The distance between two smoke detectors should be no more than 30 feet. A typical smoke detector setup should be equidistant from all corners of the room by about 21 feet. So when installing a detector make sure that the distance between the detector and the corner of the room is about 21 feet or less. Each floor of your house or building should at least one smoke detector on each floor. Each floor should have one smoke detector. Also, if the floor has rooms in it then each room should have separate smoke detectors as we have mentioned previously.
This is the most important smoke alarm placement. One of the major causes of concern in placing smoke detectors in the kitchen, is the chance of a false alarm. It is quite possible that the smoke from your stove may cause the fire alarm to become active. To avoid this false alarm you will have to place the alarm at least 10 horizontal feet away from the kitchen stove.
Smoke can easily rise to the top. Also, avoid smoke alarms placement near a window or anything of this sort like an exhaust fan. Keeping a fire extinguisher in your kitchen is also great practice. The smoke detector placement code is actually dependent on the location of the building. Some areas have different regulations and policies for smoke detector placement than others. So be sure to check out your local placement code to find out exactly where to install smoke detectors in your building.
The NFPA does have some general guidelines on this so be sure to check that out too. A general rule of thumb is to check the working of your fire alarm once a month. You can do so by pressing the button on top of it. Even the one powered by the power supply has some batteries in it so that it works in case the power gets cut off. This battery needs to be replaced after each year. Hopefully, this erased your confusion on where to install smoke detectors.
Here is a short summary to conclude the proper placement of the smoke detectors. Now you know where to install smoke detectors. Hope this guide helps you to properly install your smoke detectors. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content Smoke detectors are essential tools for any home.
This increases reliability and also the sensitivity and at the same time decreases the rate of false alarms. After you have dealt with where to install smoke detectors you now have to figure out how to install it. For this you have to consult the manual. So read the manual carefully and ensure that you have installed the alarm correctly. Most modern alarms these days have a button that you can use to test whether or not your alarm is active or not. It will make a beeping sound or flash a light.
Smoke alarms are usually out of sight and reach. Always try to mount the alarm at the center of the room. As we have mentioned earlier this ensures that the smoke is easily detected. If you have a slanted ceiling then more than one detector may be required. Where not to place your detectors: For a proper smoke detector placement, it is essential that it is not placed in an area of dead air. Generally, the upper corners of the room are considered to be dead air spaces.
So avoid that. Keep your smoke detector away from any humidity or ventilation system. This can negatively impact your smoke detector by damaging it or in some cases even causing false-positive results. Your smoke detector placement should be such that it does not continuously interact with dust. The electrical code does not require that hardwired smoke detectors be connected to their own dedicated circuit, though there is nothing wrong with installing a new circuit for this purpose.
More often, though, hardwired smoke detectors are installed by splicing into a general lighting circuit or outlet circuit. Either a amp circuit wired with gauge wire or a amp circuit wired with gauge cable is acceptable for powering hardwired smoke detectors. Wiring the smoke detectors is fairly straightforward for an experienced DIYer or a professional electrician.
First, old-work electrical boxes are installed at appropriate spots where the smoke detectors will be installed. Then, a 2-wire cable is run from the power source to the first smoke detector. This power source can be a circuit breaker panel, an existing wall outlet, a wall switch, or a light fixture that has pass-through wires. Next, 3-wire cables are installed to link the smoke detectors in sequence.
Then, the various wire connections are made and the devices are installed. All standard precautions should be followed when working with electrical circuits.
Power must be shut off and tested for voltage before making any feed wire connections. Find the best locations for the smoke detectors. Ceilings are generally the best place for smoke detectors since smoke rises. If installing the detector on a wall, install it within 12 inches of the ceiling.
The manufacturer's instructions, as well as your local building code, will have recommendations for where the alarms should be installed. First, use a stud finder to locate the ceiling joists or wall studs.
Hold the electrical box backward and use the perimeter of its face as a template to draw a cutout around the perimeter. With old-work boxes, be sure to locate the boxes between joists or studs, not over them.
With a drywall saw, cut openings in the drywall to hold the electrical boxes for the smoke detectors. You may need to drill a pilot hole to establish a starting point for the saw. From the power source, run a 2-wire cable with ground to the first box location. The power source can be any one of several locations:. Fishing cable through walls is often the most difficult part of the installation. It can take some ingenuity to figure out the best route for the cables to run.
Some professional electricians prefer to fish cables up into attic spaces, along ceiling joists, then down into the smoke detector boxes. This method may require more cable, but it can be much easier to fish the cables in this way.
As you route the cables, leave a good amount of excess cable extending through the hole in the drywall. You will cut it down to the proper length during the installation of the boxes. Beginning at the first smoke detector box location, run 3-wire cable with ground to each subsequent smoke detector. The extra wire in these cables allows the smoke detectors to "talk" to one another, so that all detectors will sound the alarm when any of them detect smoke or fire.
Again, leave plenty of excess cable extending through the holes in the drywall. At each box location, first cut away the excess cable so that about 8 inches of wire will extend into each electrical box. How the cables are clamped into the boxes will vary, depending on the type of box you are using. With some metal boxes, you may need to install a cable clamp in knockout openings on the box, while other types have internal clamps that hold the cables.
With cables secured in each box, install each old-work box into the opening in the drywall. Tighten the screws in the box, which will draw the retaining tabs up tight against the back of the drywall, securing it in place. At each smoke detector location, feed the circuit wires through the detector's mounting plate.
Then, align the screw holes on the mounting plate with the holes in the electrical box, and use the included screws to secure the plate to the box. In the first box, using wire nuts or other UL-approved wire connectors to connect the wire leads on the smoke detector:. Carefully tuck the wires through the mounting plate, then secure the smoke detector to the mounting plate, following the manufacturer's directions.
For most detectors, you will need to slide notches on the detector into slots on the base, then twist to secure the body of the smoke detector to the mounting plate.
Connection methods for smoke detectors vary from model to model, so make sure to follow manufacturer's directions. On some models, the wire connections are made to a mounting plate that has socket into which the smoke detector is plugged. On other models, the wire connections are made directly to the smoke detector. Insert the battery into the smoke detector, aligning positive and negative terminals in the correct configuration.
Replace the cover. The trickiest part of the installation is connecting the feed cable that brings power to the first smoke detector to its power source. This is where some DIYers may choose to have a professional electrician make the hookup. If you are feeding the smoke detectors off an existing outlet or light fixture circuit, this connection is made by turning off the circuit and testing for power, then opening an outlet, light switch, or ceiling fixture box and pigtailing into the circuit wires to join the smoke detector cable to the circuit.
It's important, though, that you splice into circuit wires that are not controlled by a wall switch. This means that if you are splicing in at a light fixture box, it must be a box where there are pass-through wires that are not controlled by a wall switch.
If splicing in at a wall switch, you must connect to the black feed wire that feeds the switch, not the outgoing wire that brings power to the light fixture. If you are installing a new circuit, the feed connection involves installing a new AFCI-protected circuit breaker to feed the smoke detectors.
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