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A smoke alarm manufacturer is offering free advice on the effect of the latest wiring regulations on installation standards, following what it says is “confusion and misinformation” in the market.
Aico, the UK supplier of EI Professional brand of domestic fire alarms, claims the confusion arises from the interpretation of the 17th edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations issued last year. The company’s national technical manager, Neil Purdell, said: “There has been confusion in the market regarding the 17th Edition with some people mistakenly believing that it demands domestic smoke alarm systems to be wired on a dedicated circuit. This is incorrect.
“There is, in fact, no reference to domestic alarm systems in the whole document. Regulation 560.10 makes reference to fire protection applications with the statement: ‘see BS 5839’. But, Appendix A informs you that this is BS 5839: part 1, the standard for commercial systems, not domestic. This is where the confusion arises,” he says.
According to Aico, the advice from IEE, NICEIC, ECA and SELECT is that, in the absence of specific advice, BS 5839: part 6 – the British Standard for domestic installations – should be referred to. BS 5839: part 6 states that a Grade D system (domestic mains smoke and heat alarms with a back-up supply) may be wired either from a dedicated circuit or from a regularly used lighting circuit. It also refers to radio-linked systems as being acceptably wired in this manner. Wiring from a lighting circuit is advantageous, says Aico, as it is unlikely the user will deliberately or accidentally turn the circuit off, which is more likely in the case of a dedicated circuit.“If anyone has the slightest doubt we invite them to contact us for detailed installation advice,” added Mr Purdell. “We understand the importance of correct installation procedures and have many years experience.”