Interconnecting AICO smoke and CO alarms

Arm's Length Management Organisation 2010 Rotherham is installing Aico Ei261ENRC mains powered Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms into its properties, interconnected with Aico Ei166RC Optical Smoke Alarms.

The alarms are being fitted as part of 2010 Rotherham's capital programme.

The CO alarms are a new improvement to the tenants' homes and are being installed in rooms where a solid fuel or an open flued appliance exists.

The CO alarm is interlinked with the smoke alarm installed in the property to improve audibility and an Aico Alarm Control switch is also fitted to allow the source of the warning signal to be identified.

It was chosen to interconnect the CO and smoke alarms together due to the fact that CO alarms need to be close to the appliance most likely to produce CO fumes - often away from bedrooms - and so there is a danger that an occupant sleeping upstairs may not hear the CO alarm.

By interconnecting with the smoke alarms, all the alarms - CO and smoke - sound.

To ensure the appropriate action is then taken (which differs depending on whether it's a CO leak or a fire), an Ei1529RC Alarm Control switch has been installed in the main hallway, which has a 'Locate' function that can be used to identify the source of the alarm.

Billy Brooks, Electrical Project Manager at 2010 Rotherham, comments on the choice of alarm manufacturer: "We've been using Aico smoke alarms for quite a long time.

Aico is one of the manufacturers to supply alarms with Lithium cells instead of batteries (as a back up to the main supply), which solved the problem of the batteries being removed.

They also gave a good guarantee, with 10 years on the Lithium cell and five on the alarm.

These were the reasons why we included Aico products into our specification.

"We started fitting the Aico CO alarms into vulnerable properties, i.e those with solid fuel and open flued appliances and we have now included it into the specification for our Decent Homes programme".

The Ei261ENRC CO Alarm from Aico features the latest generation electrochemical type CO sensor which automatically checks CO levels in the environment every 80 seconds.

It comes with high and low level LED indicators with a special pre alarm LED indication for detection of CO at 50ppm and a memory feature which enables the user to tell if CO has been detected during a period of absence.

The alarm also comes with a cost-saving replaceable CO sensor design and quick CO Gas test facility.

Both the Ei261ENRC CO Alarm and the Ei166RC Optical Smoke Alarm benefit from 10 year+ Lithium cell back-up supply, hush button for false alarm control, separate mains and warning LEDs, Easi-fit fixing system for reduced installation time and effort and a comprehensive 5 year guarantee.

All Aico alarms are designed and built in Europe - specifically to meet UK standards and regulations.

For more information please go to the website.

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