MILWAUKEE — The latest updates to UL 268, “Standard for Safety of Smoke Detectors for Fire Alarm Systems,” call for significant improvements to smoke detection technology. Set to take effect in June 2021, the new UL 268 seventh-edition standard requires smoke sensors, detectors, and smoke alarms to pass more than 215 new or revised performance tests, including three new challenging tests: a cooking nuisance alarm test, a flaming polyurethane foam test, and a smoldering polyurethane test. To satisfy these requirements, Johnson Controls has introduced advanced smoke sensors built upon the established performance of its flagship TrueAlarm technology.
The UL seventh-edition polyurethane tests better represent the type of smoke and flames produced in modern building fires due to the increased use of synthetic furnishing materials that can ignite and burn faster than other materials. The cooking test was added after research showed people frequently disable smoke alarms due to nuisance alarms caused by cooking and shower steam.