Smoke Detector Advice

We are about to start using an attic space that was previously used for storage. We need a smoke detector and carbon monoxide up there so I figured that we should redo all detectors with the interconnected ones (since I would never hear if the attic one was actually going off if I were on the ground floor). My only option is battery operated. I researched and apparently the best detectors are dual Photoelectric and Ionization. Great, but I cannot find a detector that meets all of these requirements. Is there a secret place that sells these or what do you advise? 

• Battery operated / wireless
• Interconnected / wireless
• dual Photoelectric and Ionization
• dual carbon monoxide and smoke detector

Nest. Hands down, the best.  

https://nest.com/smoke-co-alarm/meet-nest-protect/

kmk said:

Nest. Hands down, the best.  

https://nest.com/smoke-co-alarm/meet-nest-protect/

That looks interesting.  We had a CO/smoke detector made by Kidde that malfunctioned after less than a year. When it went off I assumed it was CO since I wasn't even cooking, but then realized that the stupid thing was saying "Fire" in between the three long beeps.  It was so loud and jarring that the kids were upset when we went out and purchased a new one to replace the busted one. At $65 I wish it had lasted more than a year, and unfortunately I don't have the receipt or packaging so I can't even try to get a refund on the stupid thing.  If the current one breaks I might look at the Nest.  It costs a bit more, but has more options and since the Kidde ones seem to malfunction (google found quite a few results with the same issue I had) it would be money well spent.

if you are going the battery operated wireless interconnected go for the first alert onelink... it comes in photoelectric/ionization....  they also make a combination co and smoke detector (either photo electric or ionization)  they sell these on amazon...the brk brand and first alert are the same.... if you need a bunch these work well together, much cheaper than nest.  We have hardwired interconnected ones(10 total in the house) if you need both dual ionization and photoelectric with CO, you will need 2 detectors up in the attic.... they will talk to each other.

I find this thread both entirely morbid and helpful...

lanky said:

I find this thread both entirely morbid and helpful...

I understand helpful, but why morbid?  We are all taking steps to specifically AVOID dying in our sleep from avoidable circumstances.  

If you have a monitored alarm system, get ones that connect to it for peace of mind when you're not in the house. If not, then a system of Nests would do the trick. Not cheap but well worth it. Having non-connected detectors this day-and-age seems like a risk you shouldn't have  to take, especially if you're out of town much.

Wow, this group is informed and fast. Thanks!

note that inter-connected hard wired systems still have batteries-so they still BEEP!  aghhh!

oots said:

note that inter-connected hard wired systems still have batteries-so they still BEEP!  aghhh!

True, but for a good reason. You don't want to be unprotected during a power outage. We lost power for nine days after Sandy and also for a week in July during the microburst from a few years before that.  

spontaneous said:

oots said:

note that inter-connected hard wired systems still have batteries-so they still BEEP!  aghhh!

True, but for a good reason. You don't want to be unprotected during a power outage. We lost power for nine days after Sandy and also for a week in July during the microburst from a few years before that.  

yes, I know

they are backup batteries and last longer than just plain battery operated.  Also you could install lithium batteries which last at lot longer... There are battery operated models that last 10 years which are the max lifespan of all detectors.

Sealed batteries are rated for 10 years, however if your detector has replaceable batteries then they recommend replacing them at least yearly. Batteries don't cost that much and doing so makes sure the detector will be working when you need and and also cuts down on the chances of you being woken up at 2 am by the low battery chirp.  

When our house was rewired, we installed interconnected, powered, battery-backed-up smoke (Kidde, dual sensor) and CO detectors (Kidde also). One smoke was much too sensitive (figured that out by swapping them around), so we simply replaced that one. Otherwise it's been trouble free for several years.

Most alarm monitoring systems don't allow cross connections however (which is really strange but appears to be the norm), so that means we ALSO have smoke and CO detectors for our monitored alarm system; it's redundant, but in this case, I don't mind redundancy.

The Nest smoke detectors don't beep when the power goes out.  They speak to you and say something like, "This is the first floor smoke detector. My battery is low."  To silence the voice you just wave your hand underneath the device.  It is silenced by the motion.  No need to climb on a chair etc.

One other thing about the Nest smoke detectors is that they have a really nice feature only visible at night.  They emit a bright downward glow whenever anyone walks under them creating a sort of nightlight in the upstairs hallway for example.

kmk said:

The Nest smoke detectors don't beep when the power goes out.  They speak to you and say something like, "This is the first floor smoke detector. My battery is low."  To silence the voice you just wave your hand underneath the device.  It is silenced by the motion.  No need to climb on a chair etc.

One other thing about the Nest smoke detectors is that they have a really nice feature only visible at night.  They emit a bright downward glow whenever anyone walks under them creating a sort of nightlight in the upstairs hallway for example.

This has nothing to do with what the OP was asking about, but reminded me of a funny story.  When my grandmother was still living alone but was starting to have issues that hinted at dementia, she called us up and was upset because someone was "playing games" with her.  She said she kept hearing a woman talking in her basement, but that every time she went down to see who was in the basement the voice would be quiet so she couldn't find who was talking down there.  She figured if it was a radio left on by accident then the voice would still be talking when she went down, but every time she got down there she heard nothing but silence.  I went over to help her out and it turned out that (this time at least) it wasn't in her head.  The basement smoke alarm had a female voice that every couple of minutes would announce "low battery" or something like that, loud enough that she could hear it from her kitchen.