Smoke Detectors Are an Essential Safety Feature For Any Home.
When properly installed and maintained, they dramatically increase your chances of surviving a fire. One half of all home fires deaths occur in homes that do not have working smoke detectors. Also, while it is estimated that 94% of American households have at least one smoke detector as many as one half may not be working because the batteries are dead or missing.
Selecting Smoke Detectors For Your Home is as Important as Having working Units.
- Be sure to only use smoke detectors that carry the label of an independent testing laboratory. Some models of smoke detectors are designed to run on batteries while other “hard-wired” smoke detectors use household current as their primary source of power.
- If electrical wiring is not already provided in your home to accommodate hard-wired smoke detectors, battery-powered smoke detectors can be used. Battery-powered smoke detectors typically use 9-volt batteries as their source of power and can easily be installed by homeowners. Certain models of smoke detectors now also come with 10-year lithium batteries. These smoke detectors are highly reliable, tamper-resistant and require little maintenance.
- If the required electrical wiring is provided in your home, hard-wired smoke detectors can be used. Hard-wired smoke detectors run on household current and should be installed by a qualified electrician. Certain hard-wired smoke detectors may use batteries as a back-up source of electricity during power outages. If your hard-wired smoke detectors do not have a battery back-up, you may wish to install at least one battery-powered smoke detector in the home for protection in the event that household current is interrupted.
- If you select a smoke detector that plugs into a wall socket, be sure that the outlet is not connected to a light switch that could allow someone to accidentally turn off the power. Also, make sure that the plug has a restraining device to keep it from accidentally disconnected.
- Smoke detectors use two different types of sensor technologies.
- Ionization: Smoke detectors that use ionization technology react most quickly to open flaming fires such as paper or kitchen fires.
- Photoelectric: Smoke detectors that photoelectric technology reacts most quickly to smoldering, smoky fires (fires which smolder for hours before bursting into flames). Sources of such fires might include cigarettes burning in couches or bedding.
- Certain models of smoke detectors incorporate both ionization and photoelectric technologies and provide early warning for both types of fires.
Where to Install Smoke Detectors in Your Home?
- At a minimum, one smoke detector should be installed on every level of you home including the basement and in or near every sleeping area. Follow all manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations to ensure the proper installation and placement of your smoke detectors.
- Smoke detectors should be mounted high on a wall or on the ceiling. A wall-mounted detector should be positioned with the top of the detector 6-12 inches below the ceiling. A ceiling mounted detector should be positioned at least 4 inches away from the nearest wall.
- For individuals who are difficult to awaken, it may be necessary to install a smoke detector inside the bedroom.
- Don’t install smoke detectors near windows, doors or forced-air registers where drafts can interfere with their operation. Moving air can blow smoke away from the detector or result in false alarms.
- To avoid false alarms, install smoke detectors at least ten feet away from stoves, fireplaces and steamy showers. In particular, smoke detectors installed too close to the kitchen frequently result in false alarms. Rather than removing the batteries from the detector, try reinstalling it farther away from the kitchen but on the same level of your home.
Smoke Detector Maintenance
- Test smoke detectors monthly by pushing the “Test” button or using other procedure recommended by the manufacturer.
- Install new batteries annually or whenever the smoke detector makes a “chirping” sound. The chirping sound indicates that the battery in the smoke detector in nearly dead and needs to be replaced immediately.
- To help you remember to install new smoke detector batteries annually, try changing the batteries every fall when you change your clocks back from daylight savings time.
- Gently vacuum the outside of smoke detectors monthly to remove dust and cobwebs and to allow for proper airflow through the vent holes.
- Replace smoke detectors if they are more than 10 years old.
We offer battery only smoke detectors at no charge for residents who cannot afford them. We do not provide smoke detectors where they are also hard wired to the electrical in the home except for as a temporary measure. International Residential Code requires that all homes maintain hard-wired interconnected smoke detectors since 1988. These cannot be replaced with battery only detectors.
Contact our District Office directly by calling (775) 246-6209 or by email at admin@centralfirenv.org. If it is an emergency, please dial 911.