Why use Sentinel and not Fire Angel or Aico?

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- Published 9th January 2020

Sentinel fire products are the simplest to install, with each one taking no more than six or seven minutes to be up-and-running. Compared to Sentinel’s competitors, like Fire Angel and Aico, this can save you a lot of time and hassle.

Benefits of Sentinel alarms

There are many benefits of choosing to install a Sentinel alarm over another product, including:

Cost

Sentinel fire alarms are a fraction of the cost of competitor’s products. For example, Aico can range from £50 +VAT – £84.99 inc. VAT online.

Setup

You're able to download information from most premium products. However, taking the process of “house-coding” with an Aico product, for example, can be complicated and long-winded. They’re typically designed for large blocks of flats where you can house-code more than 20 different dwellings.

The likes of Aico and Fire Angel products only give you a five-second window to pair Detector 2 with Detector 1. You have to repeat this multiple times for each additional detector you want to pair. We appreciate their reliability but they’re expensive (Fire Angel can start from £45.00 each) and more designed for large scale blocks of flats and apartments with more than 50 alarms.

Sentinel products at home

For most of us, we just want a few detectors in our homes to give us the necessary warning and time to get out of the building in the case of a fire. We also want them to be easy to install and not cost a fortune.

If you’ve got old fashioned smoke alarms in your house – the old rectangular shaped ones especially – they won’t be linked up together. If there’s a fire downstairs at night, you won’t hear the alarm go off. Interlinked Sentinel alarms include two smoke alarms and a heat detector. For ease and cost, an interlinked Sentinel alarm system could be the best £60 you ever spend.

How do you install a wireless Sentinel heat alarm?

Sentinel products are simple to set up. Here's how you do it:

Unpack the products and place all detectors in your system on a table or bench.
Set the dip switches to the same combination on all detectors you want to be linked together. You can link up to 20 per system and have up to 16 different combinations. For example, the systems in a block of 16 flats won’t interfere with each other.
Attach the bases – twist and lock.
Press the test button on one detector up to 60 seconds. It will beep and set the others off indicating that they're now paired.
Consider where you want the alarms. When placing them, think about factors like avoiding your kitchen's hottest areas, or if you're going to run your car in a poorly ventilated garage (which is very dangerous) and likely to set off the alarm. They will need to be placed strategically.
Screw the alarm bases to where you want the detectors. A screwdriver with plasterboard screws is normally fine.
Then attach the detectors to the bases.
Test that the alarm is working. (And then every month onwards).
If they fail before the date stamped on the back of the detector, give Sentinel Fire a call and arrange to send it back for testing. We'll send one out a replacement free of charge.
That's it.

Alongside installing your Sentinel Fire alarm, some tips for increasing fire safety at home include:

Never smoke in bed.
Never smoke in the house while drinking alcohol.
Never leave a lit cigarette unattended. Ensure they’re properly extinguished before going to bed.
Don't run your car in a poorly ventilated garage.

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