Smoke Detector

A smoke detector senses smoke from a developing fire and tells the fire alarm panel, or sounds its own horn, while people still have time to leave. In most commercial buildings the right choice is an optical (photoelectric) detector fixed to the ceiling. Light inside a small chamber scatters off smoke particles onto a sensor, and the detector raises the alarm if the reading stays high for a few seconds.

It is the early-warning device of your fire alarm system. The fire alarm panel receives the signal, shows where it came from and sets off the hooters, lifts and fans you have planned.

Optical smoke detectors suit rooms with clean air, which covers most of a typical building:

Kitchens, pantries, car parks and generator rooms are different. Steam and fumes set off smoke detectors, so we fit heat detectors there. Where flammable vapour can collect, such as a paint store, an ordinary detector is unsuitable and we supply flameproof smoke detectors. Choosing the right type for each room is part of the quote.

We work as a turnkey contractor, so one team handles the job from survey to handover. For smoke detection that means:

We supply detectors from Honeywell, Fire-Lite, Ravel, Morley-IAS, Notifier, GST, Tyco and Apollo. Tell us the make you prefer, or we will suggest one that suits your panel and budget.

If your building already has a panel, new detectors must suit it. Conventional and addressable panels use different detector types, and each make has its own range. Send us the panel make and model, or a photo of its label, and we will confirm the right detector before we quote. Starting fresh? Our pages on conventional systems and addressable systems explain which suits your building.

Builders and architects should settle detector positions with the ceiling plan, since beams, bulkheads and false ceilings change where a detector can see smoke. Commercial building owners get a cleaner handover when the layout, base type and panel are agreed before the ceiling goes up. Industries keep optical detectors for offices and stores and use heat or flameproof types in process areas. Hospital owners use them in wards, corridors and records rooms, where early warning gives staff time to move patients. MEP consultants can send the services drawings and we return a priced detector layout that matches the specification. Corporates fit them in offices and campuses, and defence establishments, including Navy and Army sites, use them in barracks, stores and workshops; we plan and quote within their vendor-registration rules.

The price of one detector is only part of a quote. Four things move the total:

Send these by WhatsApp or the quote form and we can usually plan the survey straight away:

Dust is the usual cause of false alarms, so detectors should stay covered during painting and cutting work and be cleaned and tested on a schedule. A full test once a year with spot checks in between is common under a maintenance contract, and each test goes in a logbook. See our maintenance contracts for Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.

We supply and install smoke detectors across both cities, from offices and tech parks in Gachibowli, Hitech City and Madhapur to hotels and apartments in Dwaraka Nagar, MVP Colony and Madhurawada. Our Hyderabad office is at IT Heights, Gachibowli, and our head office is at Suryabagh in Visakhapatnam. Contact our offices with your floor plan to get started.