Time to Replace Smoke Detectors-Looking for Recommendations

Bigwig - 3 months ago

Looking for recommendations on smoke detectors, CO2 detectors, and heat detectors.

Like a lot of devices, smoke detectors have a limited life.  My reminder was when my plug-in CO2 detector started beeping at 3AM with the message ‘end’, which means it is the end of life.  Guess what happened at 3AM the next night?  My second (of three) CO2 detectors did the same thing.

I currently have Kidde.  I’m done with them because of false alarms.  We had so many in the middle of the night that everyone had ear protection next to their bed.  I ended up contacting Kidde and of the seven that I have, five were replaced.  They claimed that there were a lot of issues with the dual sensor units.

This is my current plan:

• Smoke alarm: First Alert hard-wired/battery backup dual photoelectric and ionization sensors
• Heat sensors (for garage): First Alert hard-wired/battery backup
• CO2: BRK (First Alert) combination explosive gas and CO2 plug-in/battery backup 

Thought process:

• I didn’t go with dual smoke detector/CO2 units because I’d rather get a dual sensor smoke detector and a separate CO2 detector.  By doing a separate CO2 detector, I can get combo explosive gas/CO2 unit for each floor.
• My home inspector recommended heat sensors in the garage due to the false alarms from vehicle exhaust.
• I like the newer tech where you can connect you smartphone, but they are too expensive. 
• I don’t really see much benefit for Wi-Fi connected devices in my situation since I already have the electrical wiring infrastructure in my house.

Thoughts?