What is the best smoke alarm to install in a rental property?
If the property is built after July 1997 or has been substantially renovated, the alarm must be a 240v alarm. We strongly recommend a Photoelectric alarm rather than an Ionisation alarm. Our experience has shown that the 10 year lithium battery, Photoelectric smoke alarm is the most reliable, efficient alarm on the market. Whilst costing more than a standard 9v battery smoke alarm, we have found this alarm to have less false alarms and responds better to real smoke threats. And very importantly, the battery cannot be removed which can happen in the 9v alarms. In Far North Queensland, we have found that 9v smoke alarms are greatly affected by humidity and moisture and have a high failure rate. In these circumstances, the 10 year lithium alarm has proven to be far superior.
