Smoke alarms and testing
A battery alarm you never test is decoration. Interlinked mains alarms wake the whole house, not just the room that is burning.
Interlinked means all of them sound
In an interlinked system, one alarm detecting smoke triggers every alarm in the property. That matters at three in the morning, when a fire starting in the kitchen needs to wake somebody asleep two floors up.
Interlinking can be wired or wireless. Wireless is far less disruptive to retrofit; wired is the natural choice during a rewire when the cable is going in anyway.
Where alarms belong
- Circulation spaces: a smoke alarm on every storey, in the hallway and landing where escape routes run.
- Kitchens: a heat alarm rather than a smoke alarm, so toast does not train everyone to ignore it.
- Living rooms: a smoke alarm where the room is the principal habitable room, particularly in rented homes.
- Anywhere with a fuel burning appliance: a carbon monoxide alarm as well. Different hazard, different detector.
Testing, and the ten year rule
Press the test button on each alarm once a week. It tests the sounder and the electronics, and it takes ten seconds.
Alarms have a service life, normally ten years from manufacture, printed on the back. The sensor degrades whether or not the unit has ever been triggered. If the date has passed, replace the unit rather than the battery.
Renting out a property? Requirements differ between England, Scotland and Wales, and between standard lets and HMOs. Tell us the property type and we will specify what the installation needs.
What a rewire changes
When a property is rewired, alarm provision is normally brought up to current standards as part of the work, because the cable routes are open and the cost of doing it then is a fraction of doing it later. We include it in the written scope rather than leaving it as an afterthought.
Still not right? Our emergency line is answered around the clock on 01273 095564. If it can wait until morning, we will tell you.
Related advice and services
Rewiring and part rewires
Full house rewires and part rewires for properties with rubber, lead or failing early PVC cable, or lighting circuits with no earth. Cable does not last forever, and the test readings tell you whether yours has anything left. Most rewires take two to five days, with power back on each evening.
Read more
EICR and fixed wire testing
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a health check on the fixed wiring: what is safe, what needs attention, and what has to be fixed now. Every circuit tested to BS 7671, every observation coded C1, C2, C3 or FI, and a written report you can hand to a buyer or an agent.
Read more
Landlord safety certificates
Rented homes in England need a satisfactory landlord electrical safety certificate, an EICR, at least every five years and at the start of every new tenancy. We test, code the observations honestly, quote any remedial work separately, and reissue the report once it is satisfactory inside the 28 day window.
Read moreLights out, burning smell or a tripping fuse board? Call us now.
Trusted emergency electricians in Sussex
We have been covering Sussex for 25 years. In that time the wiring regulations have moved through several editions and consumer units have changed shape more than once, while the faults themselves have stayed much the same: loose connections running hot, tired cable, and protection that was never fitted in the first place.
That experience is the difference between guessing and knowing. It is also why we can usually tell you on the phone whether a fault needs a van tonight or a booking on Tuesday, which saves you the out of hours rate more often than you might expect.
TO CONFIRM: add the year you started trading, your scheme registration number and your public liability cover. Only list credentials you can evidence.