When smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms are interconnected, each alarm can now tell you when there’s smoke or carbon monoxide in any room that has a smoke/CO alarm. A traditional alarm can alert you to the presence of smoke, fire or carbon monoxide, but it can only detect the area around it.
Interconnected alarms are safer
Interconnected smoke alarms are safer than standalone smoke alarms, because they let you know about an emergency sooner. Even if you’re in the house, you may not be close to the area where the fire started. If you’re in the basement, you may not hear an alarm in the bedroom. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the majority of fatalities from US home fires were located in a different room than where the fire started.
Required for new home constructions
Because of their many benefits, including safety and early warning, many states now require interconnected smoke alarms for new home construction.
Wireless Interconnect
In the past, interconnection had to be hard wired between smoke/carbon monoxide alarms. Now smoke/CO alarms can be interconnected wirelessly, without requiring expensive retrofits. With wireless interconnect, you can easily retrofit existing homes and get them up to code.