Keep Your Home Safe: How to Choose the Best Smoke Detector Possible

When is the last time you replaced the smoke detectors in your home?

If it’s been more than a decade now since the last time you did it, you should replace your smoke detectors right away. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends doing it at least once every ten years.

You should also avoid replacing them with just any old smoke detectors. Instead, you should look around for the best smoke detector on the market today and use it to replace your smoke detectors.

You’ll find that there is no shortage of smoke detectors in stores when you start shopping around for them. It’s why it’s important for you to do your due diligence and track down the best smoke detector for the job.

Here are some tips that will help you conduct a search for new smoke detectors.

Look for Smoke Detectors From Trusted Brands

Companies that manufacture fire and smoke detectors bring in almost $1 billion every year. People need to replace their fire and smoke detectors on a regular basis, so these companies generate healthy profits.

With this in mind, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to hear that there are more and more companies trying to get in on these profits every year. But not all of these companies manufacture smoke detectors that you can rely on to protect your home.

Before you trust a company you’ve never heard of to sell you a smoke detector, do your research on the company to see what they’re all about. Or better yet, go with a smoke detector from a brand that’s been around for a while.

They should have a good reputation for making great products. They should also sell smoke detectors equipped with the right features.

Find Out What Kind of Sensors Smoke Detectors Have Inside Them

There are two main types of sensors found inside of the smoke detectors placed in homes. One is a photoelectric sensor, and the other is an ionization sensor.

Photoelectric sensors rely on light to detect the presence of smoke and fire in a home. These sensors are often able to detect smoldering fires a whole lot better than ionization sensors.

Ionization sensors, meanwhile, use radioactive materials situated in between electrically charged plates to detect smoke and fire. They’re better than photoelectric sensors when it comes to detecting fires with large flames.

In a perfect world, you should look for smoke detectors that have a combination of both these types of sensors. It’ll allow your smoke detectors to work more effectively than they would with just one sensor or the other.

Consider Whether or Not You Want a Hardwired Smoke Detector

Would you like to be able to hardwire your new smoke detectors into your home’s electrical system? This can make it so that all of your smoke detectors will go off when one detects smoke or fire.

If you like the sound of this, you’ll want to see if you can find hardwired smoke detectors for your home. You’ll also want to call on an electrician to install them, especially if you don’t already have your current smoke detectors hardwired.

You also have the option of going with a simpler smoke detector that relies on a battery and isn’t hardwired into your electrical system. These smoke detectors are easy to install and will make plenty of noise when they pick up on the presence of smoke or fire.

Search for Smoke Detectors That Can Detect Carbon Monoxide

Every year, almost 500 Americans die after being exposed to carbon monoxide. Another 500,000 end up in the hospital due to carbon monoxide exposure.

With this in mind, you should install CO detectors in your home when you’re installing smoke detectors. Or you should consider installing detectors that can detect smoke and fire and carbon monoxide at the same time.

These detectors will often cost a little bit more than smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors on their own. But they’ll perform both jobs that you need done and do it while taking up half the space.

Click here to find the best smoke detector that can detect carbon monoxide, too.

Track Down Smoke Detectors for the Right Price

Replacing the smoke detectors in your home can cost a decent amount of money.

Homeowners should put up one smoke detector on each floor of their houses as well as one smoke detector in each bedroom. If you have, say, two-story home with four bedrooms in it, that means you’ll need at least six smoke detectors.

Because of this, you might pick out the cheapest smoke detectors to keep your costs low. But you’ll be making a huge mistake if you end up with smoke detectors that aren’t able to detect smoke or fire until it’s too late.

Rather than taking this approach, spend time shopping around for smoke detectors so that you’re able to find them at the right price for your budget. By utilizing the internet, you can find great smoke detectors that’ll provide you with the protection you need without breaking the bank.

You can also read online reviews for these smoke detectors while you’re at it. You’ll see which smoke detectors are well worth your time and which should get left to gather dust on store shelves.

Buy the Best Smoke Detector for Your Home Today

If you have smoke detectors that are on the older side in your home right now, you could be putting yourself, your family, and your home at risk.

Find the best smoke detector on the market and invest in it for your home. It’ll prevent you from having to worry about a fire starting without you knowing about it. It’ll also alert you to the presence of carbon monoxide in your home.

Would you like to find out about some of the other things you can do to make your home safer?

Browse through our blog to see ways to improve the safety of your house.