Low Voltage Fire Alarms - New Residential

Magnettica

Anything wrong with wiring low voltage smoke detectors in new residential? A job that another company did got knocked down for it and now I have to redo the whole house (finished, painted) and wire for 115 volt with battery back up units. How something like this got through the plan review process is beyond me. Anyone got any answers before I start pulling all my hair out?

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vanele

what inspector told you that?

mdshunk

Nope, nothing wrong with it at all. Matter of fact, since you're only allowed up to 12 initiating units with a 120V system, you have to go to a low voltage "system" for very large homes anyhow. What code are they citing? The IRC just (R313) just says that the smoke alarms need to receive their primary power from the building, and their backup power from a battery. An FACP complies with that. I think you're dealing with an inspector who will fail anything that's different than what he's used to seeing. You run into inspectors like that from time to time.

Celtic

I would be interested to know what article they cite.

Assuming this is a typical FACP w/battery back-up tied into 110v....what's the problem?
How is it any different then similar types installed in other occupancies?


Was it the entire system that was flagged...or maybe cables for not being plenum rated?

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JohnJ0906

The issue I have seen with this in the past is that the low-volt smokes were part of the alarm system. When the house was being inspected, the alarm system hadn't been turned on - there was no way to test the smokes, or even to ensure the system worked, or would be on when the house was occupied.

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John from Baltimore
"One Day at a Time"
All replies based on the 2008 NEC

Magnettica

So if the fire alarm was isolated from the central station-monitored burgular alarm, there couldn't possibly be a problem (err, code violation), correct?

I'll find out more today, this is the house in Chatham.

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Kgmz

The only time this would happen is if the house was prewired for a alarm, but did not include the control panel until it was subscribed to a alarm sevice and then they put in the panel. And this does happen a lot, you will see homes that are prewired for a alarm, but not complete. A way for the builder to get some extra bucks with options and add ons.

If the alarm has a control panel but is not subscribed to a alarm monitoring service everything will still work, alarms, sirens, etc. But it just won't call anyone. So this will meet the code by alerting the occupants.

JohnJ0906

The control panel was installed, just not activated. I really don't know why, the alarm company would do it after the house was occupied, but that's no good for the final inspection. We always do the standard 120v w/battery backup interconnected now.

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John from Baltimore
"One Day at a Time"
All replies based on the 2008 NEC

Magnettica

That's exactly what the issue was.

We had to snake an entire 115 volt, interconnected smoke alarm system throughout the house. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. To get from the unfinished attic space to the basement, I used a 2nd floor bedroom closet and went through both the top and bottom plates to the ceiling in the garage, emt through the garage to the rim joist, drilled through that to get into the basement, and then finally wall-mounted a detector on the opposite side of a coat closet in the first floor foyer space. Very little damage to the finished walls and the HO had no problem with the emt in her garage. From now on we are doing the 115 volt system to avoid this nightmare.

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macmikeman

If an electrical inspector fails the job because you didn't use a 120 volt system, he is wrong for the reasons stated above, but also wrong because the NEC does not require smoke detectors (smoke alarms for the illuminati)
. Some electrical inspectors also serve in the capacity of building combination inspector. In those cases they do have something to say, but not when they are just strict electrical inspectors. If you do run a wired system, then an electrical inspector does have an interest, it is in the wiring methods and practices employed, so that there are no electrical code violations. Side note- BRK now sells an interconnected WIRELESS smoke alarm system for use in areas of the house that are existing, not requiring 120 wiring per NFPA72. Don't know the cost, but those units may be able to solve some tricky rewire issues you run into on jobs.