As fresher’s week soon approaches many students are on the hunt for accommodation to rent for the year. This can be a stressful time for landlords as they have to make sure their properties are complying with all regulations before renting out to tenants. An area that is sometimes neglected is fire protection. Fires within student accommodation are on the rise; most recently a fire broke out at Swansea University. As a result of increased fires it is essential that all properties have suitable fire protection in place such as smoke detectors.

Smoke detectors are the most common device used to detect fires as they have a mechanism in place that can sense smoke and output a warning, usually a load beep sound. There are various types of smoke alarms available, so how do you decide which one is best?

Ionisation smoke alarms

These smoke alarms are the most common smoke alarm as they are chosen because of their cheap cost. These smoke alarms are designed to detect smoke from fires that produce fast flames such as a chip pan fire or a paper fire. This is an advantage to tenants as it alerts the tenant before the smoke becomes too thick or over powering. However they are less likely to detect slow fires as they give of more smoke before the flames occur.

Optical smoke alarms

Optical smoke alarms are significantly more costly than an ionised smoke alarm as they are designed in an opposite way as they detect large smoke particles rather than small particles. They are used for smouldering fires such as overheating wiring or overheating of straighteners etc. These alarms can be installed anywhere in the home but its advised not to install them in the kitchen, if you are cautious about this you can install them directly outside the kitchen for ease of mind.

Heat smoke alarms

Heat smoke alarms do exactly what the name suggests as it constantly monitors temperatures and once it detects a rise in temperature the alarm is sounded. The only disadvantage of this alarm is that it can only monitor the heat in a small area so depending on the size of the room will depend on how many detectors will be needed. 

Combined smoke alarms

Combined smoke alarms are a mixture of both ionisation and optical detectors as they are designed to work together to detect slow burning fires and flaming fires. These are most appealing as it means that the chances of the alarm going off are greater than if you only had a optical or a ionisation detector.

What kind of battery do you need?

So once you have decided what alarm you are going to install, you then need to decide what power supply you want for the alarm.

Battery alarm with an emergency light

A battery alarm comes with a light that is triggered when the alarm is sounded. These are most common for homes with tenants that have hearing problems as the flashing light grabs their attention without the sound.

Alarms with ten-year batteries

These batteries are more expensive than a standard battery, however it is much more cost effective as you won’t have to replace the battery every year or more. There are many smoke detectors on the market that have these ten year batteries included.

Mains-powered alarms

Mains powered alarms are one of the most common alarms chosen by landlords for student accommodation as they are more or less perfect as the tenant would not have to replace batteries and therefore a peace of mind. The only thing about these alarms is that they do have to be installed by an electrician as they have to be wired into the home. Another advantage of these alarms is that they come with battery backup so that they will still function during a power cut.

Linked alarms

Linked alarms speak for themselves as they allow for alarms to be connected throughout the home. If there was a fire to break out in one room or one area of a block of apartments the whole building would be alerted.

Meteor Electrical has a huge range of smoke detectors suitable for any home, apartment or business. If you are struggling to decide which one is best for your property Meteor Electrical are here to help.