Consumer reports smoke detectors

Which smoke detector is best? What does the green light on a smoke detector mean? How often should you check smoke detectors? Can smoke detectors detect smoke from cigarettes? Top smoke detectors use dual sensors, can be interconnecte and have a hush button.

Unlimited digital access to our unbiased and independent ratings. Smoke detectors are a must in all homes, and carbon monoxide. The latest performance Ratings of all Carbon Monoxide.

Nearly in every home-fire deaths result from fires in houses without smoke detectors () or no working smoke detectors (), the National Fire Protection Association reports. When smoke alarms fail. Here are some of their consumer tips: — Install smoke alarms in every room where people sleep and outside each sleeping area. Reportedly, the front battery pull tab enables the activation of the battery without removing the alarm from the mounting bracket. The mounting is also considerably easy thanks to the large mounting base.

Note that this should be years after the date the device was manufacture not the date it was installed. You’ll need both an ionization smoke detector. Kidde has recalled almost 500dual-sensor smoke detectors in the U. Specifically, a yellow cap that was left on during manufacturing can cover one of the two smoke sensors ,. As a result, dual sensor smoke detectors are the only ones it recommends. Also, some of the best user feedback we spotted was for dual-sensor smoke detectors.

Among the types of sensors presently used by several manufacturers of smoke detectors are the ionization type, the optic sensor – also called photo-electric sensor, the air-sampling sensor, and combination-type sensors. A smoke detector with an ionization-type sensor uses what is called radio-isotopes that produce ionization in the air. Amazon user reviews are a good place to gain insight on problems. Home Depot is another top spot for user feedback on smoke alarms. Consumer Reports tests a variety of stand-alone smoke alarms as well as.

Watch the video player above for the full story. A smoke detector is a special device that is designed to emit a high, piercing signal or voice alarm when smoke or flames is detected. It is important to get the right kind for your home. There are actually specific places in the home that certain smoke detectors perform better.

Photoelectric smoke alarms are best at detecting smoldering fires, while ionization smoke alarms are better at detecting sudden, fast-burning fires. Experts say photoelectric smoke detectors generally won’t cause as many false alarms , but for the ultimate in safety, they recommend opting for a smoke detector with both types of sensors. Plus, most wired smoke alarms have battery backups, so they’ll still work during a power outage.

Within the housing of an ionizing smoke detector is a small amount of Americium-24 a radioactive isotope that emits alpha particles throughout a plastic chamber. The good news here as far as your safety goes is that alpha particles are pretty weak, too weak, in fact, to penetrate the plastic of the chamber,. Our test was based on the UL2standard for smoke alarms.

Multiple alarms were placed in our “smoke-sensitivity chamber”. Smoke was introduced from a “smoke box”, which contained the burning or smouldering source, so the level of smoke increased steadily until the alarm was triggered.