The improved technologies and innovations added to smoke detectors have led to promising results. Generally speaking, smoke detectors are intended to alert you as fast as possible in potentially hazardous situations. For instance, photoelectric smoke alarms are popular for their ability to protect homes against smouldering fires. Regardless if it’s a flaming fire or a smouldering fire, you need to be notified as soon as possible.
For that, this article will help you understand a promising technology that can keep you and your family safe all the time. This way, you’ll be able to come up with an informed decision on making sure that your family and home are protected. Know more about this information by reading this article until the end.
How do Photoelectric Smoke Alarms Function?
Photoelectric smoke detectors are branded for their capability to detect fire by using light. This feature is made possible thanks to the light-sensing chamber that you can observe within the alarm. An LED light casts a light beam in a straight light all over the chamber. This alarm can detect smoke. When the smoke reaches the chamber, the LED light will defect the smoke from the straight path into a photosensor in the various section in a similar chamber. Once this beam of light hits this sensor, you can expect hearing a loud sound from the alarm.
How Can Photoelectric Smoke Detectors be Compared to Other Units?
Two of the most well-known technologies for smoke alarms include dual sensor smoke detectors and ionization alarms. The dual-sensor smoke alarm has both photoelectric and ionization technology within. Photoelectric smoke alarms are intended to protect you against smouldering, slower fires, while ionization smoke detectors are perfect for sensing rapid flame fires.
Photoelectric smoke alarms have a unique advantage if compared to the Ionization alarm unit. That’s because a lot of occupants will be notified faster when there is smoke. As a result, they can get more time to escape from the place. Many begin with flaming fires, so installing this smoke alarm is a must. Meanwhile, ionization detectors respond once a home is already alight with fire, resulting in reduced time for tenants to get out of the burning house.
What are the Benefits of Installing Photoelectric smoke Detectors?
This type of smoke detector is proven to:
- Don’t have any radioactive material
- Cause fewer false alarm from the steam in bathrooms or cooking in the kitchen
- Act notably faster to slow but smouldering fires that produce a lot of smoke
When Should You Install Photoelectric Smoke Detectors?
As mentioned earlier, photoelectric smoke detectors tend to respond rapidly to smouldering fires that slowly start and eventually burn even without flame for a long duration. You need to install photoelectric smoke detectors to make sure that you can save your lives by detecting smoke sooner than later. If you have such alarms in your home, you can escape from potentially life-risking smoke inhalation. But even if you have these units at home, make sure to do your part and be careful with handling things like cigarettes or candles. If you leave these items unattended, they can cause small fires that can result in a massive disaster and fire situation.
Author: Alison Lurie