Heat Alarm

FrancoBegbie77

Hi folks,

Does anyone know if it's ok to just have a heat alarm in a kitchen and no smoke alarm?

We live in a new build semi d and the electrician who wired the house put the fire alarm right in the path of the oven. The fact it's a fan oven doesn't help either I suppose but no exarggeration every time we use the oven the smoke alarm is going off. The oven is spotless clean as well by the way so it's not that.

It's and ionisation smoke alarm, not an optical/photoelectric type that you are supposed to use in kitchens from what I've read up on it. The optical smoke alarms can be very expensive though so it would be great if we could just use the heat alarm instead and wouldn't be breaking any laws or regulations?

CoBo55

Can you disconnect it and get one of the battery smoke alarms put somewhere else? That's what I'd be doing.

Cerco

As CoBo55 says, as your home insurance probably specifies a minimum number of smoke alarms. As far as I remember they are specified as number per floor and not by room, on my policy.

No harm having a heat alarm in the kitchen.

Graces7

The council kindly fitted smoke and heat alarms here a few years ago .. right above the gas cooker and that set the others off... I had to disconnect them. They were over sensitive .

There was no insurance involved though. And ths place is very small. I never before in all the rentals had any alarms at all

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058281437/heat-alarm

Shouldn't be a smoke alarm in kitchen especially not ionization type

FrancoBegbie77

Thanks for your reply. Is it part of the electrical regulations/standards in Ireland that a smoke alarm should not be in a kitchen do you know?

Lenar3556

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120164699#Comment_120164699

It is covered by building regulations. You mention this is a new build?

It should have (all interconnected);

1. heat alarm in kitchen
2. smoke alarm in sitting room
3. smoke alarm in upstairs/downstairs hallways
4. smoke alarms in each bedroom.

Sometimes depending on the layout, it will be necessary to use some discretion particularly where you have an open plan kitchen sitting room. Ionisation smoke detection will be entire unsuitable for a kitchen area. You may get away with one optical smoke alarm if your kitchen and sitting room are essentially the same room.

kirk.

Ya I would try the optical in kitchen if it was my place

Use it somewhere else then if it false alarms

FrancoBegbie77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120184698#Comment_120184698

Yes, it's a new build and it has smoke alarms in all the places you listed. Just so I understand you, are you saying that the building regs say that you only need a heat alarm in the kitchen and not a smoke alarm? Our kitchen is open plan with the dining room alright but like I said it is just a semi d in an estate, not a huge space.

FrancoBegbie77

They are all interconnected as well like you said.

Lenar3556

Heat alarms typically take up to 10 times longer to activate in the event of fire, so the only advantage of a heat alarm in a kitchen is that they are very resistant to false alarm (at the cost of a slower response time)

A heat alarm in the kitchen is what is set out in building regulations. I have an optical smoke alarm in my own kitchen. I see it as superior, provided I have no false alarms and there has been nothing in the last number of years.

Ionisation are very sensitive and really only suitable for bedrooms.

Whether you decide to put up a heat or optical smoke, make sure it is of the same manufacturer/range as the rest of them which are interconnected.

kirk.

I would assume a kitchen/dining only requires a heat according to regulations but as above I'd prefer an optical or better again try a multisensor heat +optical for better protection than either

EI doesn't have ionisation alarms on their website any longer .I assume they've stopped making them

Recommendation is either optical or optical+heat for all rooms except kitchen

FrancoBegbie77

Thanks guys. Exactly the information I was looking for.