New smoke detectors law

[SSE]

This new law coming in, noticed it’s saying a detector in every circulation space. What are we classing as circulation space? This mean every bedroom or will you still get away with having them within 2m of bedrooms?

 

[westward10]

A circulation space is where people travel between compartments/rooms, for example stairwells and corridors etc....

 

[Mike Johnson]

Circulation space is defined in the Fire Regulations and is as westwood10 suggests, except if your in Hampshire and its an office, anyone else come up agains the Hampshire Act?

 

[stewartrossinv]

The requirements to meet the new Scottish legislation (implementation delayed to Feb 2022 due to COVID-19) are listed on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-in-scottish-homes/:

Q: How many alarms are required to meet the standards?

A: The standard requires:

• one smoke alarm installed in the room most frequently used for general daytime living purposes
• one smoke alarm in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings
• one heat alarm installed in every kitchen

All alarms should be ceiling mounted and interlinked.

Where there is a carbon-fuelled appliance (such as boilers, fires (including open fires) and heaters) or a flue, a carbon monoxide detector is also required which does not need to be linked to the fire alarms.

Although smoke alarms in bedrooms are not required under the legislation, it's not a high-cost option to add at least one for the main bedroom, to provide as much of a margin of safety as possible.

I have replaced the previous battery-operated non-interlinked detectors in my 1970s bungalow with interlinked mains-powered versions by Aico (5 smoke detectors - one for each of the three bedrooms plus hall and living room, 1 heat detector for the kitchen and a carbon monoxide alarm. The costliest one was the carbon monoxide detector - about £56 from City Electrical Factors. You can get combined heat and carbon monoxide detectors at around £70 from CEF, but I bought them separately. The heat detector was about £40 from CEF. The more basic smoke detectors were much cheaper at about £20 each.

For all the cost difference the smoke detectors make it made sense to me to cover all potentially occupied rooms. The legislation can be met by installing battery powered versions as long as the batteries are tamperproof and the detectors can be interlinked by wireless means for instance. As noted in the extract above, the carbon monoxide detector (if fitted) does not have to be interlinked.

-Stewart

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

The new fire angel ones have a 10 year battery and have wireless interconnect, around £50 each and much cheaper than the aico range. designed with the scottish regs in mind

 

[littlespark]

What’s the reliability of the fire angel ones?

The aico online training says their alarms are all individually tested multiple time during construction, not just one of a batch tested.