Why Do Smoke Alarms Suddenly Start Chirping at 2 A.M.?

9/23/2020 (Permalink)

A fire alarm is perhaps the single most cost-effective means of protecting your family in your home. However, they can have a comparatively minor downside: When the battery is low, they start making a chirping sound.
While it always seems like it begins in the middle of the night, it’s going to start happening any time the alarm detects a low battery. This noise means that your fire alarm is going to become ineffective at detecting fires soon — and it’s annoying on purpose!

Are Smoke Detectors Worth the Hassle?

Yes! This can’t possibly be overstated: A detector can be key to saving lives in a home. According to the National Fire Protection Statistics:

• Most deaths from fires happen in homes without a working detector.
  
• The death rate more than doubles without a smoke alarm.
  
• 43% of smoke alarm malfunctions were caused by battery issues.
  
  

If you do nothing else for safety, get a smoke alarm. They’re cheap and they save thousands of lives in the United States every year.

What Causes an Alarm to Chirp?
As batteries age, the voltage they produce is gradually reduced. The detector doesn’t require much energy, but once the battery hits a pre-set voltage point, it triggers the alarm to issue the low-battery alert. As soon as the chirp starts sounding, your smoke detector has passed a threshold where its ability to detect fires is below an acceptable level.

How Soon Do You Need to Change the Battery?
The biggest problem with a chirping fire alarm is that people often just unplug the battery. Obviously, this renders the alarm entirely ineffective at its job. Not only is this risky for the family, but early warning of a fire can drastically reduce fire damage to your property. Ideally, you should change the battery every six months. Most experts recommend doing so at the bi-annual time changes for Daylight Savings Time.
If you’ve had smoke damage in Lake Ida, FL, an experienced fire restoration company can quickly remove the toxic residue and sanitize your home. However, with a functioning smoke alarm, you may be able to avoid such a problem altogether.