Battery Operated Residential Smoke Detectors
Have to replace some battery operated smoke dectors in a friend’s house. I will get he Photoelectric type. I see they have units that require an annual battery replacement and some that come with a 10-Year Lithium Ion battery that is supposed to last for the life of the unit. I can’t find any info on the pros/cons of both types. Any suggestions?
Replies
Obviously, longer battery life causes fewer hassles. And since you're supposed to replace detectors every ten years, if a battery lasts that long it makes life simpler still. Of course there's the cost, and it's hard to guess what the reliability difference might be, so you're on your own there.
But it is a good idea to be getting the photoelectric style vs the ionization units -- significantly better detection with fewer false alarms.
DanH
Cost difference is only $5 or $6 which makes the 10-Year Lithium device a better buy based on a ten year device life. Also, makes life simpler not having to put in a new battery every year or be driven crazy by the middle of the night low-battery chirps.
Thank You
Also saves you from having to repair the plaster from when you used a baseball bat to silence the alarm at 3AM.
That's how my friend removed one of the smoke alarms.....it's now decomposing in the town landfill.
I went with interconnected AC only detectors when I had the chance (wiring anyway)
I have a couple of battery detectors for that one in a million chance that I have a fire when I am asleep and the power is off. Most are AC tho.
My house has AC interconnected units with battery backups on 3 floors. I've seen my friend's attic and there's no way I'd volunteer to run wiring for the smoke detectors.
My attic is horrible to work in 2.5:12 with blown in insulation but since I had to be there, I pulled in the 14/3 I needed for these detectors. They are code here and I was getting the addition inspected. In the end the inspector never tested the detector in that room and we didn't call it a "sleeping room" but it was our [JOBSITE WORD] on the line if we did have a fire so I did it.
It really was not that bad. I used a PVC pipe with a hook on it to grab the wire I poked up through a hole in the celing and hooked it all up using old work boxes. The detectors are on a dedicated circuit that only has a few night lights on it (in addition to the smokes) so I can tell if it is still on.