You may already aware that last year the Queensland government rolled out its new smoke alarm legislation, calling for interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms, but for these of you who aren’t, don’t worry, you have time to get everything sorted. The basics of it is that by 2022 every home that is leased or sold needs to replace its smoke alarms with interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms.
The legislation is coming out in 3 stages, the first of which has already happened. Interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms are required:
- From 1 January 2017: in all new dwellings and substantially renovated dwellings (this applies to building applications submitted from 1 January 2017).
- From 1 January 2022: in all domestic dwellings leased and sold.
- From 1 January 2027: in all other domestic dwellings.
So the next deadline is 2022, which applies to any property that is going to be leased or sold after 1 January 2022. So if you’re a Landlord, Property Manager or someone who’s looking at selling your home then this is the date that is the most important to you. For everyone else, such as people who own home and aren’t yet planning on selling it, you have until 2027 to get the new system installed.
How Photoelectric Smoke Detectors Work.
These smoke detectors are seen to be an improvement on previous smoke detectors because they rely on a light source to send the impulse that there’s a fire. The alarm will only go off if there is sufficient smoke to have an impact on the chamber that the light is shining in to, which then refracts the beam of light towards a light receptor, causing the alarm go off. The reliance on the beam of light means that the smoke detector is far less likely to go off for minor things, such as if someone burns the toast.
The other improvement is that when one of the alarms goes off it triggers the others, meaning that you will always hear the alarm wherever you are in the house. This really needs no explanation, the more alarms that are going the higher the likelihood that everyone will be evacuated safely.
Let us Help You get Started.
I know 2 years seems like a long time on the surface of things, but there are a lot of properties that need to update their systems, so it’s best to get it done and over with. We can give you a quote to install the new system, and gt it all up and running for you.
If you are looking to get your smoke alarms converted over then send us an inquiry with the property (or properties) that you need converting, and we can send you back a competitive quote for the work.