Heat Alarms

A heat alarm responds to temperature, while a smoke alarm responds to smoke entering its chamber. That makes a heat alarm the choice for kitchens and garages, where cooking fumes, steam or exhaust would set off a smoke alarm. The Aico Ei3014 and Mercury 350.130UK, for example, are heat alarms described for kitchens. Fit heat alarms alongside smoke alarms, not instead of them.

In rooms where a smoke alarm would give false alarms: kitchens and garages are the usual places, and the Mercury 350.130UK description adds lofts and other areas with fumes or high humidity. A heat alarm supplements the smoke alarms in the hallway and landing rather than replacing them, so link it to those alarms where the system allows.

A fixed-temperature detector operates when the air around it reaches a set point, while a rate-of-rise detector also responds when the temperature climbs quickly. The Pyronix HEAT-WE is fixed at 57°C and the C-TEC C4403B at 75°C. The Nittan EV-H-A1R is an A1R rate-of-rise detector, and the C-TEC CA402 can be programmed for A1R, A2 or Class B.

Aico thermistor heat alarms such as the Ei144e, Ei3014 and Ei630iRF activate at 58°C, and the Hikvision DS-PDHT-E-WE and Pyronix HEAT-WE at 57°C. Panel detectors differ: the C-TEC C4403B operates at a fixed 75°C (Class B), and the Nittan EV-H-A1R is a 54°C A1R rate-of-rise detector that also reacts to a rapid climb in temperature.

Choose mains with a backup battery where the alarm can be wired in, and a sealed-battery alarm where it cannot. The Aico Ei144e runs on 230V mains with a 9V backup battery, and the Espire ES1HLV is mains powered with a sealed battery. The Aico Ei630iRF and Mercury 350.130UK run on a 10-year battery, so no wiring is needed.

Yes, within the same family. The Aico Ei144e interconnects by hardwire or RadioLINK, the Ei630iRF by RadioLINK+ with other Aico RadioLINK, RadioLINK+ and SmartLINK devices, and the Ei3014 takes an Ei3000MRF module for SmartLINK. The Ajax FireProtect 2 AC 107289.173.WH1 raises the alarm on other Ajax detectors through the hub. Check the smoke alarms already fitted before choosing.

BS 5446-2 for domestic heat alarms, listed by the Aico Ei144e, Espire ES1HL and Mercury 350.130UK, and EN 54-5 for detectors on a fire alarm system, listed by the C-TEC C4403B and CA402 and the Ajax EN54 FireProtect Heat 119918.273.BL1. The Aico Ei660i and Ei660iRF multi-sensors list BS 5446-2 alongside BS EN 14604 for smoke.

The Aico Ei144e, Ei630iRF and Ei660iRF are described as compliant with Scottish fire safety legislation. The Mercury 350.130UK, by contrast, is stated as not suitable for homes in Scotland under the new regulations. Check that the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the same home meet the same rules before the heat alarm is chosen.

A multi-sensor alarm combines heat sensing with a second sensor in one head. The Aico Ei660i and Ei660iRF pair optical smoke and thermistor heat sensing on a sealed 10-year lithium battery, the Nittan EV-PH combines optical smoke with 54°C A1R heat on an Evolution FSK panel, and the Ajax FireProtect 2 AC Heat and CO adds a carbon monoxide sensor.

A detector with its own address on a fire alarm panel loop, so the panel shows which one has operated. The Nittan EV-H-A1R works with Nittan Evolution FSK panels, the C-TEC CA402 is a CAST protocol detector with an onboard short circuit loop isolator, and the Ajax EN54 FireProtect Heat detectors are wireless addressable devices for Ajax EN54 hubs.