We’re often asked when to use smoke detectors and when to use heat detectors. Both types of detectors can detect a fire, but these products are actually designed to serve different needs:

Heat detectors are intended to minimize property damage by reacting to the change in temperature caused by a fire.

Smoke detectors are intended to protect people and property by generating an alarm earlier in the development of a fire. People need time to react, and every second is critical during an actual fire event.

When it comes to protecting people, it is critical to warn building occupants before smoke accumulates. Some types of fires “smolder,” or burn very slowly without flames. Burning slowly causes incomplete combustion, which in turn generates more smoke, carbon monoxide, and other poisonous gases. Smoldering fires also generate very little heat, making them difficult to detect with heat detectors. When people are harmed during a fire, the culprit is almost always smoke and poisonous gases like CO: not the heat or flames.