Design Brief

Smoke Alarm

The Situation

As you may or may not be aware, it is the law in NSW to have a working smoke alarm for each floor of your residence. Some residences will probably have more then one alarm. These alarms will usually be located in the living spaces, hallways and or bedrooms. Kitchens and rooms with fireplaces should be avoided as they often trigger false alarms with the maintaining of the fire or the burning of a dinner.

It is advisable to test fire alarms weekly, though I would imagine that this is not the norm. The NSW fire brigade also advises to change/check the battery to coincide with the changing of the clock for daylight savings. 

Regardless of the type of smoke alarm they all follow a two stage system. The first stage is the detection of smoke. This can be achieved through a variety of means. Once smoke has been detected the second stage consists of a warning. This is usually an alarm to alert the occupants to the presence of smoke and to take appropriate action ie extinguish the smoke and it's source, alert the fire brigade and/or evacuate following the evacuation plan.

The Problem

There are currently a number of problems and opportunities for improvement with the standard smoke alarm. Firstly they are prone to false alarms. This is not to say that the alarm isn't working properly, just that it is triggered by less then threatening things ie smoke caused by cooking, wood fires, dust etc
Other issues to consider are: What do people who are hard of hearing do? If an alarm goes off how long does it take for people to react? How long does it take before someone other then the residents react? Complacency due to false alarms? How do people react to fire alarms and with alarms in general, at supermarket checkouts people barely glance up, no one has a second thought about the blue lights from burglar alarms. Have they become more of an annoyance

Aesthetically there are some issues. They are usually quite prominent in the landscape of the ceiling. Sticking out abruptly utilitarian in appearance, with no subtly in form. Is this for reassurance or just neglectful?

There is an opportunity her regarding implementation of new technologies, a warning system, what if multiple devices could communicate to each other. Could they perform other functions too?

They should not just be confined to the standard home, but what about in caravans and motor homes.

What about usability? what about the deaf or hard of hearing. How do elderly or less able people test and maintain the device?

Is there an issue with placement? ie high ceilings (installation and maintenance)


The Objective

The objective is to undertake research into a holistic approach the way in which we interact with our living environment and what effect it has on the placement and needs of smoke detecting alarms. As well as the two key aspects of smoke alarms the detection of smoke and the warning occupants. This will then form the basis of a considered design solution. 

The Target Market

The primary user would be home owners, landlords and tenants  Putting the age at about 25+. though they should be able to be used by anyone over the age of 8. 
That being said the optimal target purchaser would be male 25-35 given that they would be the one most likely to purchase and install the device. Though this may be subject to change as research develops.