Safety should always be important to all of us. Whether you live with your family, roommates, or all alone safety should always be paramount. Smoke detectors are invaluable in that regard. Smoke detectors do exactly what it says in their name. They detect if there is a smoke or fire in the vicinity. When smoke is detected a high pitched alarm is sounded. This should ideally alert everyone in the building to any danger. This is important because the United States Fire Administration has concluded that nearly two-thirds of all fire-related deaths occur in places without a functioning smoke detector. In reality, there are only two downsides to smoke detectors. The first is that they might break. The second is that your particular smoke detector might only have a singular way of detecting a fire.
Smoke detectors work in one of two ways. Smoke can be detected visually through photoelectric means or by ionization. The best smoke detectors use both methods. When considering which type of smoke detector to buy, there are a few statistics to know. The National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded that both types of smoke detectors have pros and cons. When there is an openly flaming fire, ionizing smoke detectors respond, on average, an entire minute quicker than photoelectric detectors. On the flip side, photoelectric detectors respond staggeringly better to smoldering fires. A photoelectric detector can detect a smoldering fire almost an hour quicker than ionization one. The most reasonable, really the only smart thing to do is purchase a smoke detector that utilizes both methods.
Smoke detectors are very low maintenance devices. Every once in a while you should wipe down the face of the detector. A dirty smoke detector can sometimes set off a false alarm. A sensor covered in dust or grime may also take a few seconds longer to register smoke. The only other point of maintenance is that you would have to change the batteries on the device every once and awhile. That’s all.
Any certified electrician in your area could install one of the dual sensing smoke detectors in your home or place of residence. Buying a smoke detector that has both ways of detecting a fire is the only logical thing to do. That provides the most amount of protection. Fire safety is even more important today, as we experience droughts all across the United States. From California to Florida there is a rash of wildfires, and having a working smoke detector can save your life. It is of paramount importance.