How to Choose the Right Smoke Alarm for Your Home

Figure out how many units you will need. In smaller homes, one smoke alarm is sufficient if the bedrooms are all connected by a single hallway, since you'll install the smoke alarm in the hall. Two-story homes should have at least one alarm on the first floor and one on the second. You can provide additional alarms. Most manufacturers will list the effectiveness distance on the product. Before you choose an alarm, measure your square footage and distances to sleeping spaces to ensure that you are getting enough units.

Consider any special needs. Alarms are available for the hearing-impaired, and there are also units with a voice alarm. This is to wake sleeping children and can be recorded in a parent's voice with instructions on what to do.

Decide if you will be hard-wiring the units or using battery power. The battery units work fine, but you have to remember to change the batteries once a year. Hard-wiring can connect all the units to a central electrical source so you don't have to remember to maintain them. Hard-wiring will require the services of an electrician.

Find a model with both ionization sensors that "smell" smoke and photoelectric sensors that "see" smoke. This is good protection against smoldering or flaming fires. The cost will be higher to have both types of sensors, but it's better to have your family well-protected than to try to save a few dollars.

Make sure the sensor you purchase has an Underwriters Laboratory recommendation and a test button. The unit should have a button to silence false alarms so you are not tempted to disable the unit. This is handy in the "smoking oven" scenario.

Install your units after you have chosen the right ones for you. Most units require you to screw them into the ceiling. The hard-wiring method will need a skilled home electrician or a professional. Keep the sensors dusted and the covers vacuumed so they can accomplish their important task consistently.