These three types of smoke alarms are all good alarms however, some models are better at certain aspects of detection than others. The three are optical, ionization, and heat alarms. There should always be smoke detectors in every part of your home. Countless lives have been saved due to these alarms.



When considering how quickly a home can go up in flames the method that has alerted people the fastest and allowed them the extra minutes they needed to get out of the home were smoke alarms.

The smoke alarm that is called the budget smoke detector for those who need just a basic model to alert them in case of a fire is the ionization smoke detector. This type is better at detecting flames than smoke. If for instance a mattress were smoldering this type may not detect the smoke as fast as others. This type is better suited for a kitchen or living room rather than a bedroom.

A photoelectric detector is another type of smoke detector. These use light to detect smoke. These types are better at detecting smoldering fires such as the mattress mentioned above. They reflect light inside a chamber in the smoke detector and when enough smoke goes into the detector to reflect the light it sets off the alarm. These are better suited for bedrooms although some people use them in conjunction with the fire detector.

A heat detecting alarm will be set off when the temperature rises and goes past a certain level. This type does not function as a smoke detector. The consensus is that this type may not provide enough prior warning for getting out of a fire but they are good types to use in kitchens. They should not be used in bedrooms however. This is available in several types - rate of rise - which is set off if the heat rises faster than a certain rate; specifically faster than 8.3 degrees centigrade per minute. The fixed temperature is set off if the heat rises to the temperature the alarm is set on. The combination alarms are set off if both occur.

Optical or Visual alarms are flashing lights that come on when there is the threat of a fire. These are typically used because there are many people who have difficulty hearing. The hearing loss in America has been estimated at one in ten. This will allow those who cannot hear the alarms to know there is a fire.

These types of alarms along with the fire alarm signals are used together in many places. The ADA (American Disabilities Act) calls for both types to be used in new or remodeled construction to make them compliant with the ADA standards.

Although smoke alarms are more common today than ever before, there are still buildings that do not have them. The home without a smoke detector is in extreme danger if there would be a fire in the middle of the night. These alarms are proven to save lives by warning people in enough time to allow them to get out of a burning building.

The basic model which is not expensive should be the least that is installed in homes. Every year, especially around Christmas, there are fires from overloaded plugs and Christmas trees. The fire departments in many towns give smoke detectors away to help gain awareness of how serious this situation is.