Stick-house Smoke detector question

[3_tons]

Well last night there was a change in the wind and now another season of Calif exporting it’s wildfire smoke (et al…) into Nevada - Ugg…

Our house is only a few years old, so is uber tight and insulated (as tested per code.)…Yesterday, the sky was fairly clear, but apparently after dusk the wind direction had changed…Last night 3 or 4 of the Kidde (home depot style) hard-wired smoke alarms went off last night (0030hrs), two of which were in rooms with their doors closed, and one within an expansive hallway…I then awoke suddenly and combed the entire house and yard and even the attic but saw no issues and had yet to smell any smoke…Though it seems the nearest fire is of a considerable distance away, this morning I noticed some fine ash on the patio, and the air is BAD here today…

But in the aftermath, what’s most curious to me is that all of these smoke detectors sounded at the exact same time, and I don’t know by what mechanism they could do this in unison??…Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, Thanks,

P.S. Sure is some tough news for those affected 😞

3 tons

[StirCrazy]

road-runner wrote:

If your home has been built in the last 10 years in the U.S., chances are they are wired together to intercommunicate. This sort of wiring guarantees that if one alarm in the house goes off, they all go off.

My view is the interconnection guarantees you will lose valuable time figuring out where the fire is. I've got 7 of them, and any one of them is easily heard throughout the house.

thats why I installed the Nest ones when I did my reno, they tell you where it is.

Steve

[road-runner]

If your home has been built in the last 10 years in the U.S., chances are they are wired together to intercommunicate. This sort of wiring guarantees that if one alarm in the house goes off, they all go off.

My view is the interconnection guarantees you will lose valuable time figuring out where the fire is. I've got 7 of them, and any one of them is easily heard throughout the house.

[toedtoes]

naturist wrote:

QCMan wrote:

Might want to make that the last twenty years!

News Flash: the entire country lost control of forest management around a century ago when it was decided that ALL forest fires had to be stamped out. In hindsight (which is indeed always better than foresight), this was the wrong approach, and we are now paying for it in the form of much more frequent and very much more devastating wildfires, which are burning up all that excess fuel we've been foolishly storing in the woods for the last century or so.

Not to worry, though, Ma Nature is on the job, and via the mechanism of Global Climate Change, is removing that excess fuel in Her own way.

Yep.

And don't forget that many forest fires are started by humans. If we people were more careful, we could reduce the number of fires by at least 50 percent.

Nearly 85 percent* of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans. Human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, equipment use and malfunctions, negligently discarded cigarettes, and intentional acts of arson.

*Source: 2000-2017 data based on Wildland Fire Management Information (WFMI) and U.S. Forest Service Research Data Archive

[naturist]

QCMan wrote:

Might want to make that the last twenty years!

News Flash: the entire country lost control of forest management around a century ago when it was decided that ALL forest fires had to be stamped out. In hindsight (which is indeed always better than foresight), this was the wrong approach, and we are now paying for it in the form of much more frequent and very much more devastating wildfires, which are burning up all that excess fuel we've been foolishly storing in the woods for the last century or so.

Not to worry, though, Ma Nature is on the job, and via the mechanism of Global Climate Change, is removing that excess fuel in Her own way.

[QCMan]

3 tons wrote:
FWIW, Luckily I have a whole house HVAC electronic air cleaner that helps keep matters under control, but for the last 5 years or so it seems Calif has lost control of its forest management…Either way, many thanks for all the shared wisdom, I’m truly feeling much more aware about it now…

Respectfully,

3 tons

Might want to make that the last twenty years!

[3_tons]

FWIW, Luckily I have a whole house HVAC electronic air cleaner that helps keep matters under control, but for the last 5 years or so it seems Calif has lost control of its forest management…Either way, many thanks for all the shared wisdom, I’m truly feeling much more aware about it now…

Respectfully,

3 tons

[3_tons]

rk911 wrote:

3 tons wrote:
Well last night there was a change in the wind and now another season of Calif exporting it’s wildfire smoke (et al…) into Nevada - Ugg…

Our house is only a few years old, so is uber tight and insulated (as tested per code.)…Yesterday, the sky was fairly clear, but apparently after dusk the wind direction had changed…Last night 3 or 4 of the Kidde (home depot style) hard-wired smoke alarms went off last night (0030hrs), two of which were in rooms with their doors closed, and one within an expansive hallway…I then awoke suddenly and combed the entire house and yard and even the attic but saw no issues and had yet to smell any smoke…Though it seems the nearest fire is of a considerable distance away, this morning I noticed some fine ash on the patio, and the air is BAD here today…

But in the aftermath, what’s most curious to me is that all of these smoke detectors sounded at the exact same time, and I don’t know by what mechanism they could do this in unison??…Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, Thanks,

P.S. Sure is some tough news for those affected 😞

3 tons

where are you in NV? we'll be heading east on I-80 from Sacramento CA on Monday with overnight stops in Verdi (Reno) and Elko. Gas stops in Fernley and Winnemucca. Any danger to I-80 from the fires?

Well I’m a good bit south of Reno, but hear that Reno is not good as well - Understand however that conditions can sometimes change from day to day…

[rk911]

3 tons wrote:
Well last night there was a change in the wind and now another season of Calif exporting it’s wildfire smoke (et al…) into Nevada - Ugg…

Our house is only a few years old, so is uber tight and insulated (as tested per code.)…Yesterday, the sky was fairly clear, but apparently after dusk the wind direction had changed…Last night 3 or 4 of the Kidde (home depot style) hard-wired smoke alarms went off last night (0030hrs), two of which were in rooms with their doors closed, and one within an expansive hallway…I then awoke suddenly and combed the entire house and yard and even the attic but saw no issues and had yet to smell any smoke…Though it seems the nearest fire is of a considerable distance away, this morning I noticed some fine ash on the patio, and the air is BAD here today…

But in the aftermath, what’s most curious to me is that all of these smoke detectors sounded at the exact same time, and I don’t know by what mechanism they could do this in unison??…Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, Thanks,

P.S. Sure is some tough news for those affected 😞

3 tons

where are you in NV? we'll be heading east on I-80 from Sacramento CA on Monday with overnight stops in Verdi (Reno) and Elko. Gas stops in Fernley and Winnemucca. Any danger to I-80 from the fires?

[thomasmnile]

Easy way to find out. Remove one of three that sang in unison and look at the plug. If there's 3 wires on the plug they are connected.

[rlw999]

Usually hardwired detectors are wired together so if one sounds they all sound. That's the advantage of hardwiring, so if the detector goes off in the downstairs family room, you hear it upstairs in the bedroom since they all go off at the same time. They don't even have to be hardwired to sound together, there are also some detectors that connect together wirelessly.

But the fact that the air quality was bad enough to set up smoke alarms is probably a good sign that the air inside your house is not healthy. It might be a good time to start looking at home air purifiers, either for a bedroom or the entire house. There are some relatively cheap DIY options using a filter and a box fan, and lots of commercial options. You may be able to replace your home furnace filter with a better filter, but it may or may not be able to handle the extra air resistance of a higher grade filter.

[toedtoes]

Hardwired smoke alarms are often connected. So if one goes off they all do. I know there are laws here in California requiring them to be connected, it's possible Nevada does also.

I had that problem in that when I opened the bathroom door after a shower, it would set off the hallway alarm, which set off the two bedroom alarms even with the doors closed. As they were all within 2 feet of each other, the noise was extremely obnoxious.

[IAMICHABOD]

If your home has been built in the last 10 years in the U.S., chances are they are wired together to intercommunicate. This sort of wiring guarantees that if one alarm in the house goes off, they all go off.

California requires it NV may also.