Ceiling fan causes smoke detector to trip.?

Question

I have a new ceiling fan and new smoke detectors. They are about 6 feet apart. The smoke detectors goes off when the fan is on but the fan does not seem to be producing any smoke. There is no smell. What could be causing that?

Answer 1

The detector probably shouldn't  be this close to the ceiling fan for it to work properly.  It there was smoke, the fan would probably dissipate the smoke so it wouldn't  work correctly.  Perhaps currently it is picking up dust particles causing it to trip.

Answer 2

The detector could also be an Ionization detector which detects the ions produced by combustion. Does the detector go off immediately after the fan is turned on or after awhile?

Motors on ceiling fans can heat up and produce ions similar to fires. It's not necessarily dangerous, just a sign that the motor is worn.

The solution is to replace the ceiling fan or the detector with a simple smoke detector.