Saturday, December 5, 2009

Fire Alarm Systems Are Smart Investments

By Matthew Kerridge

If you want to be sure that your home or business is protected from fires, you need to invest in one of the many fire alarm systems on the market. These devices are vital for saving lives as well as property from being consumed by flames.

Fire alarm systems have three chief parts to them. One is the detection unit, one is the control panel unit and the final is the alarm signaling component. There are many different types of alarm systems available and at a variety of prices. They are often sold as part of a home security system which will also include the components for detecting intruders.

The component for detection can react to either heat or smoke. The ones that detect smoke may be either ionization smoke detectors, normally used in businesses, or photo electronic ionization detectors, more commonly used in homes. Photo electronic models work better at detecting smoldering fires. This helps to alert families quickly for home fires. The ionization detectors, on the other hand, are better at detecting fires that are flaming. The home detectors, in particular, will set off the alert before the fire has broken out.

Heat detectors come in two types as well. One type recognizes when the room temperature rises to a certain level. The other recognizes these, as well as sudden rises in temperature. Heat detectors are generally not as effective protection devices smoke detectors as the fire will already be strong by the time the temperature rises sufficiently to set them off.

Alarm signal components will usually have both visual and audible alerts. The audible alerts may be any combination of bells, horns and speakers. Visual alerts can be lights that flash or strobe. These types of alerts are particularly important for people with hearing impairments.

The control unit operates like the brain of the system. This is used to program the whole system operations. It may also be able to send an alert to your local fire department.

In addition to protecting your home and family, the installation of a fire alarm system may be able to save you money on your homeowners insurance. Generally, the more automatic the system is, the deeper discounts you can receive. You may also want to consider investing in wireless alarm system as these have less chance of being rendered dysfunctional due to fire.

If you want to protect your home or business, as well as the lives of the people in them, start looking at fire alarms systems today. This is not the kind of purchase you want to put off.

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