A home fire alarm system must be installed on a separate circuit independent from any other service and have a battery backup. Household fire alarm headers typically come with a single 9V internal backup battery. The circuit has a low power source demand and can be powered from a 5A MCB and must be connected between each header with a 1.0mm or 1.5mm wire, 3 cores and ground for the link between the headers . The maximum length of the circuit should not exceed 100 m for a 1.0 mm cable and 99 m for a 1.5 mm cable.

The number of smoke alarm heads required is normally one on each floor of the house at the top of each stair landing and one in the ground floor hallway near the stairs. A kitchen heat alarm detector should be installed in place of a smoke detector to avoid nuisance activation. All mains powered home fire alarms have an additional terminal to connect between each header so that if one header is activated, all headers will sound.

Adequate duration of fire protection must be provided to the fire alarm system to give sufficient warning in the event of a fire. Preferably, pyrotechnic cable (mineral insulated) should be used to wire the circuit, but in domestic dwellings standard PVC double cable and flat ground cable can be used. More advanced fire fighting systems with a control panel are typically installed in larger homes that require monitoring of more individual zones in the home.