Can Ion and Photo Smokes be Used Together?

Mr. Krantz

I have a question about connecting different types of hard wired smoke detectors in a loop. I have 1 Ion/Photo combo and want to add 4 more Ion style detectors to it. Can the two types work together, or do I need to keep the types all the same.

I live in an all-electric home built in 1978, and the local fire department had installed this combo Ion/Photo before we bought the home 2 years ago. The smoke detector is located in a hall between our two bedrooms in a single story home with no basement.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Thank you.

M K

If these smoke detectors are residential stand-alone smoke alarms, that is they have sounders in them, and if these are going to talk to each other so if one goes into alarm, all of them sound off, then they all have to be of the same manufacturer and they have to be compatible with each other. The manufacturer will say on the box whether they are compatible and can be used together.

Ion, Photo, and Combination Detector Alarms all can be considered to be just smoke alarms and are useable with each other. If the other compatibility issues are taken care of, there should be no problem with using them together as long as the instructions that come with the detectors are followed.



Douglas Krantz