Smoke detectors are one of the most important safety features a home can have. The challenge is to make sure they operate without fail.
Other than routine battery checks and replacement, the National Fire Protection Association recommends that you replace all battery-operated smoke detectors after no more than 10 years.
Here’s why:
- On average, 3% of all smoke detectors fail each year;
- After 10 years, a smoke detector is 30% likely to fail;
- After 30 years, it’s a virtual guarantee it will fail;
- Each year, more than 3,200 Americans lose their lives in residential fires.
Here are some safety tips to live by:
- In-home safety can be enhanced by up to 80% when you install an automatic fire sprinkler system along with smoke detectors.
- You’ll also enhance the safety of your home and family when you replace your battery-powered smoke detectors with hard-wired units. Each of these has a battery back-up so, even if your home should lose power, the smoke detectors will still function should the need arise. Plus, hard-wired smoke detectors send a signal to each other so when one alarm sounds, they all do. That gives everyone in your house an equal opportunity to take immediate appropriate action.
- Some hard-wired smoke detectors also have heat sensors which greatly reduce the chance for false alarms, like those triggered by your tea kettle or steam from your shower enclosure.
Who installs hard-wired smoke detectors here in the Greater Omaha, Council Bluffs area? We do: Burton AC, Heating, Plumbing & Electrical. We’re your local Omaha electricians on the job, 24/7, to help ensure your family’s ongoing safety. For more information or to schedule installation of a new set of hard-wired smoke detectors, contact us today.
