Don has asked this question about an EICR for a house not having mains operated smoke alarms, and for which the owner will not accept any damage to the décor. Therefore, how to wire it? His question has been answered by SELECT (Theme – Fire, Safety and Security):
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Question: I’ve been asked to carry out an electrical installation condition report (EICR) on a property to be used for rental. The wiring system is around 25 years old and after I installed a main RCD, is in satisfactory condition.
The only problem is that the property is a terraced house over three floors and does not have mains operated smoke alarms.
The customer has spent a lot of money on wooden flooring and decoration and does not want any boards lifted - or cutting into the wall, and will not allow surface wiring through mini trunking.
I know that all alarms should be linked, but as stated the customer will not allow any wiring. The property is not used as HMO.
So would smoke, CO2 and heat alarms with a 10-year battery life be suitable to use?
Answer: If you have installed a single RCD for protecting the whole installation, this would generally not be in compliance with BS 7671, as there would be no division of circuits to avoid nuisance tripping and to minimise inconvenience in the event of a fault.
With regards to the fire detection and alarm system, where it would be inconvenient to disturb the property’s decoration, it would be possible to use radio controlled (wireless) heat and smoke detectors, which will satisfy the requirements for detectors to be interconnected.
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