Fire alarms in many buildings are disabled due to frequent malfunctions.
23% of fire deaths occur in buildings equipped with fire alarms.
An optical module capable of distinguishing between water vapor and dust is needed.


Fire alarms are firefighting devices that guide people to safety when a fire breaks out in a specific location. In Korea, they are required by the Building Code for installation in most buildings. However, this useful firefighting device, which saves lives in the event of a fire, is often stigmatized as an eyesore.

Last November, the National Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced that "the number of dispatches due to malfunctioning fire alarms has increased every year over the past five years: 196 in 2016, 270 in 2017, 576 in 2018, and 616 in 2019 (excluding the fourth quarter)." This represents 7.6% of the total number of fire-related dispatches in 2019 (excluding the fourth quarter).

Countless buildings have turned off their fire alarms altogether, citing reasons like unnecessary firefighter dispatches and complaints from residents about unintended alarms. This situation is occurring not only in Korea but also around the world. Fire alarm malfunctions not only cause serious inconvenience, but also threaten human life.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 60% of fire deaths in the United States occurred in buildings without working smoke alarms, and 23% occurred in buildings with smoke alarms that were intentionally disabled.

The majority of fire deaths are caused by asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation. In February 2018, UL, a U.S. safety standards development and certification company, introduced new requirements in the 8th edition of its smoke alarm standard, UL 217, to reduce false alarms. The 9th edition was also released in February of this year.

It is not easy for manufacturers to produce fire alarms that fully comply with the increasingly complex UL 217 standard. To support these manufacturers, Analog Devices (ADI) launched the ADPD188BI optical module in June 2018, which integrates two LEDs, a photodiode, and an analog front-end (AFE) into a single package.

Compliant with the UL 217 standard as well as the EN 54 and EN 14604 standards of the European Committee for Standardization, the ADPD188BI optical module provides ambient light rejection and reduces power consumption to extend battery life.

Two LEDs are useful for reducing occasional false alarm triggers caused by vapor and dust. Using two colors, they distinguish particle size and detect and classify smoke types, allowing the alarm to isolate the source of the smoke.

The ADPD188BI optical module enables a backscattering design, placing the LED closer to the photodiode. This facilitates circuit size reduction, enabling developers to implement compact smoke detectors suitable for residential and commercial applications.

ADI also sells smoke detection chambers to assist developers who face challenges with chamber design. We're also offering new software and algorithms, webinars, and more to help you comply with new regulations and avoid disabling alerts due to false alarms.

“The ADPD188BI, which utilizes an infrared sensor and a photodiode, is a discrete optical module that can withstand field conditions and clearly distinguish between water vapor and dust,” said Kim Ryeong-mo, vice president of ADI Korea. “Its small size reduces the number of design considerations.”