Specification

Advantages of Kidde Wireless Smoke Alarms
• Kidde wireless smoke alarms are UL listed. There are other brands of wireless smoke alarms
available in the marketplace, but they cannot be sold in some states.
• Two items are available: DC smoke alarm and AC/DC smoke alarm. We focused on getting these
items just right. There are other brands on the market with more “bells and whistles”, but in our
opinion they fall short in key areas such as wireless signal strength and adherence to standards
(eg. NFPA 72)
• Kidde wireless smoke alarms use 3-AA batteries. The use of 3-AA batteries ensures that our
alarms have the signal strength we want, and that the alarms function for a full year in
compliance with UL. Kidde wireless smoke alarms are the only wireless smoke alarms listed by UL.
• Our wireless products use switches for addressing instead of requiring the user to gure out
how to program. The use of switches allows for positive identication of which system an alarm
belongs to. This is especially useful in densely populated areas when you need to go back and
replace an alarm at the end of its life. You’ll be certain you are associating the alarm with the
right system when you set the switches. Also, Kidde wireless alarms are the only ones that work
interconnected right out of the box (no user programming required).
• Kidde chose the 433MHz frequency for its signal transmission instead of 915MHz. This decision
allows us to offer several advantages. 433 MHz signals do not attenuate (weaken) as
much through common building material (walls, oors, doors). Kidde alarms can be
placed further apart. Using the 433 MHz frequency also allows us to avoid
the need for “frequency hopping”. The 433 MHz frequency is much less
crowded, and interference is less of a problem. Nonetheless, Kidde
has sophisticated internal microprocessor management to avoid
signal collisions.
• Kidde chose not to use a “mesh” network because our
alarms have a strong signal that can easily travel the
maximum expected distance in a typical application.
Our competitors use a mesh network because they
need this technology to send a signal from one end of
a home to another. Two Kidde alarms will talk to each
other at the far ends of a typical home. Competitor’s
products cannot do this without at least one or more
alarms in between.
• Kidde alarms have a Hush® feature on every
alarm. This feature helps to quiet nuisance Alarms,
as well as “low battery chirp”.
• Kidde alarms also have an alarm memory feature,
which helps identify which was the initiating alarm.
Our competition does not have this.
• Kidde alarms are the most advanced, and most
popular alarms in today’s marketplace.