High Voltage Wired Smoke Detectors

High voltage wired smoke detectors are life-safety sensors that alert building occupants to the presence of a fire. When a smoke detector goes off, anyone inside the building should evacuate the premises immediately, and the fire department should be contacted as soon as possible. Thousands of lives are saved every single year through the use of properly functioning smoke detectors.

High voltage smokes may also be referred to as 110-volt smoke detectors. As the name implies, these devices receive power from a high voltage network. High voltage smokes are often interconnected, and they usually offer one-go-all-go capabilities. This means that if one smoke detector is activated, all of the other smoke detectors on the high voltage network will activate as well.

Modern building codes often require the use of high voltage smoke detectors in all new construction. This makes them very common to find in many homes and businesses. Although high voltage smokes usually utilize similar detection methods as conventional low voltage smokes, the low voltage devices are often non-compliant with building codes. For that reason, a user may be required to have high voltage smoke detectors installed.

Most high voltage smoke detectors are installed by professionals. They are rarely installed by DIY users. We do not recommend for DIY users to go and try to install their own high voltage smoke detectors. Trying to work with high voltage wires can be very risky, and it can result in damage to the equipment. The installation of high voltage smoke detectors is best left to professional electricians.

Another consideration with high voltage smoke detectors is that there is usually no way to directly integrate them with a security system. They cannot wire-in with a panel, and they cannot communicate with a panel directly. Fortunately, there is a way to work around this issue. The solution is to use a compatible smoke detector takeover listening module.

A takeover module works by actively listening for the unique temporal sound of an activated smoke detector. When a takeover module hears this sound, it will send an alert to the alarm panel on the smoke detector's behalf. This is an easy and effective way to integrate a high voltage smoke detector with an alarm system. And if your smoke detectors are one-go-all-go, then a single takeover module can make your entire smoke detector network compatible.

High voltage smoke detectors can usually be sorted into two categories. This distinction is whether the smoke detector uses photoelectric technology or ionization technology. A photoelectric smoke detector has a small internal light. This light will refract when smoke enters the detection chamber. This will activate the smoke detector and tell it to sound an alarm.

Ionization smoke detectors also utilize a detection chamber, but they work a little bit differently. An ionization smoke detector will have two electrically charged plates inside. There will be a very small amount of radioactive material resting between them. If smoke enters the chamber, then the current flow will become disrupted, and the sensor will activate.