Pyrexx PX-1 Smoke Alarm Black

Product Information

These alarms are more sensitive to smaller particles of smoke produced by the flaming stage of fires than optical alarms, and more easily triggered by cooking – causing false alarms. Smoke particles change the balance of the current. When this happens a signal is sent to the integrated circuit and the alarm sounds.

You can put them in kitchens and garages because they’re not prone to false alarms from cooking or exhaust fumes. But they are slower to respond than smoke alarms. In Scotland, since February 2022, interlinked smoke and heat alarms have needed to be fitted in all homes.

Wireless devices communicate with each other and other devices without the use of connecting wires. This can be through interlinking by radio or through wi-fi. This also allows the sensor threshold level to be increased, thereby improving the signal to noise ratio and reducing susceptibility to false alarms. The ALN-EN(BLK) smoke chamber is easily removed or replaced for cleaning and utilises a unique improved baffle design which allows smoke to enter the chamber whilst keeping out ambient light. Fire and rescue services attended over 150,000 fires last year in England alone, and while the number of fire fatalities dropped to their lowest ever figure, 240 people still lost their lives. Buying a smoke alarm is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your home, your life and the lives of your family and friends. It can give you early warning of a fire before it spreads, and the best chance of getting everyone safely out of the house. If it does go off inadvertently, the large, central test/mute button makes it easy to silence, saving your ears from a thrashing. As with the Pro Connected, it buys you ten minutes to clear the air, while a “sleep easy” function gets you eight hours of quiet if you press the button once the low battery warning starts. Little touches such as this elevate the ST-622Q above your run-of-the-mill smoke alarms, making it one of the best options for most households. Batteries used to be the weakness of most household smoke alarms, requiring replacement every year or so and usually running out of charge, causing the low battery alarm to ring, in the middle of the night. As with carbon monoxide alarms, the trend is now towards alarms with a built-in, 10-year lithium battery, designed to work for the alarm’s effective lifespan. In Scotland, these are now a legal requirement. In England and Wales, however, you can still buy and use alarms with a replaceable 9V battery, and these often work out cheaper. We’d recommend paying extra for the convenience and peace of mind, but the choice is yours. Is there anything else worth looking out for?

Interlinked smoke alarms will use the same optical or ionisation technology mentioned above, so, they're not a type of alarm in their own right. Interlinking when one alarm goes off, all the connected detectors are activated. This can be particularly useful in a larger house. Of course, it is entirely possible to get connected smoke alarms that hook up directly to your home network via Wi-Fi, or through a proprietary connection or a Zigbee or Z-Wave hub. The advantage with these is that they can warn you of a fire through an alarm or alert on your smartphone, and also, with some systems, trigger smart lighting to come on. How we test smoke alarmsFor kitchen, garage or workshop use, fire services also recommend fitting a heat alarm. These sense hot air rather than smoke, and trigger when the air in the sensor chamber reaches a specific temperature, which is usually 58°C. Heat alarms are slower to respond than actual smoke alarms, but they’re also not as prone to false alarms. They won’t go off when you’re grilling sausages or burning toast, but they still provide ample warning if something catches fire in your kitchen. The latter are pricier when you buy for the first time, but you won't have to factor in the expense of replacement battery costs. Some smart models sound an alarm on your smartphone and through the alarm itself when triggered – this is the most helpful kind of smart alarm. On a lighter note, Google’s data also revealed that the day when smoke alarms are most likely to sound in the UK is pancake day. Is the Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm suitable for homes in Scotland now that the law has changed?

Ionisation alarms ionise the air between two electrodes. These are positively and negatively charged, creating a small current inside the chamber. This could be critical if you’re out when there’s a fire. All of the smart smoke alarms we've tested are optical models. So if you’re out of your home and not near your phone when the messages come through, you’ll have no way of knowing the alarm was sounding. Smart smoke alarms are designed to sound the alarm when they detect smoke, as a conventional smoke alarm would. But the unique selling point of a smart smoke alarm is the ability to send alerts to your phone when there’s a fire.An interesting by-product of the new breed of smart alarms is the fire-related data being collected, as is the case with Google, which makes the Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm. Google told us that it uses data from its alarms to provide ‘meaningful insights’ for its customers and to improve the product.

Pros: Good for bedrooms, landings and hallways, and near to kitchens as they aren’t as prone to false alarms from cooking. Horizontal optical bench housing infra-red emitter and sensor, arranged radially to detect forward scattered light. Weight Now that the alarms law has changed in Scotland, you'll need to install interlinked heat and smoke alarms in your home.

As smoke enters, the infrared light is scattered onto the photodiode light receptor, triggering an alarm. They detect the larger smoke particles from slower smouldering fires.