Benefits of wireless fire alarms

Wireless technology has made our lives easier and has reduced the amount of cables we need in the home and workplace – the same applies to wireless fire alarms.

Installing a fire alarm could
save your life

Fire security is an important issue; statistics show that every eight minutes there is a domestic fire somewhere in the UK and that old houses are especially vulnerable to fire. To prevent a fire ruining your home and putting you and your families lives in danger, make sure you have a fire alarm system installed. Depending on your property, you can choose from extensive sprinkler systems, simple individual smoke detectors, hard-wired or wireless fire alarms. There are different types of wireless fire alarm systems available that can be used for industrial or residential buildings.

Types of wireless fire alarms

For small houses and apartments a basic fire alarm system might be suitable, for instance, one smoke detector per room and a basic controller that will set off the alarm in the event of a fire. More sophisticated wireless fire alarms contain more smoke or heat detectors and a more complex controller that can divide the detectors into different zones with different alarms. These can be linked to a security company facility that would call the home owner and the fire brigade if the alarm is triggered. The fire alarm system may even give notice of the alarm to the home owner via text message or email. For schools or office buildings there are usually additional call points installed, where the alarm can be set off manually.

Why choose wireless fire alarms

Compared to hard-wired fire alarm systems, wireless fire alarms have a number of advantages, most of all because they do not require wiring. Therefore they are much easier, faster and cheaper to install than wired alarm systems. No holes have to be drilled and no wallpaper will be damaged when the cables are concealed. Installing a wired fire alarm system is usually quite a disruptive procedure while installing wireless fire alarms can be done quickly and with minimum disruption to your home. Another important advantage of wireless fire alarms are their relative resistance to fire; if the fire in a room damages a cable going to the controller before the alarm goes off, there might be a delay in the detection of the fire. This can cause damage which a wireless fire alarm system would have helped to prevent.

Costs for wireless fire alarms

Even though it might appear easy to fit wireless fire alarms yourself, for efficient protection it is recommended that you hire a fire security expert. They will have the experience and the knowledge to distribute detectors, controllers and zone assignments perfectly for your fire security plan so that you will gain optimal protection for your home. Installation of the detectors and setting up the controller will only take a few minutes, therefore installation costs for wireless fire alarms are low compared to hard-wired fire alarms. Simple sets start at around £100 - £200. Sometimes smoke detectors are also included in wireless fire alarm systems. More sophisticated wireless fire alarms will cost up to £1,500 but they will include call points, eight or ten smoke detectors and network features such as the controller calling pre-set phone numbers in case of alarm. A fire security expert will help you to choose the proper fire alarm system for your home.