What Features Come on Smoke Alarms?

In addition to the type of smoke detection sensor, ionization and Photoelectric, used in the alarm, smoke alarms can be powered differently or be interconnected or single station alarms. Some alarms are now equipped with voice features, and remote hush of a nuisance alarm for consumer convenience. Considering all of the available options will enable you to select the smoke alarms that may work best in your situation to effectively detect a fire.

Power

Smoke alarms can be connected to the home`s wiring system, battery powered, or a combination of both. Smoke alarms most often fail to alarm because of missing, drained, or disconnected batteries. A good reminder to replace the batteries in smoke alarms is in the fall or spring when resetting the clocks.

For older homes, battery-only smoke alarms are the simplest to install. For homes under construction, smoke alarms are typically connected to the household wiring (hard-wired). Smoke alarms connected to household wiring with battery back-up will provide protection even during power outages. Consider upgrading smoke alarms to hard-wired with battery back-up during a renovation or remodeling project.

If your Smoke Alarm begins to chirp, signaling low battery power, replace the batteries immediately to prevent you and your family from being unprotected. Additionally, make sure that everyone in the house understands how important it is to have working batteries in every smoke alarm and how dangerous it is to remove the batteries, even for a short time. Smoke alarms with sealed lithium batteries can last up to 10 years; after 10 years, the entire unit is intended to be disposed.

Interconnection
Interconnected smoke alarms may provide improved protection and offer more escape time in a fire. This type of smoke alarm allows all smoke alarms to sound if one has detected smoke. With interconnected smoke alarms, a fire in the basement, for example, will trigger the closest smoke alarm and alert all the occupants in the home by sounding all the smoke alarms. Not all homes have interconnected smoke alarms. Prior to 1989, existing homes typically had independent single-station, battery-only powered smoke alarms. After 1989, new homes included hard-wired, interconnected smoke alarms.

Interconnected smoke alarms are typically connected using a wire, but newer wireless technology is available that allows smoke alarms to be interconnected without using wires. This allows easier and less costly upgrade to interconnected smoke alarms for older homes. Features on smoke alarms for your home:

 Depending on your home, smoke alarms can be powered in one of several ways.
 House wiring
 House wiring with battery back-up
 Replaceable batteries, such as 9 volts
 Sealed long life batteries; smoke alarms are disposed of after 10 years.
 Interconnected smoke alarms may offer quicker escape time and improved audibility.
 Hard-wired interconnected smoke alarms can be found in most homes built after 1989.
 Wireless interconnected smoke alarms are an alternative for older homes using single-station smoke alarms.