Each and every year, thousands of people die or are injured by unintentional CO (carbon monoxide) exposure or house fires. It’s a harsh statistic, but one that amplifies the importance of having properly installed smoke and CO detectors in your home. In fact, it’s the law that homes have these two devices in them when you move in, and illegal to tamper with these devices in most jurisdictions too.
Of course, you probably have them both up in your home, and your batteries are likely fresh (are you changing them every 6 months?) But what if there was an extra precautionary step you could take?
Well, there is! You can have your CO and smoke detectors hardwired into your electrical system. Read on as we uncover not only the importance of these systems, but also why you should consider hardwiring yours.
Smoke Detectors
Most homeowners understand the importance of a smoke detector without a professional filling them in. But did you know there are different types? They both, of course, detect smoke, but the method in which they do so is different.
- Ionization: This type of smoke detector has a continual current that runs between two electrodes. When smoke enters its chamber, this current is interrupted, which trips off the alarm. It also can detect steam, so while this seems like the ideal type of smoke detector, it’s perhaps not a wise idea to have this type in or near your kitchen.
- Photoelectric: This type of smoke detector reacts to reduced light reaching an internal photocell inside the system, so if smoke enters, the light is scattered and this is what sounds the alarm–making this ideal for smoldering fires.
By hardwiring your smoke detectors to each other, you allow one smoke detector to create a domino effect for the rest–meaning if one goes off they all go off. This means that if you have an ionization smoke detector in one section of the home and a photoelectric device in another, you don’t need to worry about the lack of alarms. Your whole household will be alerted and given the time to get to safety!
CO Detectors
Carbon monoxide is a more dangerous gas than many homeowners realize. It’s colorless, tasteless, and odorless. The only way you’d become aware of its presence is if you started to suffer the ill-effects of exposure or if you have a proper carbon monoxide detector in place. Clearly the latter is more preferable!
When you invest in a professionally installed CO detector, if you don’t already have one in your home, you’ll be able to rest assured that you’ll be warned of a carbon monoxide leak before it has a chance to affect you. And just like with smoke detectors, you can have 2 or more hardwired to one another. This way if you have a larger home, you can still have the peace of mind that your whole family will be appropriately warned.
Contact Covenant Heating and Cooling to get in touch with our professional electricians in Franklin, TN today! “Dedicated to the Promise of Serving You.”