Smoke Detector Wiring

Can I install a hardwired smoke detector myself? Well, the short answer is yes. However, it is not recommended to DIY install these detectors unless you have experience doing home electrical work, have the right tools and familiarity with how electrical circuits work. Working with electricity is dangerous and if you don’t have such familiarity then your first project probably shouldn’t be installing hard-wired smoke alarms wiring detectors that are critical to the safety of your home and family.

When you want excellent customer service and expertise from your electrician, make sure that electrician is Juniper Mountain Electric.

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Hardwired smoke detectors

According to the Denver Department of Safety, Fire Prevention Division, 24 of every 25 households surveyed in 2008 had at least one smoke alarm—but non-working smoke alarms substantially outnumbered homes with no alarms. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties that lacked a functioning smoke alarm. Most of the time when a smoke alarm fails to go off it is because the batteries are missing, disconnected, or dead. However, hardwired smoke alarms only use batteries for backup. Hardwired smoke alarms are wired directly into the homes electrical system and the battery backup is only used if the home loses power. In addition, hardwired smoke detectors are interconnected. If one goes off, they all will go off. So, if a fire starts on a lower level the alarms in the upper bedrooms go off also to warn the occupants. DENVER FIRE DEPARTMENT (denvergov.org)

Where should the smoke detectors be located?

According to the Colorado Fire Code, smoke alarms are required to be placed in every residential dwelling, in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home including the basement. Beginning January 1, 2019, all newly installed smoke detectors must have a 10-year lithium-ion battery. DENVER FIRE DEPARTMENT (denvergov.org)

Smoke detector placement is actually quite important.  Smoke detector location needs to be where it will best detect smoke which means placing them on the ceiling. Since smoke rises and pools on the ceiling, a ceiling smoke detector has the best opportunity to detect the smoke. The best spot on the ceiling is in the center but if that is unavailable due to a ceiling light fixture or fan, the smoke detector installation must be at least 4 inches from any wall. Smoke detectors should never be placed in corners as when smoke rises clear air gets pushed into the corners and the smoke will not reach the detector.

If you want to make sure your new smoke detectors are installed correctly for maximum safety, contact the professional electricians at Juniper Mountain Electric.

Types of smoke detectors

It is not just law; it is common sense to have smoke detectors in your home. Smoke detectors are essential for protecting your home and family. Depending on the size and layout of your home, there may be different types of smoke alarms that may be best for you. For example:

Ionization smoke detectors: Amazingly, more than 90% of home smoke alarms are ionization smoke detectors. Ionization smoke detectors work using radioactive material. Inside the detector is a chamber where that bit of radioactive material is suspended between electrically charged plates. When smoke enters the chamber, it interferes with the field and triggers the alarm.

The benefit of ionization smoke alarms is that they are excellent at detecting flaming fires. Since this is the most common type of home fire it makes sense that ionization smoke alarms are the most common type of smoke detector. But does that mean they should be the only type of smoke detector in your home? According to the National Fire Protection Association, homes should have both ionization and photoelectric smoke detectors. Installing and maintaining smoke alarms – NFPA

Photoelectric smoke detectors: So why do you also need a photoelectric smoke alarm? Photoelectric smoke detectors are better than ionization smoke detectors at detecting smoky fires such as those from electrical fires that start in a wall, or from fires caused by cigarettes or charcoal. Photoelectric smoke detectors have a chamber just like ionization smoke detectors, but instead of radioactive material they use a light-sensitive sensor and an LED light. The LED light sends a steady beam to the sensor at all times. If smoke gets into the chamber, it breaks the beam which sets off the alarm.

Bedroom-specific alarms: Bedroom specific alarms can be particularly useful as they often have a voice alarm and not just a sound alarm. They are also louder than traditional smoke alarms. Finally, they come with a ten year lithium ion battery so you don’t have to worry about chirping noises when a battery fails.

Kitchen-specific alarms: There are also kitchen specific alarms. The most common place for a house fire to start is the kitchen. “Home Cooking Fires” report | NFPA Kitchen fires are often more hazardous as they also produce smoke that contains toxic gases like carbon monoxide. For this reason it can be helpful for the smoke detector that is located near your kitchen to also have a carbon monoxide detector. That way if the fire is producing carbon monoxide, the warm air will push the carbon monoxide into the detector, potentially before the smoke can reach the same height. This will set off the alarm sooner than just a regular smoke detector and the faster you are warned of a fire the more time you will have to get yourself and your family to safety!

How do smoke detectors talk to each other?

So, your smoke detectors have been wired in per the electrical codes and a fire starts. Suddenly all the smoke detectors in the house are going off. Why? Wired smoke detectors have three wires, a black wire a white wire and a red wire. For interconnected smoke alarms, the important wire is the red wire. Interconnected smoke detectors all operate off the same dedicated circuit from the electrical panel and connect through the red wire. If there is smoke in the house the nearest smoke detector will send a signal through the red wire which carries the signal to all of the other smoke detectors. Typically, up to 12 units can intercommunicate on the same red wire.

You can also have battery operated smoke detectors that are interconnected.  The difference is that the battery powered smoke detectors will use a radio signal to speak to each other.  It is possible to mix wired and wireless smoke detectors, but it is helpful to have an electrician inspect your existing systems to makes sure all of the smoke detectors will speak to each other. 

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Why are interconnected smoke detectors better?

According to an NFPA article in February 2021:

  • lmost three out of five home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent).
  • The risk of dying in reported home structure fires is 55 percent lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or none that worked.

  • When present, hardwired smoke alarms operated in 94 percent of the fires considered large enough to trigger a smoke alarm. Battery-powered alarms operated 82 percent of the time. Power source issues were the most common factors when smoke alarms failed to operate. Smoke Alarms in US Home Fires report | NFPA

So don’t wait! Contact Juniper Mountain Electric to get wired smoke detectors today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Most hard-wired smoke detectors have a 9-volt battery as back up. The purpose of the battery is to ensure that the smoke detectors will still work even if there is a power outage. Even though the smoke detector is still working, the battery will beep if the charge on the battery is low. This does not affect whether the smoke detector will work, it just means that the backup battery needs to be replaced. Even if the battery backup dies, a hardwired smoke detector is still receiving power as long as there is power to the home so it will still work.

There are three common causes for a smoke detector to beep – The detector is old and broken, the backup battery is dead, or dust got into the detector. Whether it is a battery operated or hard-wired detector they will both beep when the battery dies. Sometimes a hard-wired detector will need to be reset once the problem is resolved. If needed, you can press and hold the reset button for 15 to 20 seconds and the detector will stop beeping.

Smoke detectors go off when smoke enters the chamber and either breaks the beam connection (for photoelectric detectors) or interrupts the electrical field (ionization smoke detectors). Heat detectors also come in two types, fixed temperature, and rate of rise heat detectors. Heat detectors track temperature changes that occur in the vicinity of the device. A fixed temperature heat detector works by triggering if the overall temperature rises above a specific temperature. Typically, this temperature is 58°C. Rate of rise heat detectors work based on how rapidly the temperature changes. The rate of rise heat detector uses two thermal sensors, one detects heat and the other measures the room’s ambient temperature. If the amount of heat suddenly rapidly rises faster than the ambient temperature the alarm will go off.

So where should you install a heat detector instead of a smoke detector? The best areas include attics, garages, kitchen, laundry rooms, and bathrooms since the dust, moisture or cooking smoke could cause a smoke detector to go off even if there is no fire.

Juniper Mountain Electric is happy to provide you with an evaluation of exactly where and what type of detectors are best for your home. Contact us today.

There is a lot of discussion about the best place to put a smoke detector but there are places where a smoke detector should not go and that is just as important.

  • Bathrooms – bathrooms produce a lot of steam which could trigger a false alert. That much moisture could also damage the smoke detector over time.
  • Too close to a ceiling fan – If a smoke alarm is installed within 3 feet of the end of the blade of a ceiling fan the fan will potentially blow the smoke away from the alarm delaying when the alarm might go off.
  • Near a furnace or air conditioning supply or return vents – The air near a furnace or the supply or return vents will be more turbulent.  Just like with a ceiling fan, having the smoke detectors too close to these spaces means the smoke may not get to the smoke alarms.
  • Corner of the ceiling – One of the problems with ceiling corners is something called “dead air”.  Dead air occurs in places where air cannot circulate.  In ceiling corners air can get trapped and no fresh air moves in or out of that space.  This also means that if there is a fire, the smoke will not reach those corners.  So, having a smoke detector in those dead air spaces will means they will not go off.
  • By stoves and ovens – This is pretty obvious.  When you cook there is the potential for steam and smoke from the cooking process.  To avoid regular false alarms, do not place a smoke alarm within 10 feet of a cooking appliance.

If you want to be sure that your smoke detectors are installed in the right places and the right way by a qualified electrician, contact Juniper Mountain Electric.

There can be a variety of things that can set off a smoke alarm even if there is no fire.

  • A romantic evening.  Lit candles around the room.  Sounds lovely.  Just be careful.  When you blow out those candles you will release a fair amount of smoke so don’t be surprised if your smoke detector goes off.
  • Still smoking inside?  Smoke from cigars and cigarettes can trigger your smoke alarm.  Some people will actually disconnect their smoke alarms so they can smoke in the house.  Be safe, smoke outside instead of disconnecting your alarm.
  • It is winter and you want to do some painting, strip some furniture, or clean with a lot of bleach, but you don’t open your windows.  Aside from the dangers of breathing those fumes, they can actually cause your smoke detector to react.  Make sure if you are using strong smelling chemicals that you are using them in a well-ventilated space.
  • Insects can actually cause your smoke detector to go off.  Spiders in particular can crawl inside the chamber and interrupt the sensor.  Even if the spider itself does not cause the problem, when they build a web and bugs get trapped, that can cause the smoke detector to go off.  As part of maintenance, when you change out the batteries, clean your smoke detector.

Smoke detectors play an important role in keeping your home and your family safe.  Make sure they are installed correctly the first time by an experienced electrician.  Contact Juniper Mountain Electric for excellent customer service and to have it done right!

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