Wide area smoke detection

Using infrared beams, they detect smoke over much larger areas than traditional fire detection devices, making them suited for large indoor spaces including manufacturing plants, warehouses and exhibition centres.

An optical beam smoke detector transmits a beam of invisible infrared light across the building space to be protected, and is usually wall-mounted at near-ceiling level.

A receiver detects and measures this light, and can recognise smoke interference anywhere along the beam path, triggering the alarm signal when the pre-determined threshold is reached. The receiver can be either situated directly on the opposite wall to the transmitter, or, more commonly, a reflective prism bounces the beam back to a single, combined transceiver unit.