HOME » QUESTION » A dust (human eye can see) is >100 microns.Per my understanding, smoke particles should be in nano-meter to micro-meter range.How can a dust trigger a false smoke alarm?

Q：A dust (human eye can see) is >100 microns.Per my understanding, smoke particles should be in nano-meter to micro-meter range.How can a dust trigger a false smoke alarm?

A：

smoke detectors do not alarm based on particle size. Their working principle is to use a beam of light to detect the scattering caused by particles in the air. When the effect of scattering light caused by a certain concentration of dust is very similar to that of smoke, the sensor cannot distinguish it 100%, and thus an alarm will be triggered. Small flying insects can also cause false alarms. It is recommended to avoid installing smoke detectors in environments with a lot of flying insects or dust.