!
Our 1960s flat has brick walls throughout. The only way to get reliable wifi was same as above! The Hispec wireless alarms same to talk to each other okay.off to the father in law's on the east coast of Scotland over Easter and on the to do list is finally fitting smoke alarms. The house is a converted/extended U-shaped stable block with very thick stone walls. The only way to get reliable wifi was to install 3 BT whole home wifi discs. What are the odds radio interlinked alarms (battery operated) are going to be able to talk to one another? I note that Aico suggests aligning all of the alarms in the same direction whereas Hispec says nothing.
Would be grateful for any comments and real world experiences.
I suppose at the end of the day even if not all of the links work some alarms in the house are better than the current complete lack thereof!
I fitted a bunch of Aico alarms recently - a mix of hard wired and wireless. I found the alarms are often available on eBay unused for half price (check the expiration date) - people overbuy for projects and then sell them on.
It was quite confusing to understand what was required - you can get a module which links between the wired and wireless network (if you want to mix and match). We were renovating the kitchen, so fitted wired Ei3014 heat alarms, Ei3016 smoke alarms and Aico EI3018 CO alarms (about £30), then fitted the battery powered EI650RF alarms (about £50 each) in some rooms, and fitted a Ei3000MRF module (about £20) in one of the wired alarms to bridge the two networks. I got the wireless module on eBay as well.
It worked out a bit more expensive than an equivalent FireAngel setup, but there's a lot of "my alarm died after 5 years" reviews for FireAngel - so the savings of the cheaper alarms might not be as big as first appearances.
It was quite confusing to understand what was required - you can get a module which links between the wired and wireless network (if you want to mix and match). We were renovating the kitchen, so fitted wired Ei3014 heat alarms, Ei3016 smoke alarms and Aico EI3018 CO alarms (about £30), then fitted the battery powered EI650RF alarms (about £50 each) in some rooms, and fitted a Ei3000MRF module (about £20) in one of the wired alarms to bridge the two networks. I got the wireless module on eBay as well.
It worked out a bit more expensive than an equivalent FireAngel setup, but there's a lot of "my alarm died after 5 years" reviews for FireAngel - so the savings of the cheaper alarms might not be as big as first appearances.
Edited by LeoR on Wednesday 29th March 21:55
sherman said:
How much was that as I probably need a similar type setup?
Had to go back through old invoices but in 2006 total cost of supply and install was £ 700. We also had a test / locate box fitted - about the size of a light switch.
We replaced the alarms ( not bases ) in 2019 as a precaution - £300.
For the wood burners we simply used FA Carbon Monoxide battery powered dectectors.
LeoR said:
I fitted a bunch of Aico alarms recently -… It was quite confusing to understand what was required
I found the same thing - eventually caved and phoned Aico - phone was answered promptly by a knowledgeable human being who gave me all the info I needed. Recommended.Edited by Jambo85 on Thursday 30th March 18:44
Jambo85 said:
LeoR said:
I fitted a bunch of Aico alarms recently -… It was quite confusing to understand what was required
I found the same thing - eventually caved and phoned Aico - phone was answered promptly by a knowledgeable human being who gave me all the info I needed. Recommended.Edited by Jambo85 on Thursday 30th March 18:44
Found that Aico seemed to have pretty much most solutions covered.
Likewise bought from eBay to save money.
AW10 said:
Thread resurrection time...
off to the father in law's on the east coast of Scotland over Easter and on the to do list is finally fitting smoke alarms. The house is a converted/extended U-shaped stable block with very thick stone walls. The only way to get reliable wifi was to install 3 BT whole home wifi discs. What are the odds radio interlinked alarms (battery operated) are going to be able to talk to one another? I note that Aico suggests aligning all of the alarms in the same direction whereas Hispec says nothing.
Would be grateful for any comments and real world experiences.
I suppose at the end of the day even if not all of the links work some alarms in the house are better than the current complete lack thereof!
So installed 3 smoke alarms, 1 heat alarm, 1 CO alarm and the controller, all wireless battery operated variants from HiSpec. Perceived quality isn’t overwhelming but they all linked up just fine. Job jobbed.off to the father in law's on the east coast of Scotland over Easter and on the to do list is finally fitting smoke alarms. The house is a converted/extended U-shaped stable block with very thick stone walls. The only way to get reliable wifi was to install 3 BT whole home wifi discs. What are the odds radio interlinked alarms (battery operated) are going to be able to talk to one another? I note that Aico suggests aligning all of the alarms in the same direction whereas Hispec says nothing.
Would be grateful for any comments and real world experiences.
I suppose at the end of the day even if not all of the links work some alarms in the house are better than the current complete lack thereof!
Skyedriver said:
Living in Scotland, by law I must now have wireless interlinked smoke and heat alarms.
While most local stockists seem to be out of stock, I'm searching the internet and there are so many different makes all with good and bad reviews and none of them have names I recognise (with the exception of Kidde).
Can any one recommend me a package of 4 smoke alarms, 1 heat alarm, all battery powered and wireless interlinked please.
Are Hispec, Anka, etc any good?
Thanks in advance
Alarms must be mains powered, although the Scottish regulations seems to accept from lighting circuits with only intermittent power as long as used reasonably often??While most local stockists seem to be out of stock, I'm searching the internet and there are so many different makes all with good and bad reviews and none of them have names I recognise (with the exception of Kidde).
Can any one recommend me a package of 4 smoke alarms, 1 heat alarm, all battery powered and wireless interlinked please.
Are Hispec, Anka, etc any good?
Thanks in advance
We went with AiCo. Easy to install.
bennno said:
Skyedriver said:
Living in Scotland, by law I must now have wireless interlinked smoke and heat alarms.
While most local stockists seem to be out of stock, I'm searching the internet and there are so many different makes all with good and bad reviews and none of them have names I recognise (with the exception of Kidde).
Can any one recommend me a package of 4 smoke alarms, 1 heat alarm, all battery powered and wireless interlinked please.
Are Hispec, Anka, etc any good?
Thanks in advance
Alarms must be mains poweredWhile most local stockists seem to be out of stock, I'm searching the internet and there are so many different makes all with good and bad reviews and none of them have names I recognise (with the exception of Kidde).
Can any one recommend me a package of 4 smoke alarms, 1 heat alarm, all battery powered and wireless interlinked please.
Are Hispec, Anka, etc any good?
Thanks in advance
Edited by cuprabob on Monday 10th April 14:03
cuprabob said:
Not in Scotland they don't. They can be battery powered, although they must be the non replaceable long life batteries, which typically have a life of 10yrs.
aha sorry, if the house is let in any form then they must be mains powered Edited by cuprabob on Monday 10th April 14:03
bennno said:
aha sorry, if the house is let in any form then they must be mains powered
I’m not seeing that in https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-a...In laws bought and fitted ones from https://www.linkedupalarms.com/store/
Relatively easy to do, and I have since bought for OH's and another property I visit plus my own.
Not the simplest setup, but not a nightmare either - the company seems to be an independent local outfit who saw an opportunity and got their act together and were pretty decent to deal with rather than a cowboy/shark type that there must be a risk of here.
The prices were competitive, but I guess we won't know how long the non-replaceable batteries really last for a while.
Relatively easy to do, and I have since bought for OH's and another property I visit plus my own.
Not the simplest setup, but not a nightmare either - the company seems to be an independent local outfit who saw an opportunity and got their act together and were pretty decent to deal with rather than a cowboy/shark type that there must be a risk of here.
The prices were competitive, but I guess we won't know how long the non-replaceable batteries really last for a while.
AW10 said:
I’m not seeing that in https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-a...
How old is your house, how many stories, how many bedrooms, holiday or long term let?The AiCo ones are decent and Screwfix had good supplies - were quick and easy to put up and easy to set up as a hybrid system.
Mains units have to be replaced after 10 years anyway, so not really an advantage over the 10 year sealed units. Easy enough in new builds but mains wiring the units in an old house is not easy. I also wondered re relative reliability - if the circuit breakers trip in a fire, the mains units wouldn’t sound - unless they have a battery backup?
johnnyBv8 said:
Mains units have to be replaced after 10 years anyway, so not really an advantage over the 10 year sealed units. Easy enough in new builds but mains wiring the units in an old house is not easy. I also wondered re relative reliability - if the circuit breakers trip in a fire, the mains units wouldn’t sound - unless they have a battery backup?
English and Welsh rules are that if you long term or holiday let your property that it must have one mains connected [battery back up] interlinked optical smoke alarm per floor, plus a heat detector in the kitchen. bennno said:
English and Welsh rules are that if you long term or holiday let your property that it must have one mains connected [battery back up] interlinked optical smoke alarm per floor, plus a heat detector in the kitchen.
I don’t think that’s correct for England - see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-a...Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff