Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors for Winter

Where alarms belong

• Smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level, including the basement
• CO alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas, especially near attached garages and fuel-burning appliances
• Keep smoke alarms away from kitchens and bathrooms to cut nuisance alarms

Hardwired and interconnected

Hardwired, interconnected alarms sound together, so a fire in the basement wakes everyone upstairs. They have battery backup for outages. Pennsylvania requires CO detectors in residential buildings with fossil-fuel heaters, fireplaces or attached garages when they are sold or leased. An electrician can add or replace hardwired combination smoke/CO alarms in a few hours.

Replace old alarms

Smoke alarms should be replaced about every 10 years and CO alarms every 5 to 10 years, depending on the model. Check the date on the back. Test monthly and replace batteries yearly if they aren't sealed 10-year batteries.

Generator and outage CO risks

Most winter CO poisonings happen during power outages, from generators run in garages or too close to the house. Keep generators outside, 20 feet from openings, and have a CO alarm working on battery backup.

Get hardwired alarms installed →