hard wired ones do not use the battery, unless the power is out.

"hard wired ones do not use the battery, unless the power is out."

The hard wired ones all come with a backup battery now, and it will need to be replaced just from age.

What do people in wheel chairs do?

Relatives, neighbors, the kids on the block.

I've changed ceiling light bulbs for the in-laws, they were in their 80's.

This is a problem and I don't have an answer. Wish I did. An older person I know got so annoyed with the hardwired smokes in her house griping about their dying backup batteries that she insisted that her grandson remove all the smokes. I've tried to convince her to have them put back, but she won't hear of it. :(

I'm not sure there is any solution except to get some able help. To work properly, all smoke detectors need to be mounted on the ceiling or on a high point on a wall, regardless of what type they are.

Thanks so much. I wonder, if I hard wired and just didn't put in the back up battery would the alarms still work? Assuming the wiring worked.

I've seen some comment here about only really needing the alarms in bedrooms. Is that true most places? My house is a two story shoebox and one in the hall is less then 4 feet from the one in each of two bedrooms. The other end of the 15- 20 foot hall is the same way except the second room is a bath. Between the two ends are two rooms each with alarms. That's 8 just upstairs. I think there are 6 downstairs.

Trying to find out which battery is beeping has become the central focus of my at home time. Is hard wiring very expensive? Do I need to find a contractor or can an electrician do it? Thanks for any and all info.

Li

In many places, the fire department will send someone to help with battery replacement- at no charge. Placing smoke detectors low is not good practice.

A hardwired unit without a battery is liable to beep incessantly.

A missing battery looks like a dead battery.

couldnt u just solder wires to the + and- to a transformer plug in the utility room?

I would be disinclined to modify smoke detectors...

There is no good solution that you are not going to argue about. What about light bulbs in ceiling fans or in ceiling fixtures or in a closet,or,or,or? Now, unless these people are feeble or infirm or have 12 ft. ceilings, have they expressed this concern to you? If any of these issues exist, the only sure thing is for you or someone else to help!

IT IS JUST TO FEED THEM POWER, NOT DAMAGING THEM IN ANY WAY. AS LONG AS THE POWER IS ON, THERE WILL BE NO PROBLEM. THEY WILL THINK THERE IS A BATTE3RY, AND WE WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM.

They do sell sealed lithium battery smoke alarms for a few extra dollars. The manufactures claim they last 10 years. You would still have to put them up once, but then you are done for quite a while.

Bill, that's a good idea. I've also seen 9v lithium batteries intended for existing smokes. Not cheap at something like $10 each, but maybe worth it for the long term peace of mind.

The battery in a hard wired smoke detector is there to make sure it can still warn of a fire in a power failure. Replacing that battery with a line-powered adapter defeats that purpose. No way would I ever suggest that.

Guys, thanks so much for discussing this. I will try the fire department here and look into the long term lithium batteries first, then work on finding an electrician to see if the house can be hard wired.

It sounds like hard wiring is the most sensible long term solution. I'm glad I brought this to you, I've learned a lot. Once the house is wired, I'll try Smithy's suggestion and let you all know if the alarm beeps without the battery or just if the battery is dead.

Many thanks to you all, and
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE on Tuesday
Li

Even hard wired smoke detectors have a battery that WILL need replacement.

Even lithium batteries have a shelf life.

It sounds like hard wiring is the most sensible long term solution.
Even hard wired ones have a battery in them that will in time start to beep.

I suggest you get new ones and place them hanging on a nail high up on a wall, where you can then get them down to access the battery more easily. To avoid having to do that sometime in the night, just replace the batteries 'regularly' before they wear down and start to beep...like once a year put in fresh batteries.

I work with some non-profit organization who replace smoke detectors and batteries for the seniors at not cost to them.

From time to time, the smoke detector companies provide the fire departments with FREE smoke detectors, which in turn get installed by one of the local charity groups! So start with your local fire department and see if they have such a program. Or, they may be able to tell you if there is a charity group that does provide that type of service to seniors. Also, check with some of the local church groups as some have a group of gentlemen who provide that service at no charge to the senior!

Several yrs ago we received a pallet of smoke detectors that had the lithium batteries and was a sealed unit. When the unit stopped working i.e. 10 Yrs., you replaced the unit!

Now we recently received some wireless smoke detectors for use in older homes that do not have hard wired detectors. When installed, if one unit goes off, they all will go off! And for the life of me I can't remember what type of batteries they used. Sorry!

Hope this helps!

AL

do you live in higgins, higgins? just curious.

My mother is 91 and can’t even make toast and her smoke alarm goes off. If she doesn’t have a heart attack from the noise of the smoke alarm I don’t know what she can do. I live 6 hours away from her and she definitely wants to live in her own home.

Replace all the batteries once a year, even if they don't need to be replaced. I do it on Halloween! Loss of power is a common result of fires, which is why the hard-wired ones also have batteries. I hope the fire department or some agency will help you with this. Good luck!

The new ones have 10 year batteries - indeed, in my state they are mandatory.

Batteries 10 Year Life, Non-Replaceable

I can't find any hard wired ones with 10 years batteries. Hard wiring has benefits in addition to long battery life and in my area they are mandatory.

Try Googling on: smoke detector hard wired 10 year battery

You'll find many, many detectors available - you know, the hard wired ones with ten year backup batteries.

When I said I couldn't find them, I'll admit I didn't try Google, I just went to my favorite BB stores. Maybe when mine are 10 years old, I'll try again (don't they have to be replaced any 10 years anyway?).

Commercial fire alarm systems don't have backup batteries at each device. There is one battery (rechargeable I think) at the fire alarm panel. The sensors are a separate device from the alarm device, so a smoke detector could be in a 20 ft. ceiling and the alarm could be where an individual is most likely to hear it. The alarms also can have strobe light notification so those who are hard of hearing know the alarm has gone off.

Who mentioned "Commercial" detectors?

smoke detector hard wired 10 year battery mentioned above all have 10 year backup batteries associated with each and every detector.