Safety & Monitoring
What is a Smoke Alarm?
Your first line of defence against a fire while you sleep.
Simplified animation — not to scale.
In plain English
A standalone smoke alarm, usually battery-powered, is a legal habitation-service check item and should be tested every trip — fires spread far faster in a small space than in a house.
How it works
An optical (photoelectric) sensor detects smoke particles passing through its chamber and triggers a loud alarm, independent of the van's own electrics so it still works if the leisure battery is flat.
Signs of trouble
- ⚠Regular chirping — almost always a low battery, replace immediately, don't disable it
- ⚠Alarm past its printed expiry date (typically 10 years) — replace the whole unit, not just the battery
- ⚠Failed test button — replace straight away, don't wait for your next habitation service
Rough UK cost
£10 – £30 for the unit.
Ballpark only — depends on your van, converter and local labour rates.
Heads up: CamperAutonomy is for general guidance only. Anything gas-related must be signed off by a Gas Safe engineer with LPG endorsement.
More in Safety & Monitoring
Fire Extinguisher & Fire Blanket
Kept somewhere you can actually reach them in a hurry — not buried in a locker.
Habitation Service (Damp Check)
An annual health check for the 'living' part of the van — the equivalent of an MOT for your habitation systems.
Tank Level Sensors
Tell you how full (or empty) your fresh and waste tanks are, without opening a hatch to look.