Smoke detectors with fully functional batteries are critical to the safety of your family and home. It is recommended for you not to wait for the low-bat alarm to occur but to replace the battery on a regular schedule practically. Most detectors will operate about six months on a battery, so the strategy is to replace batteries twice a year. But do you know how to do the replacement? Read on to know how to change smoke alarm battery.
The Signs You Need Battery Replacement in Your Smoke Detector
Installing smoke alarms helps keep your home and family safe. Smoke detectors may be either battery-powered or wired directly into a home’s electrical system. But almost all smoke detectors, including those that run on household current, has a battery. Detectors that are hardwired to your home’s electrical system use a battery to provide backup power in case there is a power interruption.
At times, you will likely notice a high-pitched chirping noise coming from your smoke detector if the batteries need to be changed, because it may happen even during the wee hours. It is best to anticipate and replace the batteries in your smoke detector before that particular noise occurs.
Both the battery-operated and household-current smoke detectors produce the previously-mentioned beeping or chirping low-battery alarm. This alarm is different than the deafening like that of a blaring fire alarm that occurs during a fire. It is not a constant blast but an occasional chirp or beep only.
If you have more smoke detectors in your house, it can be tricky to figure out which among them is chirping. Obviously, the lower the battery gets, the more the detector chirps. That is why you need to know when and how to change smoke alarm battery.
How Often to Replace Smoke Detector Battery
It would help if you always replaced your smoke detector battery immediately after it emits a warning beep or chirp, indicating that it is low.
Most manufacturers of smoke detectors recommend that you replace the battery at least one time per year. But it makes sense to change all of the batteries semi-annually at a convenient time.
If you live in an area that uses daylight savings time, this can be used as a reminder for replacing the battery. Within one year, replace the battery once when switching to daylight savings time, then replace it a second time when turning back to standard time. It is best to educate yourself on how to change smoke alarm battery for your convenience and safety.
How to Replace Smoke Detector Batteries
Smoke detectors’ battery replacement operations vary, but the following are the essential and straightforward steps on how to change smoke alarm battery:
- You need to access the smoke detector with a ladder or chair as most of these devices are mounted on the ceiling. A few may be mounted high on a wall.
- Most smoke detectors must be detached from the ceiling to replace the battery, though some do have a front-loading door. You need to twist the detector counter-clockwise. The smoke detector is then removed, with the mounting plate remaining on the ceiling. Some smoke detectors are designed to be tamper-resistant to prevent children from removing the device, so you need to disengage the locking pin.
- Change the detector’s battery as directed by the smoke detector instruction manual.
- This time, place the smoke detector back in the mounting bracket and slightly twist clockwise, and the smoke detector will be engaged to its mounting plate.
- Finally, test the smoke detector with the testing button that is usually located on the unit’s face.
Testing Your Smoke Alarm Battery
It is recommended you test your smoke detectors at least once a month to ensure they are working correctly. If a nine-volt battery powers your smoke alarms, the battery should be replaced regularly every six months, while the detector itself should be replaced once every ten years.
For ten-year lithium-powered smoke alarms, there is no need to replace the battery. Instead, replace the entire alarm after ten years of having them. If your smoke detector happens to be hardwired into your home’s electrical system, you should also replace the backup battery at least every six months and replace the unit itself every ten years. Here’s how to learn more about Smoke Alarms.
Conclusion
The smoke alarms in your home play a crucial role in keeping you and your family safe by alerting you to potential dangers. It’s quite underrated, but the battery in your smoke detector is vital to your family’s safety device and the safety. That is why you must know how to change a smoke alarm battery because it is no help if you have the best smoke alarms without working batteries.