Home safety is on everyone’s mind. Even if disaster hasn’t happened to you, Houston’s news is constant reminder about the perils of big city living.
Spring forward on March 10 is a few weeks away. Have you inspected your smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide detectors yet?
Over 33% of fire deaths happen in homes without fire detecting equipment and over 500 deaths occur each year from carbon monoxide poisoning. You should consider these cost-effective additional safety devices if you either don’t have them or if your current equipment is old.
Heat Detectors Strengthen Home Safety
Heat detectors are the oldest types of fire detection equipment on the market. These home safety devices sense changes in environmental temperature. When the air reaches a certain temperature, the alarm sounds, warning you of an ongoing fire.
There are three types of heat detectors – fixed temperature, rate of rise, and a combination of the two. While both fixed temperature and rate both work by measuring changes in air temperature, each type of fire detector has particular advantages.
Fixed temperature heat alarms are the most common kind of fire safety device. The alarm will sound after the detector senses that the air temperature has risen past a certain, pre-determined thermal point. Fixed temperature detectors are best at detecting a fast developing, flaming fires.
Rate of rise heat detectors are best recognizing slow developing fires. This type of detector measures the variation in the air temperature. When the air temperature in your home increases more than a certain amount per minute, the alarm sounds.
Heat detectors have a lower false alarm rate than smoke detectors. The drawback is that heat detectors are slower to alert you to fire than a smoke detector. However, smoke detectors won’t work in a well-ventilated room because the smoke quickly disperses. Heat detectors should be used in conjunction with smoke detectors to provide an extra layer of home safety.
Smoke Detectors Boost Home Safety
No doubt about it, smoke detectors have been responsible for saving many lives in Houston. Smoke detectors detect fires faster than heat detectors. Moreover, you can get a really good smoke detector for between $10 and $20 dollars.
There are 3 types of smoke detectors you can choose from – photoelectric, ionization, and a combination detector that incorporates photoelectric and ionization technology.
Ionization detectors respond faster to high energy, flaming fires, whereas photoelectric detectors work best on smoldering fires. The NFPA recommends using a combination detector to give you the best home safety protection.
As a general rule, smoke detectors provide coverage for about 900 square feet. Most manufactures recommend placing the smoke detectors no more than 30 feet apart. Your insurance company may have further requirements, so you should also check with them.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors Are Home Safety Devices that Save Lives
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a silent killer. The CDC reports that carbon monoxide deaths climbed 36% from 2001 to 2006. Many people don’t realize their headache, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, or confusion is a sign of CO poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless toxic gas. You can’t see it, and unlike natural gas, you can’t smell it. Central heating furnaces, gas fireplaces, space heaters, gas (propane) stoves, and organic paint-strippers may cause a carbon monoxide buildup in your home.
Carbon monoxide detectors sense the presence the deadly gas. An alarm triggers if your home’s carbon monoxide levels get too high. The alarm gives you time to either open the windows or get out of your home.
There types carbon monoxide detectors available on the US market use chemical or variations of electro-chemical reactions to sense CO gas. They can be powered by batteries, electricity, or a combination of both. The speed and accuracy of your carbon monoxide detector determines how much your detector will cost.
Safeguard Home Security, a local Houston company, protects Houstonians from fire and carbon monoxide. Our home safety devices can be integrated into your home security system and monitored 24/7, 365 days a year.