Do you know what type of smoke detector you have in your home? Did you know there were two different types of smoke detectors? If you answered “no” to either of these questions, you are not alone. Most people are unaware that the smoke detectors in their homes will not warn them soon enough in the event of a house fire.
Ionization smoke detectors use an ionization chamber and a source of ionizing radiation to detect smoke. This type of smoke detector is more common because it is inexpensive and better at detecting the smaller amounts of smoke produced by flaming fires. It also tends to produce false alarms, such as when someone burns toast. This annoyance often leads to people disabling the smoke detectors.
95% of all smoke detectors sold are ionization smoke alarms. Ionization smoke alarms are best at detecting flaming fires that spread quickly. Unfortunately, most flaming fires begin as smoldering fires and typically occur when people are asleep.
Photoelectric smoke alarms are generally more responsive to fires that begin with a long period of smoldering (like the kind of fire that occurs from dropping a hot cigarette butt into a sofa.) Photoelectric-type alarms aim a light source into a sensing chamber at an angle away from the sensor. Smoke enters the chamber, reflecting light onto the light sensor; triggering the alarm.
Smoldering fires can fill a room with toxic smoke in minutes. Smoldering fires are responsible for more fatal fire deaths than flaming fires.
If Photoelectric smoke detectors are more effective in the most common types of fatal fires, why do 95% of homeowners still use Ionization detectors?
- Price- Ionization detectors sell for around $10.00. Photoelectric sell for about $100 each.
Why are Ionization Smoke Detectors Still Sold if Photoelectric Smoke Detectors Are So Much Better at Detecting House Fires?
The answer is simple and pathetic. The current test is simply outdated. The current standard of use to test the effectiveness of smoke detectors UL Standard 217 was established in the 1970’s, when most furniture was made of cotton. Modern furniture is made of synthetic materials, like polyurethane. When polyurethane burns, it emits smoke and deadly gases. The UL 217 Standard does not use modern materials in its tests, it still uses cotton and wood.
Tell Me More About Photoelectric Smoke Detectors
These detectors are better at detecting small amounts of smoke in the home and sound the alarm in less time. In independent tests, photoelectric alarms have been able to sound up to 9 times faster than an ionization detector. In court, manufacturers have admitted that the difference between when a photoelectric alarm sounds and an ionization detector sounds can be up to an hour.
An even more frightening fact, many children are able to sleep through smoke alarms. A study done with 24 children, ages 6 to 12, tested children with a traditional smoke alarm tone. Fourteen of the children slept through the alarm.
Older members of the family may also have hearing problems and may be unable to hear a smoke detector if an alarm sounds.
The sooner the alarm sounds and wakes the adults, the sooner adults can wake children and elderly members of the home, which increases the chances of escaping a deadly fire.
Paul Thomson of the Thomson Law Firm is currently accepting fire and smoke detector product liability cases. Please call The Thomson Law Firm at
(540) 777-4900 for your free consultation.
