• Coin Cell Safety

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• Battery Care

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• Battery Education

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• Fire Safety

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• Storm Prep

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• Hearing Loss Statistics

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• Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide

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• 2012 Top Toys Gift Guide

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• Product Innovation

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Fire Safety

1. What kind of battery should I be using in my smoke detector? click here

Know the Law

• Recent legislation in some states and municipalities has increased the popularity of the 9V Lithium battery as they are now requiring a 10 year lithium battery in many smoke detectors and this is the only battery that will satisfy the requirement.
  
  
• Oregon, Louisiana, and Michigan are known states with smoke detector battery requirement laws. The city of Madison, WI is an example of a municipality with smoke detector battery requirement laws. The popularity of these laws continue to increase so be sure to check with your local authorizes to make sure you’re complying with the rules and regulations.

Know your battery options:

Best:  Rayovac 9V Lithium

• This battery is the most powerful battery so it will give you the longest service life in your smoke detector. If you have a free standing smoke detector, either ionization or photoelectric, you  should use this battery as these detectors depend soley on you replacing the battery to ensure they work. This battery will last up to 10 years in ionization smoke detectors and up to 7 years in photoelectric smoke detectors (both free standing versions).
  
  
• People with hardwired smoke detectors should consider this battery to save time in replacing smoke alarm batteries. Many people use this battery for those hard to reach smoke detectors that require a lot of effort to test and change the battery.
  
  
• We recommend you continue to test your smoke detector at a minimum of twice a year in the rare case of either a smoke detector or early battery failure. A great reminder is to test them every time you change your clock for daylight savings.
  
  
• Where to buy: This is available nationwide at Home Depot and is a great value for a 2 pack at $9.97. This can also be found in many other area hardware stores and other local retailers.
  
  
• Please note that Energizer also carries a 9V lithium product however, it will not last 10 years in a free standing unit as it has lower miliamp hours.

Better: Rayovac  9V Alkaline

 

• This is the most popular 9V battery chemistry sold because of its reasonable cost and great service life. This battery will last up to 5 years in an ionization smoke detector and up to 3 years in a photo electric alarm (both free standing versions).
  
  
• We recommend you continue to test your smoke detector at a minimum of twice a year in the rare case of either a smoke detector or early battery failure. A great reminder is to test them every time you change your clock for daylight savings.
  
  
• Where to buy: this is the most widely available 9V battery. You will find this in most major retailers including Walmart, Target, and Menards, as well as local grocery, hardware, and other stores. At Walmart a 3 pack of Alkaline 9V batteries costs $5.97

Good: Rayovac 9V Heavy Duty

• This is the standard battery that many inexpensive smoke detectors come with.  This is the least expensive option and it also has the shortest service life, only lasting up to 2 years in an ionization smoke detector and only up to 1 year in a photoelectric smoke detector (both free standing versions).
  
  
• This battery is ideal for families or businesses that have a routine to change their smoke detector batteries either bi-annually or annually.
  
  
• We recommend you test your smoke detector monthly in the rare case of either a smoke detector or early battery failure.
  
  
• Where to buy: This is available nationwide at Walmart where a 2 pack costs only $0.97. There is limited availability elsewhere.
  
  

Remember, never use a rechargeable battery in a smoke detector as brands vary greatly on how fast they lose their charge (some lose it in just one month) and are not designed for usage in smoke detectors.

Also, remember when purchasing brands other than Rayovac performance may be lower than we stated in our recommendations on the Rayovac products above.

2. What kind of smoke detector do you have? click here

First, determine if your smoke detector is hardwired into your home or is a free standing unit.

 

• Hardwired smoke detectors will have wires that go into your wall and hook up to your electrical system. If there are no wires attached to your smoke detector that go into the wall you have a free standing unit that depends solely on battery power.
  
  
• While hardwired smoke detectors are powered through your main electrical system they always have a back up battery in case of power outages. In hardwired smoke detectors you have to change your batteries less often since the majority of the time your smoke detector is powered by your main electrical system.
  
  
• The main benefit of having a hardwired smoke detector system in your home is that all the smoke detectors in your home will go off at the same time, no matter what room the fire is detected in. This helps family members in unaffected areas of the house to get out safely before the fire reaches their area of the house.

Next you should know if you have a photoelectric or ionization smoke detector.

• To determine whether you have an ionization-type or photoelectric-type smoke alarm, look at the label on the back of the alarm. If it's an ionization type there will be a statement on the label similar to the following: "This device contains 0.9 microcurie of americium." If such a statement is not on the label then you have a photoelectric alarm.
  
• Photoelectronic smoke detectors drain batteries faster than ionization types so you'll have to change the battery more often.