Alarms are mandatory now on radon systems Please let me start by saying that I do not feel this List Serve platform is an acceptable venue for any company to advertise or promote their products however I can provide some information that will address most of the concerns posted here.
I and my associates have been developing a new line of radon system alarms for over a year now. They will be made available after this years wintertime field testing results are completed. We believe our alarms address most if not all of the valid concerns mentioned here.
For example, all of our alarms include a 2 year warranty however have been designed with a life expectancy of approximately 10 years. We will be offering 7 models with various features and benefits. Most plug-in but some operate by battery and some have a built-in pressure/flow gauge. Our optional low voltage ac/dc unit can be plugged in up to 40 feet away allowing installer to plug into a separate circuit without the need for an electrician. A few of our alarms include remotes that can be located up to 100 feet away with custom models available up to 250 feet.
Sadly, we were not able to develop a unit cheap enough to compete with the Chinese alarm but we feel the additional cost for our basic unit will be easily offset by creating fewer customer complaints and providing a much longer life span. All except for our most elaborate alarms are intended to retail for less than $100.
The problem with freeze-ups has not been corrected with any of our alarms however, one of our silent alarms may be an option for some. It will be offered with a declaration that states:
“Note: This Radon System Silent Alarm is only to be purchased if alarm location is guaranteed to be seen numerous times a day. If a silent alarm is needed for structures such as healthcare facilities, schools, multi-family dwellings or other similar institutions, please select our silent alarm with secondary remote unit that can be placed in an appropriate location; e.g. building supervisor or manager’s office.”
As fellow mitigators, we understand the concern regarding unwanted phone calls resulting from false alarms but with all due respect, we take exception to ANSI/AARST SGM-SF-2017 9.2.2 that recommends alarms with “Delayed notification in terms of hours or even weeks.” Our company feels that selling alarms with a delayed notification diminishes the value of a radon system and undermines our life’s work. That same Standard states that delayed notifications would help with “False” notifications that include “power outages, low pressure or low air flow.” In the event of a power outage, our battery units have been designed to be easily silenced while our plug-in units obviously can not sound an alarm without power. We believe that any radon mitigation system that is not providing the pressure or air flow intended by the installer is not a “false” problem and should be of great concern and although occurring infrequently, justifies the ANSI/AARST standard that makes alarms a requirement.
In the near future, we anticipate other manufacturers to begin offering other alarm options and we look forward to the improvements and developments that competition brings. We wish them and all of us luck. We would like to thank everyone involved that volunteer so much time in the development of our industry standards. Please keep up the good work.
We could use everyones help. Our company will be providing an OM&M Document with each of our alarms and we would like to address wintertime problems in that information.If anyone has any recommendations as to the wording that we could include, please let us know. We would love to hear from you. Thank you.
