Smoke detectors are among the most important safety devices for your home. You never know when you’ll need them, but when you do, they’ll literally save your life.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, winter months are when homes are most at risk for fire-related accidents, due to an influx of candles, holiday decorations, and your furnace running non-stop.
The larger your home, the more smoke detectors you are likely to need, and the NFPA recommends that you install one on each floor, in each sleeping area, at the top of each staircase, and in the ceiling adjacent to the staircase if you are in a basement. After testing six smoke detectors, we found the three best ones that we recommend if you’re buying a new device or want to replace the old one.
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As the name suggests, this Kidde smoke detector is equipped with two sensors that allow it to effectively detect either type of fire.
Not surprisingly, it had the best performance in detecting a smoldering fire, averaging 24.1 seconds after initial exposure to smoke, and similarly the second-best performance of detection of a fast-burning fire, with an average of 17.9 seconds.
It is powered by a 9-volt, plate-mounted battery and features both “silence” and “test” buttons for weekly testing.
If you are looking for efficiency and reliability at an affordable price, the Kidde PI9010 is where your search begins.
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This ionization detector is perfect if you’re on a budget and just want to make sure your home has a reliable smoke detector. Featuring a compact size and easy installation, the Kidde FIREX i4618AC is battery powered, but you can also hook it up to a 120V circuit so battery life is never an issue.
As expected from an ionization detector, it scored the best in detecting a fast-burning fire in just 16.9 seconds, and the second-best in detecting a slow-burning fire, in 28 seconds. 1 seconds.
The only possible downside is that ionization detectors like this, in general, are prone to false alarms, triggered by pollutants that aren’t always smoke particles, which is the only reason why this smoke detector is not at the top of the list.
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If you’re looking for a high-tech device that you can control and communicate with, the Nest Protect is perfect for the task. It has a single button that has “silence”, “test” and “reset” functionality, and you can hardwire it to a 120-volt circuit or run it on a battery.
It has two alert modes: Heads-up, characterized by a yellow glow in the background when smoke levels increase, and Emergency, when the concentration of smoke in an area has reached a critical level, displaying a red light . The device will speak to you in English, letting you know which area of your home needs immediate attention. This is especially useful if you have a large house and need to know exactly where the emergency is.
The Nest app allows you to interconnect other Nest Protect smoke detectors in your home, displaying them all in one dashboard. From here you can easily disable and/or test any or all of your smoke detectors with the press of a button. Checks for sensors, alarm, voice, battery level and Wi-Fi connectivity are all part of the assessment.
The Nest Protect placed fourth in our speed of response test, but its feature-richness, versatility and smart features make it a great option for anyone looking to upgrade their smart home security game.
Read our Nest Protect (second gen) review.
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How We Test Smoke Detectors
When it comes to smoke detection, time is of the essence. That’s why we designed a test that simulates a real emergency situation.
The first thing to know is that there are two main types of fires these products are designed for: smoldering fires and flaming fires.
A smoldering (or smoldering) fire refers to combustion that occurs on the surface of a solid material. Smoldering fires produce large amounts of thick smoke but cannot sustain a flame. Think of a cigarette that burns slowly but never ignites.
A smoldering fire can and will become a flaming fire if proper action is not taken immediately.
Flaming fires are the ones we are most familiar with, and they usually result from the ignition of any flammable material, such as a flammable substance, wood, paper, etc. These generally produce less smoke than a smoldering fire but are obviously more destructive. .
We built a chamber that houses the smoke detector under test and passed the two different types of smoke through a chimney. Next, we timed the speed of response. The sooner the smoke detectors alarm, the better.
Smoke detection test chamber
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Smoke detection test in progress.
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To simulate the smoke from a smoldering fire, I lit 300g of charcoal and let it heat up for 10 minutes before feeding the smoke. I wanted to make sure most of the embers were lit and the smoke was thick enough to set off the alarm.
Recreating a blazing fire was easy, just 30g of shredded paper did the trick. Again, I made sure that a significant amount of smoke was present before passing it up the chimney and into the bedroom.
To the chagrin of my neighbors, who had to endure random smoke alarm triggers, and to whom I sincerely apologize, I repeated the entire process three times per model of smoke detector tested and per type. of smoke, for a total of six attempts per smoke. detector. Finally, I averaged the response times. You can see them in the table below:
Smoke Test Results
Other smoke detectors we’ve tested
First Alert SA320 Dual Sensor Smoke Detector: Ranked third in both tests, a solid option at an affordable price. The silence/test button is stiffer than most other models, which can be a pain if you’re trying to silence a false alarm or perform a weekly test.
Kidde Firex PI2010 Wired Dual Sensor Smoke Detector: Lowest overall performance for detecting a smoldering fire, taking 83 seconds. Second lowest performance of detecting a fast flaming fire, at 27.9 seconds. The device must be hard-wired, but it comes with a backup 9-volt battery.
Onelink Smart Battery Powered Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector by First Alert: This model looked great at first. Useful app-controlled smart features, and it can be paired with other smart home security devices, making it a strong contender for the best for the smart home. However, it didn’t impress us in the smoke test. It had the lowest performance at detecting a fast flaming fire and the second lowest performance at detecting a smoldering fire, taking almost twice as long as the Nest.
Smoke Detector FAQs
Are there different types of smoke detectors?
Typically, smoke detectors use different smoke detection mechanisms, such as photoelectric sensors, ionization sensors, or a combination of the two, called “dual sensors”. We don’t need to delve into the science behind them, but it’s useful to know that the main difference between the two is their ability to detect different types of smoke.
For example, a smoke detector with a photoelectric sensor is more effective at detecting slow-burning fires, while a smoke detector with an ionization sensor will better detect fast-burning ones. There are many “combo” or “dual sensor” smoke detectors that have both mechanisms, so you don’t have to worry about either eventuality.
My smoke detector goes off, but there is no smoke?
Some smoke detectors, such as dual sensors, and especially ionization detectors, are designed to detect disturbances in the circuitry of the device. The ionization sensor sits inside a chamber and has two electrically charged plates that ionize the air between them. When smoke particles enter the chamber, they occupy the air inside the plates, blocking the flow of ions and, therefore, triggering the alarm. Debris, dust, paint, cigarette smoke, dirt, and vapor particles can also have the same effect. Keep this in mind if you are remodeling your home or installing your smoke detector near a kitchen. If you suspect your smoke detector has been contaminated with foreign particles, clean it well. Which brings us to…
How to clean a smoke detector?
Smoke detectors will have instructions on how to clean the device in the user’s manual. However, there are a few simple solutions you can try if you don’t feel like searching for that elusive piece of paper. Take a hand vacuum or a vacuum cleaner fitted with the smallest nozzle. Then simply vacuum any loose spots you can find in your smoke detector. If you have an air blower, blow air to these places as well. If you are remodeling your home, be sure to cover your smoke detector or remove it from the work area to prevent it from going off when there is no smoke.
My smoke detector is whistling. What is the cause?
Most smoke detectors produce a low chirping sound, signaling that their batteries are low or that the unit itself needs to be replaced. This is a common feature of most smoke detectors, but it mostly occurs at night when the temperature in your home drops a few degrees. If the chirping continues during the day, it may be a sign of something else. Refer to your smoke detector manual for troubleshooting specific to your smoke detector model. Keep in mind that the average lifespan of a smoke detector is 10 years, so if your detector is close to that, it would be a good idea to play it safe and replace it.
