Smoke detector rules for landlords?

[SafetyFirst]

Hey up all, i'm after some advice please. I have a friend who is applying to rent his house out for student accommdation however he's hit a little snag. The university's set standards insist that the smoke detectors MUST be hard wired. He has a qualified tester ready to inspect and certify any works carried out but there's some confusion as to how to meet the basic standards.

I am a qualified spark but tbh i haven't much experience on the fire alarm front especially since 17th edition so i am not fully aware exactly what should be done.

He has an old rewireable fuseboard atm and he's in need of an RCD board before he goes any further i have told him.

I have went full hog which is obviously not ideal for him as it's most expensive but i want it to pass and get signed off as his application must be in by (next thursday 25th Aug 2011) i have advised him to get FP200 cable and hard wire on its own circuit a couple of detectors, one for each floor. (standard 3 bed terraced house).

Is this the best way OR what about these other options;

* Use normal T&E on a seperate circuit.
* Use fp200 and tap off local lighting circuits? (I don't like this but is it acceptable in todays standards)?
* Instead of having it on an RCD circuit buy a split board and use a standard breaker on the non protected side to avoid nuisance tripping?

I'm sure we'll all have different solutions but as long as it's BS7671 approved and it passes it's test i want my friend to have the easiest and cheapest solution.


Many thanks in anticipation of response.

 

[malcolmsanford]

Electrical Safety in Rental Property - England & Wales

A respected member posted this a few days ago and is an excellent guide to the myths concerning what is required by landlords. Unless the university/college insist on RCD protection in rental properties then you don't need to fit them.

MHO is a very difficult scenario when dealing with fire alarms, emergency lighting and communal areas, each LBC will have their own take on things, and even the University/college will have guidelines. My best advice would be to contact the LBC ,and ask them their requirements, they most likely will ask you for a risk assessment and you may need to contact a local fire officer to help you if you have no experience

 

[SafetyFirst]

Thanks for the swift reply Malcolm and for the link, i appreciate what your saying however time now is of the essence and i was looking for my friend to get what he needed and for me to do it for him in the morning as i'm working away next week whilst the application needs to be handed in. Therefore it needs testing by wednesday the latest really. He should have done what you suggested a while back but it's how it is right now.

There is many different ways you can do this, i don't think there's any set way but all the university standard state's (all our properties have burglar alarms and hard-wired smoke detectors as standard).

 

[sjm]

BS 5839 allows wireless interconnecting of smoke detectors so it might be worth asking the University about this, Aico do a very good system.


The preferred method of wiring the smoke detectors is from a local regularly used lighting circuit and you can use standard T+E cable or 3C+E for interconnecting.

IMHO I would fit a heat alarm in the kitchen a multisensor alarm in the lounge/living room a standard ionisation alarm in the hallways upstairs and downstairs, all mains powered with battery back up and interconnected. This will provide a grade D LD2 fire detection system to meet the recommendations given in BS5839-6.


Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[Blowcat]

BS 5839 allows wireless interconnecting of smoke detectors so it might be worth asking the University about this, Aico do a very good system.


The preferred method of wiring the smoke detectors is from a local regularly used lighting circuit and you can use standard T+E cable or 3C+E for interconnecting.

IMHO I would fit a heat alarm in the kitchen a multisensor alarm in the lounge/living room a standard ionisation alarm in the hallways upstairs and downstairs, all mains powered with battery back up and interconnected. This will provide a grade D LD2 fire detection system to meet the recommendations given in BS5839-6.


Hope this helps.

Steve

I am not fully upto date with my fire alarm regs but this system sounds like it will meet the requirements. If the rooms in the house are rented out individually I would be inclined to put a smoke detector in each bedroom.

 

[PC Electrics]

Aico also do 10 year life [non replaceable] lithium battery alarms with RF connection. They are about 100 notes each, but should meet the requirements as the batteries cannot be removed, last 10 years (alarms should be replaced after 10 yrs anyway) and are fully interconnectable (by RF). Never used these particular ones myself, but worth a look?

 

[SafetyFirst]

Thanks guys for all your advice, i'll let you know how we get on!

 

[UNG]

A recent HMO I did for a student let required a detector in each bedroom this also then met sounder requirements as 75 db at the bedhead is a usual requirement

Unfortunately HMO requirements differ between licensing authorities

 

[tazz]

All advice given is correct, and would meet BS5839 part 6.
Be careful of our old friends the local Authorities, they can be a law to themselves.

If the house is more than 2 floors you maybe be asked to install a Grade A systems, which will be basically a full system with control panel.

Many Authories we deal with request heat detection in idividual rooms, which controdicts the BS.
Be sure to write all variations against the BS on certificates, ie "Council requested heat detection in occupied rooms"

For any Grade D systems you can`t go wrong with AICO, this irish company have filled a good gap in the market with some great features and accessories. As for db levels, we have measured over 98-101 db with the Aico, they are loud. Wish commercial Apollo and Hochiki were that load.

 

[UNG]

Many Authories we deal with request heat detection in idividual rooms, which controdicts the BS.
Be sure to write all variations against the BS on certificates, ie "Council requested heat detection in occupied rooms"

Always thought the BS was the minimum standard required and any additional protection was at the discretion of system designer / installer or in this case the council

Would of only expected to list variations to the system design as I'm not aware of BS carrying out design work listing variations that improve a basic standard that can only be an improvement seems a bit odd

 

[tazz]

Always thought the BS was the minimum standard required and any additional protection was at the discretion of system designer / installer or in this case the council

Would of only expected to list variations to the system design as I'm not aware of BS carrying out design work listing variations that improve a basic standard that can only be an improvement seems a bit odd

Councils will not take part in any Design, they will only submit recomendations and rules to be followed.
Therefore the installer is responsible for the design of the system following the recomendations.

So backside covering on certification needs to be done