Wireless Smoke Alarm Controllers in Australia and Why They Are Suitable for SDA Homes

When considering an investment in an SDA property, especially when building an SDA home, many considerations need to be made around design, functionality and safety. Wireless smoke alarm controllers are one fitting that can drastically improve both the functionality and safety of an SDA property.

Below, we touch on what wireless smoke alarm controllers are, and why you should consider them in your SDA property.

What are wireless smoke alarm controllers?

Wireless smoke alarm controllers are wall-mounted units designed for wireless smoke alarms. They test, silence and isolate the smoke alarm without needing to physically access the smoke alarm itself.

Under some legislation, including in Queensland, smoke alarms need to be interconnected. This means that when one smoke alarm activates, they all activate simultaneously. By having a wireless smoke alarm controller, all of the smoke alarms can be deactivated (in situations where there is no fire emergency) by pressing one button on the controller.

What are interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms?

If you’ve been looking into smoke alarms, then you may have heard of photoelectric smoke alarms. When an alarm detects smoke in the air using electrically charged particles (called ‘ions’), this process is called ionization. Ionization smoke alarms are more responsive to fires where there is a flame. However, around half of all house fires are smouldering house fires. The best fire detection for smouldering fires are photoelectric smoke alarms.

Photoelectric alarms use a light beam to detect visible particles of combustion in the air, which may indicate a fire. This is particularly important, as in a smouldering fire, there are often poisonous gases emitted into the air long before the fire catches hold. It is said that due to aiming a light source into the sensing chamber and detecting smoke particles that way, photoelectric smoke alarms can detect fire sooner than ionization alarms.

The benefits of wireless interconnected smoke alarms for an SDA property

Have you ever been startled by nuisance alarms that have been falsely activated and then needed to hurriedly fetch a step ladder to get up and de-activate the alarm? Well, imagine this same scenario but for individuals with heightened sensitivity to sound and/or limited mobility.

The ability to easily and instantly silence alarms that are going off by simply pressing a button on the wall (which can be installed at the appropriate height for accessibility of the tenants) can mean the world of difference in managing their home safely and effectively.

What about for hearing-impaired tenants?

The NDIS does provide funding for hearing impaired participants through smoke alarm supports. These supports can include standard alerting systems such as wireless radio frequency transmitted alerts to a device worn as a pager or a vibration pad often placed under a pillow at night-time, or through strobe or flash lighting through the day.

How to include wireless smoke alarms in your SDA investment property

The design of your SDA property needs to be certified and approved before your build can get underway. That’s why planning is vial when it comes to investing in an NDIS property. Features like wireless smoke alarms need to be put on the design plans and can’t be an after-thought. At Apollo Investment, we are NDIS investment specialists, who provide a full end-to-end solution when investing in specialist disability accommodation. The specialist SDA builders and architects that we partner with can also help navigate smoke alarm legislation, building fire safety regulation and ensure that you’re placing smoke detectors in the required smoke alarm locations.

To ensure that you have all of the functionality, fittings and finance you need to make your SDA investment goals achievable, contact the team at Apollo Investment, today.