Arc fault & smoke alarm

[John120/240]

Situation; the house is wired with 120V smoke alarms w/ battery backup. On a

standard breaker. Permit was pulled to finish the basement. Basement bedroom

to be arc fault protected. So install the basement smoke on the arc fault &

interconnect to the other smokes with one conductor of 14-2. Make sure the old

smokes & the new smokes are all on the same phase. Does this sound right??

 

[Howard Burger]

put them on the AFCI?

put them on the AFCI?

John, forgive me for dodging the question, but if you can tie the two sets of smokies together, why use 14-3 and fire them all up from the AFCI breaker and avoid any question of rightness?

 

[John120/240]

Not sure what else is on with the existing smoke dectors. Yes that is an option.

Would disconnect the old smokes from their power source.

 

[Howard Burger]

Yes, what else on the circuit would be a concern, however adding a smokie would hardly add to the load. On the other hand, depending on how the original wiring was made up, neutrals from several circuits could be tied together in a switch box and cause an AFCI to trip. Wait a day or two, after the holiday, and hopefully some of the wise old owls on this forum will contribute to your original question.