What type of smoke alarm should I buy?

3/2/2020 (Permalink)

There are many brands of smoke alarms on the market, but they fall under two basic types: ionization and photoelectric. Ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms detect different types of fires. Since no one can predict what type of fire might start in their home, the USFA recommends that every home and place where people sleep have:

Both ionization AND photoelectric smoke alarms. OR Dual sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.

Choose interconnected smoke alarms, so when one sounds, they all sound.

There are also alarms for people with hearing loss. These alarms may have strobe lights that flash and/or vibrate to alert those who are unable to hear standard smoke alarms when they sound.