What Is Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is a natural by-product of burning fossil fuels for home cooking and heating. Exposure is usually minimal and remains within acceptable safety standards.
But, breathing-in excessive amounts of this toxic gas can make us feel unwell. And, exposure to high enough levels can prove fatal.
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year about 400 Americans die from CO poisoning, and 4,000 more are hospitalized due to exposure to this highly poisonous gas . The symptoms of CO poisoning include headaches, nausea, dizziness, tiredness and confusion, stomach pain and shortness of breath. But, long term exposure can be much worse.
Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
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Types Of Smoke Detectors
Smoke detectors come in two main types: hard-wired units and battery-operated detectors.
Hard-wired Smoke Detector
Hard-wired smoke detectors need to be connected to your homes AC electrical system. These types of detectors usually require professional installation to make sure that they are installed properly. A hard-wired smoke detector is extremely reliable but it may not work during a power outage.
Some hard-wired smoke detectors may come with a backup battery such as the Kidde 21007624. If you have an old house, you may have to check its wiring before installing a hard-wired smoke detector.
Battery-operated Smoke Detector
Battery-operated smoke detectors are quick and easy to install and there is no need to worry about hard-wiring the unit. These types of detectors either come with 2 AA batteries, a 9-volt alkaline battery that lasts up to 1-year, or a long-lasting 9-volt battery that lasts up to 10 years.
The problem associated with battery smoke detectors is that the unit can start making chirping sounds if the battery is running out of power, which can be very annoying in the middle of the night. A smoke detector that has a low battery flashing LED light will help to eliminate this problem.
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Smoke Alarms For Those With Hearing Loss
The alarms we recommend all sound at 85 decibels, which should be loud enough for most people, but if you have hearing loss or are just a heavy sleeper, there are other options to consider. Some smoke alarms, such as the Gentex 7139LS Photoelectric Smoke Alarm with Plug-In Line Cord, ADA Strobe and Battery Backup, include a strobe alert, which may help. More comprehensive systems, like the Lifetone HLAC151 Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock and the SafeAwake, are also available when these bedside units pick up the alarm sound from a standard smoke alarm, they flash lights, emit a loud low-frequency alert, and vibrate a pillow shaker. The NFPA has more advice on how to start locating the best smoke alarm for your specific situation.
Where To Install Smoke Alarms
As for the specifics of smoke alarm location within a room, there are actually quite a few areas to avoid.
The National Fire Protection Associations recommendation for smoke alarm placement is that you have one on each floor and one in each bedroom. So for a typical two-story home, thats one in the basement , one on the first floor, and one in the second-floor hallway, with an additional unit in each bedroom or sleeping area. You should not place one in a garage or in areas that have temperatures lower than 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
As for the specifics of smoke alarm location within a room, there are actually quite a few areas to avoid. First Alerts FAQ states, Install your alarms at least 20 feet from appliances like furnaces and ovens, which produce combustion particles. Alarms should be at least 10 feet from high humidity areas like showers and laundry rooms, and at least 3 feet from heat/AC vents.
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Best Pack Options: Kidde Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector
This battery-operated device alerts you of smoke and carbon monoxide. The device is UL-certified and features a test/hush button and a 10-year limited warranty. It also comes in larger packs of two, four, and six, allowing you to replace all of the detectors in your home at once.
Key Features
- Smoke and carbon monoxide detection
- Auditory alerts
- 10-year warranty
Why Trust The Spruce
This article was researched and written by Katie Begley, a freelance writer specializing in home and family products. Katie has been writing for The Spruce since 2019. When researching top smoke detectors, she considered superior performance, multiple sensors, and installation. Katie also consulted with home inspector Dave Mitchell to see what he recommends for installation and required placement.
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The 10 Best Battery Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Detector And Price History
- 9.7BSD Score
Our experts use a special algorithm to be able to evaluate the products most accurately based on customer reviews, price history, and recent fluctuations on the market. BSD Score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more
- BrandFIRST ALERT
- 9.5BSD Score
Our experts use a special algorithm to be able to evaluate the products most accurately based on customer reviews, price history, and recent fluctuations on the market. BSD Score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more
Combo smoke detector/carbon monoxide alarm detects two threats
Photoelectric sensor detects smoke while minimizing false alarmsmore
- 9.0BSD Score
Our experts use a special algorithm to be able to evaluate the products most accurately based on customer reviews, price history, and recent fluctuations on the market. BSD Score has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more
- BrandFIRST ALERT
Can connect to other compatible BRK or First Alert detectors, to ensure all alarms will sound when threat is detected
Faster turnarounds on job sites with the easy-to-install, most-trusted alarms in home safetymore
A loud 85-decibel alarm sounds when Carbon Monoxide, and Smoke levels begin to rise, Easy to Install and Use: The alarm can easily install with mounting bracket. No hardwired anymoremore
The 5 Best Carbon Monoxide Detectors
A necessary device in your home, a carbon monoxide detector ensures that the presence of this harmful gas is identified. In this review, the This Old House Reviews Team researched the five best carbon monoxide detectors on Amazon to help you find the product thats right for you. The products included in this article are available at various department stores, home improvement stores, and online retailers like Amazon.
Appliances around your home, such as fireplaces, boilers, and water heaters, can emit carbon monoxide if they dont fully burn their fuel. Because carbon monoxide isnt visible and doesnt have a smell, you should install carbon monoxide detectors throughout your house to monitor the levels of this gas. To learn about the best carbon monoxide detectors that can protect you and your family, read our review below.
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Where Should I Install My Smoke Detector
The NFPA recommends installing alarms inside and outside of every bedroom and on every level of your home, including the basement. Andler adds that, since smoke rises and begins gathering at the ceiling first, smoke alarms should be placed on your ceiling, not on the wall. Andler also stressed the importance of having additional smoke detectors. In the event of a fire in your home, hallway smoke detectors can sound their alarms much earlier than a bedroom alarm. Andler also says that having a smoke alarm near but not inside the kitchen reduces the chances of false alarms. The Arizona Burn Foundation recommends keeping your detector at least 10 feet away from the stove.
Kidde Carbon Monoxide Detector Has Many Useful Features
Lights will show you if the device is working properly.A display gives a continuous indication of the rooms CO levels.The unit will show you if there has been a problem whilst you were out.A test button allows you to test the alarm at any time.The item comes with a 10-year manufacturers warranty.The detector is very stylish and compact, at 118mm x 70mm x 40mm .
Box Contains: 1 x CO alarm, 1 x Screw pack, 1 x Kidde 7dco manual.
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Our Pick: First Alert Sa511cn2
For your primary line of defense, we recommend the First Alert SA511CN2-3ST Interconnected Wireless Smoke Alarm with Voice Location. This is a photoelectric alarm, so its effective against both slow-burning, smoldering fires and fast-burning, flaming fires. Its sold in a two-pack, and the two units link together through a wireless signaland can combine with additional unitsso that they all sound at once. In addition, you can preset each unit to a location so that when an alarm goes off, all of the units indicate which room the fire is in. The alarm is a voice alarm, which research indicates is more effective in waking small children than a simple tone. The First Alert SA511CN2-3ST is the only alarm we found that combines the voice alarm, the location feature, and the wireless connection all in one unitat a price thats merely on the high side of average for the category.
Because theyre interconnected, the SA511CN2-3ST alarms not only give you an early warning but also tell you where the problem is originating from. During initial setup, you assign each alarm a room location. When the alarms go off, they all announce the source alarms location. As training coordinator and fire safety educator Tom Kiurski told us, Vocal smoke alarms are recommended if you have children between 4 and 12 years of age, because studies show they respond better to a familiar voice, as opposed to something that can fall under white noise.2
Also Great: First Alert Sco501cn
Carbon monoxide is a deadly, odorless, colorless gas that can spread through a home as the result of a malfunctioning or improperly installed chimney or combustion appliance such as a gas stove, a gas boiler, a water heater, a propane range, or a wood stove, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and other sources. If you dont already have CO alarms, we strongly recommend including a few First Alert SCO501CN-3ST Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Voice Location units in your interconnected system.
This model offers the same features as our main pick and adds a carbon monoxide sensor. That CO detector adds a good bit to the pricecurrently a single SCO501CN-3ST unit is just barely cheaper than the two-pack of our top pickso we made this model a separate recommendation in case youre already covered with a stand-alone CO detector.
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First Alert Smoke Detector Photoelectric & Ionized Alarm
Using state-of-the-art dual-sensing technology, the First Alert Smoke Detector, Photoelectric & Ionized Alarm will give you total peace of mind.
Equipped with photoelectric and ionization sensors, the First Alert smoke detector quickly detects fast burning and slow smoldering fires. Exclusive Optipath 360° technology allows the unit to detect smoke from any direction.
Perfect for residential and commercial applications, the detector has a dust cover to keep it clean. It complies with safety regulations and meets building codes where AC/DC photoelectric and ionization combination smoke alarms are required.
The smoke detector has to be hardwired into your homes electrical system but the Quick Connect harness makes installation easy. First Alert also includes 2 AA batteries in case there is a power outage. Replacing the batteries is simple as the unit has an easy-access battery drawer.
Designed with standard and advanced features, the detector offers you an intensive fire warning system. Standard features include a hush button that silences the 85-decibel alarm and can be used to test the alarm function.
Advanced features include an alarm detecting mode and a silent mode that silences the alarm for several minutes. A low battery mode alerts you with a blinking green light. The low battery mode can also silence the low battery chirping noise for up to 8 hours.
The smoke detector is available in a 1-pack, 3-pack, 6-pack, or 12-pack.
Pros
Best Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Detectors Of 2022
Consumer Reports’ lab tests reveal the best detectors for protecting you and your loved ones
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Most smoke and carbon monoxide detectors look the same, so you might think that they basically are the same. As long as theyve been certified by a testing organization, such as UL or Intertek Electrical Testing Labs , they should work just fine, right? Not exactly.
We need to test detectors because some fail at CO detection, and there are differences in how quickly different models respond to CO, says Bernie Deitrick, Consumer Reports test engineer for smoke and CO detectors. I have never tested a model that failed our fire and smoke tests, and it is reassuring to know that such critical devices actually work.
A detectors ability to sense carbon monoxide can mean the difference between life and death. According to the CDC, every year more than 400 Americans die from accidental CO poisoning, and about 50,000 Americans end up in the emergency department.
To determine the type you need, remove the detectors in your home from their mounts. If there are wires connected to them that run into the wall or ceiling, you need hardwired detectors. If there are no wires, you need battery-powered detectors.
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Best Ionization Smoke Detector
An ionization sensor, wire-free interconnectivity, AA battery power, and a hush button make the Kidde RF-SM-DC an easy and trusty addition to your fire detection network.
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Dimensions: 5.75″ x 5.75″ x 1.25″
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Weight: 1 pound
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Battery type: 3 AA batteries
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Battery life: 6 months
Pros: Detects flash/flaming fires faster than photoelectric models, smart-touch nuisance-alarm silencer
Cons: Not sufficient at detecting smoldering fires , prone to nuisance alarms, on the large side
Because it’s best to separate your various detectors in order to monitor a wider area and range of fires, an ionization detector like the Kidde RF-SM-DC pairs well with our top recommendation, a photoelectric detector.
Ionization detectors use a light radioactive charge to create an electrical current, which, when broken, sounds the alarm. Models like this are best suited to detect the invisible particles of flash and flaming fires, while photoelectric fires are quicker to react to particles emitted by smoldering fires. By placing ionization detectors further from kitchens and bathrooms and photoelectric detectors nearer to kitchens and bathrooms, you’ll create a much more effective network.
The ability to connect up to 24 Kidde devices using neither WiFi nor hard-wired electricity makes this battery-powered device dependable, especially if you have issues with your electricity or internet service provider.
What To Look Forward To
UL recently released a new set of standards for smoke alarms, to take effect in 2024. Were in the process of understanding what these new changes entail and how they will affect the smoke alarm industry.
Were also currently looking into X-Sense smoke alarms. They have products that are similar to our picks, most notably the X-Sense XS01 Wireless Interconnected Smoke Alarm .
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Siterwell Smoke Detector 4
The SITERWELL Smoke Detector 4-pack is an excellent fire warning system for a large home.
Instead of having to buy individual smoke detectors, SITERWELL provides all the detectors you need to keep your home safe from fire and smoke.
Featuring highly sensitive photoelectric technology, these UL-listed smoke detectors are very effective at detecting slow smoldering fires. When smoke is detected, a red LED light flashes and an 85-decibel horn sends a loud and clear warning up to 3 meters. To silence the alarm, just press the test button.
Durable and safe to use, the detector is constructed from eco-friendly fire-retardant ABS plastic. You can install the 4 alarms in strategic places around your home near the kitchen, in the lounge room, near the bedroom, or in the basement.
There is no hard-wiring required as the smoke detectors come with a 9-volt battery that lasts up to 1-year. Easy to attach to the ceiling or wall, the smoke alarm comes with a bracket and screws. A safety clip allows you to replace the battery without dismounting the alarm. The unit also has a low battery alarm.
SITERWELL offers a 10-year warranty on the smoke alarm 4-pack, and the smoke detectors are also available in a 1, 2, 3, and 6-pack.
Pros