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Two Types of Fire Alarms


When it comes to fire alarms for your Ohio business or home, you will generally have two choices: ionization and photoelectric. Both of these types of fire alarms have their advantages, so we thought we would give you a brief overview of both of them and how they work.

Ionization fire alarms are generally more responsive to fires that are already flaming. There is a tiny amount of radioactive material that is in between two plates that are electrically charged. The two plates are connected to a battery. The plates ionize the air and then cause currents to flow between them. If any smoke gets into the chamber between them, it will trigger the fire alarm by disturbing the flow of the ions between the two plates.

Photoelectric fire alarms are usually better for smoldering flames. So these fire alarms work by aiming an LED light that goes into a sensing chamber. If a fire breaks out and smoke disrupts that line of LED light, it will trigger the fire alarm and alert the building's occupants that there is a fire.

In order to ensure there is adequate coverage, both of these fire alarms should be used in a fire protection system. You never know what kind of fire might break out or how it will spread. It is best to make sure all of your bases are covered.

You can also get one fire alarm that combines both of these technologies, rather than having several ionization fire alarms and several photoelectric fire alarms. Of course, the experts here at Hard Fire know all about these fire alarms, and we are sure to include both in every type of fire protection system that we design. We want to be sure that you and your building's occupants are alerted in case a fire does break out, whether it is one that immediately bursts into flames or one that smolders for awhile and then gets bigger.

A fire alarm is a crucial part of any fire protection system, be it at your home or business. Make sure your home or business has several working fire alarms to ensure everyone's safety and well being. Fire alarms come with a visual alarm, an audio alarm or both.

If you would like more information on fire alarms in Ohio, please call the experts at Hard Fire at 1-800-848-1301 or 614-882-2990 or you can Contact Us.

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