Air in the dual sensing chambers is irradiated to produce ions that travel to the positive and negative electrodes, creating a current flow. As smoke enters the outer chamber, the flow drops and voltage increases. The voltage is measured and an analogue signal is converted to digital for transmission to the control equipment.

Ionisation detectors have some sensitivity to air movement (wind). The extent to which the analogue value will change depends on the wind speed and on the orientation of the detector relative to the wind direction. Relatively small changes in wind direction can cause significant changes in analogue value.

For wind speeds up to 1m/s (200ft/min) the change in analogue value will not exceed 5 counts. Continuous operation in wind speeds greater than 2m/s (400ft/min) is not recommended. However, wind speeds up to 10m/s (2000ft/min) can be tolerated for short periods and will not under any conditions increase the probability of false alarms.