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Standards for Wiring Alarms

Standards for wiring alarms change depending on the type of alarm in question. Issues related to wiring alarms include wire choice, alarm device requirements and alarm zones.

  1. Wire Choice

    • Some devices require 2 wires while others require 4 wires. As such, if you plan on wiring more than one kind of alarm, 4-conductor wire is preferable to 4-conductor and 2-conductor wire. This kind of wire is universally applicable, which can save you considerable money on wire. The only exception is fire alarm devices, which requires 18-gauge red-jacketed fire wire.

    Device Requirements

    • Different alarm-related devices require different numbers of wires. For example, sirens, power transformers, strobes, door contacts and window contacts require 2 wires, whereas motion sensors, audio glassbreak sensors and CO2 detectors require 4 wires.

    Zones

    • Ideally, each device will have its own zone dedicated to it. This means that they should not be connector together and should be closed systems unto themselves. The primary reason for this is that it makes troubleshooting much easier

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