If you opt for the traditional battery smoke alarm, you just need to remember to change the battery every year. We all know to use those 9v batteries, but have a few spare so you can change them as soon as you need to. The best smoke alarms you can buy in 2023 1. Google Nest Protect: Best smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarm There are mainly four types of smoke alarm currently on the market – ionisation, optical (also described as photo electronic), heat and combined.

A smoke alarm could save your life one day. I suspect you already know that smoke alarms will warn you of a fire, giving you time to react. They are always alert, so you can relax in the knowledge that you’re always protected…

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Don’t put alarms in or near kitchens or bathrooms where smoke or steam can set them off by accident. If your home is on one level, you should fit the alarm in the hallway between the living and sleeping areas. If you have only one smoke alarm and two floors, put it where you can hear it when you are asleep – on the ceiling at the top of the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

Smoke alarms are self-contained devices that incorporate a means of detecting a fire (smoke detector) and giving a warning (alarm), usually a very loud beeping sound. They are about the size of a hand and are normally fitted to the ceiling. They can detect fires in their early stages and give you those precious minutes to enable you and your family to leave your house in safety. What type of smoke alarms are available? We recommend you buy your smoke alarms from a reputable company such as Safelincs who are able to cater for all your fire safety needs with their extensive range of products. Remember:

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Of course, it is entirely possible to get connected smoke alarms that hook up directly to your home network via Wi-Fi, or through a proprietary connection or a Zigbee or Z-Wave hub. The advantage with these is that they can warn you of a fire through an alarm or alert on your smartphone, and also, with some systems, trigger smart lighting to come on. How we test smoke alarms Their distinguishing feature is the fact that they can be linked to other alarms, both heat and smoke alarms, so that when one senses danger they all sound. If your alarm chirps every 30 seconds or so, then that could be a sign that the batteries are on their last legs. This happens when the battery has dropped to a low voltage. Meanwhile, a system of colour-coded indicators on the central ring gives you visual alerts and updates, and even a subtle night light if you pass it in the dark. It’s more expensive than other smoke alarms, but if you’re invested in making your home smarter, this is the alarm to buy. Heat Alarms: They detect the increase in temperature from a fire and are insensitive to smoke. They can therefore be installed in kitchens. They only cover a relatively small area of a room, so potentially several heat alarms need to be installed in a large kitchen.

For the kitchen, you will need to have a heat alarm fitted. This is the best way of stopping false alarms when you burn the toast. Also, make sure you mount it where it is easy to access. Placing it above the stairs is just making life needlessly difficult for yourself. Interlinked smoke alarms will use the same optical or ionisation technology mentioned above, so, they're not a type of alarm in their own right. Optical alarms should go in the living and dining rooms, in the hallway and at the top of the stairs. Sounds like a lot, but just remember that you can never have too many smoke alarms in your home. Statistics:Fire and rescue services attended over 150,000 fires last year in England alone, and while the number of fire fatalities dropped to their lowest ever figure, 240 people still lost their lives. Buying a smoke alarm is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your home, your life and the lives of your family and friends. It can give you early warning of a fire before it spreads, and the best chance of getting everyone safely out of the house. These are much better at detecting a smouldering fire, which causes a lot of smoke. As burning upholstery is usually the source of a smouldering fire, optical alarms are ideal for living rooms. Most smoke alarms now have hush buttons, for use where false alarms can be a nuisance e.g. when cooking. The alarm lets you know it’s been silenced by “chirping” or by displaying a red light – while a real fire producing lots of smoke will set it off anyway. Another helpful technology is the ‘Sleep-Easy Function’ which allows you to silence the alarm if a low battery beep starts in the middle of the night. Combined Optical Smoke and Heat Alarms: Combinations of optical and heat alarms in one unit to reduce false alarms while increasing the speed of detection.

But if you really do have your doubts, then you can test it using a synthetic smoke aerosol. This is safe, and it ensures enough smoke enters the alarm to properly test it. This is great for large houses, but also if a fire breaks out downstairs when you’re sleeping upstairs. CR's take: Another good choice for a battery-powered detector is the Kidde PI9010. This top-notch detector receives strong scores in our tests for flaming fires and smoldering fires. It features a hush button and runs on a single 9-volt battery, but it can't interconnect with other detectors. 2. Why does my battery operated smoke alarm keep beeping?When disaster strikes in the middle of the night, they are there to alert you with plenty of time to get your family out. However, they can only do that if you have one installed and it works. Many smoke detectors available today claim that they’ll keep the battery for 10 years. Although that might be the case, I’ve never been one to try and test that out.