If your alarms use regular batteries, swap in fresh batteries at least once a year. A “chirping” sound means that it's time to change batteries. Because alarm sensors wear out, replace each alarm at least every 10 years. Also, alarms have labels showing when they were made.
Consistent Chirping
The battery may need to be replaced. An alarm will chirp every 30 to 60 seconds for a minimum of seven days. With a "low battery" announcement, disconnect the unit and replace the batteries.
A: Beeping or chirping smoke detectors are about as annoying as it gets. You might already know that a chirp every 30 to 60 seconds indicates a low battery, so you'll quickly attend to changing it. This typically solves the problem, whether the alarm runs entirely on batteries or is hardwired with a battery backup.
5 chirps (about 1x per minute): End-of-life (EOL) chirp
Use the Test/Silence button to hush the warning. After about 2 days, the warning will resume. After ~2-3 weeks, the warning cannot be silenced. Replace with a new alarm as soon as possible.
3 Chirps approx. every 20 seconds Off Off Condition: Sensor Trouble/Sensor End-of-Life Alarm. Recommendation: Reset the alarm. If this does not clear the problem, replace alarm.
What Does an Emergency Alarm Chirp Mean? This meaning is probably the most self-explanatory. When your carbon monoxide detector chirps 4 times in a row and pauses, this means it has detected unsafe levels of carbon monoxide. This means your entire household should evacuate immediately and seek fresh air.
Smoke alarms alert you with three beeps in a row. Carbon monoxide alarms alert you with four beeps. A single chirp means the battery is low or the detector should be replaced.
This battery characteristic can cause a smoke alarm to enter the low battery chirp mode when air temperatures drop. Most homes are the coolest between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. That's why the alarm may sound a low-battery chirp in the middle of the night, and then stop when the home warms up a few degrees.
Your alarm manufacturer may have included a blinking red light to let you know it's time to test the alarm again. The Batteries are Low: Usually accompanied by a loud beep, a blinking red light could mean the batteries in the unit are low. Consider adding fresh batteries and running a test to make sure it's working.
Most battery powered smoke detectors will beep for a minimum of 30 days before the battery dies. You'll know the battery is losing charge if you hear consistent beeping every 30 to 60 seconds.
It's time to change the battery
Low batteries are the most common reason smoke detectors beep or send a trouble signal to your security panel, when there is no smoke or fire. As the battery weakens, the device will beep regularly to let you know it's time to replace it.
A smoke alarm will eventually stop chirping if you do nothing. Once the battery has run out completely, the device will switch to residual power. Eventually, this will also drain and the device won't have enough power to beep and let you know it's out of power. You should change the battery before this happens.
But most smoke detectors are instead designed to go off when their electrical current goes down. That's because smoke in the air will reduce the current. If your battery is dying, the current that's flowing through your sensor also goes down. And so you can get a false positive.
The smoke alarm is desensitized by pushing the Test/Hush button on the smoke alarm cover. If the smoke is not too dense, the alarm will silence immediately and the red LED blinks every 10 seconds. This indicates that the alarm is in a temporarily desensitized condition.
Low Battery
As the battery in a smoke alarm becomes weak, the smoke alarm will "chirp" about once a minute to alert you that the battery needs to be replaced. Note: Only the alarm with a low battery will chirp. No signal is sent through the interconnect wire. The other alarms will be silent.
Some smoke alarms also double as carbon monoxide detectors. When it gets cold outside, it's normal for people to crank up the heat. Furnaces, space heaters, fireplaces — these are some solutions to warming up a home.
When smoke detectors are activated by the by-products of combustion (smoke) they emit a loud screeching noise. If the detector is just emitting an intermittent “chirping” noise it means that the battery needs to be replaced.
If the carbon monoxide concentration in the air is much higher, signs of poisoning may occur within 1-2 hours. A very high carbon monoxide concentration can even kill an exposed individual within 5 minutes.
The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.
If your First Alert smoke alarm beeps 3 times after a new battery is installed, try replacing the battery first. If the issue persists, check to make sure that the battery drawer is sliding in and out easily and completely.
Three beeps, at 15-minute intervals = MALFUNCTION. The unit is malfunctioning. Contact the manufacturer or the retailer where you purchased the alarm.
Low Battery
As the battery in a smoke alarm gets weak, the smoke alarm will “chirp” about once a minute to let you know that the battery needs to be replaced. Note: Only the device with a low battery will chirp. The other interconnected alarms should be silent.