Hi All! Why Is It Still Preferred By Esc To Install Smoke Alarms On Lighting When Instructions State Avoid Fluorescents? - Cfl's Fairly Common (L1)!

[DEANOS]

The electrical safety council, part of the NICEIC, state it is their preferred choice for safety service smoke alarms to be connected to a regularly used lighting circuit. Unless compact fluorescent lamps do not have the same effect as fluorescent lamps, why would their advice conflict with manufacturers instructions, which, as we all know have to be followed? Please en-light-en me, sorry!

 

[Andy™]

if the lighting circuit has a problem and trips off, then people tend to get it fixed PDQ, compared to simething like a dedicated smoke detector circuit

 

[Revved Up Sparky]

if the lighting circuit has a problem and trips off, then people tend to get it fixed PDQ, compared to simething like a dedicated smoke detector circuit

+1

BTW welcome Deanos

:Welcome:

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Very good 1st post.

if the lighting circuit has a problem and trips off, then people tend to get it fixed PDQ, compared to simething like a dedicated smoke detector circuit

Although correct in its own merits that does not answer the question. I can not give a logical answer.

Edit, You say preferred choice, well that cant be a regularly used lighting circuit if it has CFL, so the next option would be its own circuit

 

[batty]

Even better put it on the fridge circuit that will definitely get put back on.

 

[Andy™]

Even better put it on the fridge circuit that will definitely get put back on.

not in this country. freezer broke - put the food in the shed. although it may end up too frozen

 

[Doc Hudson]

The electrical safety council, part of the NICEIC, state it is their preferred choice for safety service smoke alarms to be connected to a regularly used lighting circuit. Unless compact fluorescent lamps do not have the same effect as fluorescent lamps, why would their advice conflict with manufacturers instructions, which, as we all know have to be followed? Please en-light-en me, sorry!

Welcome to the forum, probably the best people to ask this question is. http://www.esc.org.u...try/contact-us/ But as general guidance there are many aspects of electrical installation work that can be achieved safely in more than one way. It is the knowledge, experience and understanding of the designer and installer of a smoke detection system that will be able to evaluate the best solution for a particular application. This on occasions may involve costs involved in getting a circuit directly back to a consumer unit. In reality within this industry there are very few absolute back and white rules that only have one possible acceptable solution. Think of other debates; Ring/Radial, 2.5mm/4.0mm, Loop at light/Loop at switch/Spider, Conduit & singles/Surface SWA, Dual RCD/RCBO's, Distributors earth/TT etc.. There are advantage and disadvantages to each method.

Doc H..

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

if the lighting circuit has a problem and trips off, then people tend to get it fixed PDQ, compared to simething like a dedicated smoke detector circuit

This anecdotal theory that customers get lights fixed quickly is in my experience often untrue.....

And having smokes off lights can bring greater risk of losing power to the smokes.

Also most lighting circuits need to be RCD protected....

Whereas its not too difficult to wire smokes without RCD's..

Lighting circuits are the one circuit that DIY’er tends to work on themselves more than any other...

fitting new lights they have bought from B&Q etc..

It’s not uncommon for them cock up some of the wires and lose power to part of the circuit, especially if circuit is looped at the fitting.

Then DIY bob who took the old light down is too proud to ask for help and keeps going for a few days or even a week+ before he admits defeat!

A fault I attended in June this year had 12 lights stopped working..

I asked when they had gone off,

Customer said..

Oh a couple of months ago… we have been using table lamps!!!!!!!

Good job their smokes weren’t supplied from those lights!

This is of course not forgetting that…

Mains powered smokes generally have battery back up!

A lot of smokes bleep once a minute if the power is off or their batteries are getting low!

Some smokes need you to unplug the mains connector to replace the 9v battery,

so probably safer for the DIYer to do with the circuit isolated, but that could mean turning off the lights in a dark hallway or landing where the smokes are fitted!

So there sill has to be an isolation point for the smokes FCU or similar..

What is there to stop this FCU being switch off without realising it but the lights still on?????

As a general rule a correctly installed circuit will not just randomly switch itself off so there is no reason for the smoke circuit not to remain on..

But what if the customer intentionally turns it off because of the old burnt toast bleeping ..?

Even if supplied by a light circuit they can be turned off and left off intentionally!!

If doing a rewire and a security alarm is also fitted, I tend to put smokes & security alarm off the same MCB, as the little key panel where they tap in their code normally has a light to say the power is on!

Jobs a goodun!

:Salute

 

[batty]

I generally put smoke on its own circuit on rewires as SL says there really is no reason a circuit should trip out unless a cable has been damaged. if the circuit is switched off the alarms I use will notify you have no power by beeping and the green light will go off. Personally I think we have far to many experts telling us how things should be done.

 

[Evans Electric]

I generally put smoke on its own circuit on rewires as SL says there really is no reason a circuit should trip out unless a cable has been damaged. if the circuit is switched off the alarms I use will notify you have no power by beeping and the green light will go off. Personally I think we have far to many experts telling us how things should be done.

Batts this new found power you have of plucking thoughts from my brain has to stop !!!!

I always feed smokes from a well used lighting circuit myself but have to agree with your last sentence.

Went to a house once where the dedicated smoke detector circuit was switched off with batts removed because " they keep going off when we cook" Been off for a couple of years apparently.

 

[batty]

That is poor design though Deke they really should get back the person that put them in to put the correct smoke in.

 

[Steve3948]

Well logic plays a big part for me, what is the benefit of a dedicated circuit back to the board.

The detector either has power or it don't.

They don't care if they share or have one all to themselves, as long as they have one.