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+-- Thread: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? (/showthread.php?tid=7196086)
Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - Pirate - 01-17-2016
Our new to us, house has cathedral ceilings and there is a wired smoke detector, near the peak. It's in a small area, which could use a pendant light hanging from where the smoke detector is now.
Does the smoke detector have it's own line? If so, being as I have numerous battery smoke detectors around the house, can I use that line for a 60 watt light?
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - Bob10 - 01-18-2016
Here the new code is smokes need their own breaker and it supposed to have one of these
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - EricU - 01-18-2016
breaker that doesn't break? Nice. I guess that is so you can't turn off the alarm by flipping the switch. I have some that have a 10 year battery in them, so I don't think I could wait quite that long.
I am not sure if ours have their own breaker. I need to finish wiring in some more alarms. They are all wired together so they all go off when one goes off. I should probably figure this out.
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - chips ahoy - 01-18-2016
Code around here is all smoke alarms are wired together. No breaker so they cannot be shut off and no you cannot connect anything else to them
Mel
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - TDKPE - 01-18-2016
Hard-wired usually run on 3-conductor circuits, with the third conductor being the signal interconnection, so they all go off when one goes off. And they run on 120V. It's recommended, or used to be at least, that they be on a common circuit, like an overhead light in a room that's used a lot, so if the breaker trips, you'll know it. If it's on its own circuit, you wouldn't know the breaker is tripped until the batteries start running out.
But I don't know what the NEC requires these days on that, as it seems to be evolving rather quickly, with a breaker lock (free-trip breaker will trip even with the handle held 'closed') being a new one on me. And what circuit to put it on may be a building code thing, or just a local jurisdiction thing, or even an inspector making it up because that's the way he likes it.
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - Robert Adams - 01-18-2016
Bob10 said:
Here the new code is smokes need their own breaker and it supposed to have one of these
Locked put so you can't turn them on? Then why wire them at all just put them up with double sided tape, put red glow in the dark paint on the leds and put them on the ceiling and call it good.
It is code many places to have them on their own breaker. What is a pain is when the house is hit by lightning and you have to rewire all those detectors. Then you wish they were just battery.
However the mc mansion style of house that is popular in tx presents a problem when a battery detector is put in. It stars chirping in the middle of the night and most homeowners don't have a 20' extension ladder to bring inside to change the battery.
The issue with chained ac ones is that when one goes bad you end up replacing them all as the new version of it doesn't play nice with the old ones on the line.
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - crokett™ - 01-18-2016
TDKPE said:
Hard-wired usually run on 3-conductor circuits, with the third conductor being the signal interconnection, so they all go off when one goes off. And they run on 120V.
Uh-oh. My rough-in upstairs includes boxes for 2 new hard-wired smoke detectors but I only pulled 12/2. Ive already got insulation up. I guess I need to check whether they need 12/3 or not. It's also going to suck a little if there isn't a breaker for them, I assumed there was.
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - blackhat - 01-18-2016
The lock that's pictured prevents the breaker from being turned off. Nothing else. The circuit in question should not be considered for any other purpose.
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - Anak - 01-18-2016
It would also appear it prevents them from being turned back on in the event it gets tripped.
Re: Hard wired smoke detector voltage? - Bob10 - 01-18-2016
Just because the breaker is locked doesn't stop anyone from shutting down the entire panel. Please keep in mind this is so people who get tired of the beeping at 2 am because of a battery actually change the battery instead of just tripping the breaker and leaving it that way.