Last night one of the smoke detectors in my house went off for just a few seconds and then quit. Roughly two minutes later it happened again and then that was it. I am certain that it was not the “low battery” beep. It was a full-volume alarm, but it was only for 2 seconds maximum each time. I heard the alarm coming from the detector on the second floor (the second time it went off, I was directly below it), but I believe all three of the detectors are connected and go off whenever any one of them is triggered. That means I can’t be sure which of them was triggered. I have heard of smoke detectors that also contain carbon monoxide detectors and the CO alarm goes off in this way (instead of a continuous alarm). I doubt that my smoke detectors also detect CO since there is no indication on the unit and they are not very big. I don’t remember the brand off the top of my head, but the house is 10 years old and the detectors are the kind that are also wired into the house’s AC power. My wife says something similar happened the other day, too. What could be happening?
Dust gathering around the sensor?
I’m sure there are combination units out there, but, it would definitely be embossed on the detector somewhere. I’d say no if they are ten years old. It is a fact that the hard wired detectors will all go off if one goes off. You say that only one went off, so, I’d give it a good cleaning with a soft brush attachment of your vacuum. Pull the batteries out of each one and test the batteries. If in doubt, put in new batteries.
The NFPA recommends replacement of smoke detectors that are 10 years old or older, primarily owing to what is called ‘sensitivity drift.’ The NFPA is concerned that detectors become less sensitive, yet I’ve seen pain-in-the-ass sensitivity, also.
Your detectors are hard wired (120 VAC powered) and you can replace them with the same type, upgrade to hard wire with battery backup, and/or smoke and carbon monoxide combination units. If your hot water or domestic heat is fossil fueled, the smoke/CO combination wouldn’t be a bad choice, at least on the floor where the heating appliances are located.
Whether or not you are capable of replacing them yourself isn’t something I can answer via the internet. Although it is not an involved process, electrical basics are necessary.
good morning friends,
i am a technician for a fire alarm company. friend dances with cats is right. if it is ten years old, they need to be replaced. a hard wired detector with no battery back up should be replaced anyway. it is a very simple process.
hard wired detectors will only set each other off if they are wired correctly. typically the wiring harness has black, white and orange wires. the black is the hot, the white is the neutral and the orange is the wire that interconnects the detectors allowing a common alarm. often, the wiring connectin the detectors is not present due to the way the house was wired by the electrical contractor.
household smoke detectors are not really very expensive and if there is the slightest doubt that they are working properly they should be replaced. i replace the smoke detectors and the carbon monoxide detectors in my house every other year.