Fire Alarm Systems: Why Your Home Needs Them

Technological innovations have made life a lot easier for man. Through them, we can accomplish more. But with modernization come many problems, for instance, electricity can provide warmth, running machineries and device utilization but it can also cause fires, accidents, and even death. If you want to sleep more peacefully at night, it would do you good to learn about fire alarm systems and how they can protect your home.

The Function of a Fire Alarm

Fire can break out any time in any room of your home. This fire can also stealthily move from its origin to other rooms in just a matter of minutes. By the time that you become aware of it, you will realize that the raging flames have already engulfed half of your home, or worse, almost all of it.

The fire alarm is a device that can give you a warning signal the moment that it detects a fire breakout. This is just a small device that can be inconspicuously installed to the ceiling of every room. It can effectively warn against fire as soon as it senses the dangerous smoke or fumes. Most of the time, the alarm is gives of a shrilly sound that can awaken even the heaviest sleepers.

Fire alarms systems can give home or business owners enough time to vacate a burning structure. Since their invention, they have become increasingly popular since they have become instruments in saving thousands of lives.

Fire Alarm Types

There are two types of fire alarms. They are categorized according to the kind of detector that is utilized – ionization or photoelectric detector. Majority of the fire alarms use either one of these or even both of these two types.

Ionization detectors have a little quantity of Americanum-241. This provides ionizing radiation as the alpha particles are released and then strike the nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the air. The results are positively-charged ions.

An ionization detector comes with an ionization chamber complete with two plates placed a centimeter apart. Batteries that are used to run the alarms apply low voltages to the plates. As a result, one plate is positively charged while the other gets a negative charge – you’re right, electricity is then produced.

For as long as this current runs, then the alarm will not sound; however, as soon as this circuit is cut off, then the alarm is triggered as the current drops.

Photoelectric detectors, on the other hand, makes use of a straight, uninterrupted light beam in its chamber. Once this light beam is disrupted by smoke particles, you guessed it, the alarm would sound off.

Every photoelectric detector come with an infrared LED or an incandescent bulb that serves as the light source.

Guaranteeing Your Safety

More than 85% of American homes have already installed fire alarm systems. With this fact, it has become noticeable that the number of fire-related deaths and accidents have decreased. This huge decrease in electrical fire-related incidents is great news for everyone. But the mere installation of fire alarm systems does not guarantee a home’s complete safety.

It is still important for every family member to learn about general electrical safety. Also, while there are detectors that run on batteries, there are those that are powered by electrical mains so the detectors have to be maintained by a licensed electrician to ensure that they are still functioning. Even when these run on electricity, it pays to have a battery backup. Ask an electrician about the use of both power sources.  In case of battery-run alarms, just make sure that the batteries are replaced every year.