Fire Safety

We Offer Photoelectric Smoke Detectors Because it's the Right Thing to Do

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smoke coming in under closed door
We Offer Photoelectric Smoke Detectors Because it's the Right Thing to Do

We offer photoelectric smoke detectors because it’s the right thing to do.
Your smoke detector is most likely an ionization smoke detector. Ninety percent of homes have ionization smoke detectors instead of photoelectric smoke detectors, and the families in those homes are at much greater risk for the unthinkable.

Ionization smoke detectors versus photoelectric smoke detectors.
Ionization smoke detectors work by charging the air between two metal plates with radioactive material. The alarm is triggered when the ion flow in that air is disrupted. Photoelectric smoke detectors are triggered when the light inside the detector is disrupted by smoke.

Photoelectric smoke detectors are much more reliable as a safety tool than ionization smoke detectors because they’re better at detecting smoke buildup in a room before a situation becomes untenable.

Study after study has shown that while ionization smoke detectors are good at detecting flaming fires, they’re quite poor at detecting smouldering, flameless fires (the ones that fill a room with noxious smoke while a family is sound asleep and don’t ignite until it’s too late for the people inside).

This is because of the ionization method's reliance on the disruption of ions. Smoke on its own won’t create the acute change in airflow that a flaming fire does. That only happens with a flame or smoke thick enough to move ions. But smoke that thick is already near-fatal.

Because photoelectric smoke detectors rely on light disruption to sound, even light smoke can set off the alarm, warn your family, save your home and, most importantly, save you.

Why do only 10 percent of houses have photoelectric smoke detectors?
Money. Ionization smoke detectors are less expensive to make and people tend to always take the cheaper alternative, without knowing the effectiveness of it. This price difference goes right into the manufacturers’ pockets and leaves you with sub-standard fire detection.

Photoelectric smoke detectors are a bit more expensive, but when you stop and think about where the extra money is going and who’s going to benefit from it (besides you and your conscience), quality supersedes price 100% of the time when it can become a matter of life or death.

The photoelectric smoke detector we offer is top of the line.
From Tyco Security Products, a global leader in peace-of-mind protection, this smoke detector is considered one of the best on the market. A big reason for this is its built-in dual-sensor heat detector, which makes it even more likely to alert you to a fire in your home before it goes from minor incident to major tragedy.

Fill out the form on this page to find out more about our photoelectric smoke detector, how to replace your current ionization detector and why it makes the most sense to have done that yesterday.

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