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You are here: Experts > Parenting/Family > Protecting your Home and Family > Security & Fire Protection Systems > smoke detectors
Expert: Fred P. Wessells - 11/2/2009
Question
I have hard wired smoke detectors in my home. One of them has started beeping intermittently sometimes for several minutes and, at times, for a couple of hours. I have not had experience with hard wired detectors before, so I am unsure how to solve the problem. Thanks for your time.
Answer
I get at least one or two questions every week just like this, and that makes me wonder why codes require hardwired detectors. First thing you do: Check your municipality to ensure that hardwired detectors are required. If they are not, my best suggestion is to turn off the circuit to them and install battery-powered detectors, including at least one combination smoke/carbon monoxide detector. However, since the national code requires hardwired detectors and most or at least many municipalities just follow that code without thinking, you probably do need them.
So there are a few things to do:
1. Check the batteries. They should have battery backup, and it's just possible that this detector has gone battery dead. Take the battery out and see if that solves the problem. If so, then replace the battery.
2. "Unplug the detector." Basically, just take the detector down, BUT NOT UNTIL YOU TURN OFF THE POWER TO IT PLEASE. Then turn the power back on and see if the problem happens anywhere else. If it's not a bad battery, which you have already determined, then the detector itself probably has gone bad. How long have they been there? Any clue? If you buy a new detector, remember to turn the power off again before installing it. And these things are very simple to install. It's just 2 wires (usually).
3. If this nightmare persists, you can always install some stand-alone battery-powered alarms and rely on those (changing batteries yearly). Kidde makes the best. Their smoke/CO detector runs on two AA batteries and costs about $50. Regular detectors run on 9V batteries and are around $20. If you do that, you are breaking code, but protecting your home QUIETLY. I have two in my home, one outside my office and bedroom and one combo detector between my kitchen and furnace. But if you ever sell the house, turn the power back on to the hardwired alarms. You never heard this from me! But I would rather see someone get a good night's sleep than have this nagging code-forced problem.
Good luck.
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