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Are there differences between traditional smoke detectors vs. monitored fire alarms in Salinas?

August 08, 2022
smoke alarm detector on the ceiling

In the Salinas smoke detector vs. monitored fire alarm discussion, there’s really only one winner. Smoke detectors are an important line of defense in guarding your residence from a dangerous blaze, but they have several limitations. Alternatively, monitored fire alarms offer more ways to detect a potentially dangerous situation and may reach out to help when disaster strikes. Connecting your fire alarms to a comprehensive smart home also delivers other benefits that your regular smoke detectors could only hope for.

Ordinary smoke alarms will only do this one thing

Fire safety is a crucial consideration, and smoke detectors take on a critical part in keeping your family safe. Despite that fact, smoke detectors have various drawbacks. To illustrate, they can only react to smoke, not high temps. When there is an emergency in your residence, you would not be alerted until the smoke ascends to the smoke detector. Even though there are some other telltale signs of fire -- such as a sharp rise in heat -- if there’s a lack of smoke, there is no sounding of your smoke detector.

What’s more, smoke detectors only beep if they find ample smoke. When a fire begins slowly, you might not be cautioned until the situation is out of hand. Some smoke detectors utilize dual sensors, which means they will recognize smoke from both a blazing inferno and a more gradual burn. If they start beeping, it’s required of the resident to notify emergency services after exiting the property.

Monitored fire alarms provide more value than standard smoke detectors

Although they look like standard smoke detectors, monitored fire alarms have added advantages. If linked to a total home security installation, they can:

  • Detect fire with multi-sensor technology: Comparable to an ordinary smoke detector, the monitored component has the ability to trigger from an intense fire or one that has just started smoking. It will resonate a high-volume beeping whenever it recognizes a hazardous situation.
  • Identify fire with a rapid rise in heat: Your monitored fire alarm will even trigger if it senses an unusual fluctuation in temperature. Typically, heat is noticed prior to smoke. Added methods to detect a fire means more means to safeguard your family.
  • Notifies trained monitoring representatives: Fires will happen when you are at your house or not. No matter of the situation, your fire alarms will alert your monitoring specialists, who are able to swiftly contact first responders. When seconds count, it's nice to know that someone is constantly looking out for your residence.
  • Integrates with home automation: Even though the primary job of a fire alarm is to recognize an emergency and notify assistance, it will also join forces with other automated components. For example, a activated alarm could prompt your system to turn on the exhaust fan to slow the flames or turn on lighting so you are able to find the best exit out of the house.

Your monitored fire alarms are a key element of a complete smart home

The easiest way to optimize your fire alarms is to integrate them with a Vivint home security system. Contact a Vivint expert today and find the ideal smart home for your needs. Place a call to (831) 400-5196 or send in the following form to take the first step toward a safer property.