The green light on my smoke alarm has gone out, what does this mean? The AC power has been interrupted. Check the circuit breaker and AC wiring to correct the problem.
Smoke detector shows steady green light – no alarm
Battery and electrical power smoke detectors will usually have a steady green light to let you know the detector has electrical power and is in working order.
First Alert and BRK alarms have a power indicator light to show you that your alarm is receiving power. Some alarms have a red or green light that blinks every few minutes, while other models blink rapidly or shine a solid light. The light isn't a cause for concern unless the alarm is also beeping or chirping.
Press and hold the test button on the smoke detector. It can take a few seconds to begin, but a loud, ear-piercing siren should emanate from the smoke detector while the button is pressed. If the sound is weak or nonexistent, replace your batteries.
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.
A smoke detector blinking red could mean: It's Working Properly: Some brands use an occasional red blinking light to indicate the unit is working properly.
If your alarm is hardwired into your home's electrical system, replace the backup battery at least every 6 months and replace the smoke alarm itself once every 10 years.
Here's a simple guide: 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.
You can also use real smoke to test the smoke sensor. To do this, light two or three matches, and hold them together a few feet underneath the detector. The smoke from the matches should cause the alarm to sound if the detector is functioning properly. If it doesn't sound, replace the detector immediately.
The mains powered smoke alarms have a green indicator. Smoke Alarms have a red light that goes off every 40 to 60 seconds to tell you if they're working. When the smoke alarm is activated, the red light flashes continuously.
Typically, a smoke alarm has a red and green light to allow you to understand the system is working properly. However, there are other models that will integrate a third light indicator to separate when a malfunction, power source, and a simple battery replacement might be needed.
A carbon monoxide detector is a must for any home and just as important as a smoke detector. CO detectors should be placed near all bedrooms; they're the only way you will know if carbon monoxide is affecting the air quality in your home, and can help prevent serious illness and even death.
While smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are a critical part of protecting your home and family, they will not detect a natural gas leak; you'll need a natural gas detector for that. However, carbon monoxide detectors can alert you when your appliances improperly burn natural gas.
Carbon monoxide is a gas that has no odor, color or taste. You wouldn't be able to see or smell it, but it can be very dangerous to your health and even fatal.
Check for a Fire
If your smoke alarm won't stop going off, reset the alarm after first checking that there is no actual fire in your home.
Dust, Dirt and Environmental Smoke
Dust and dirt that comes from activities like remodeling may set off your smoke alarms. To clean your smoke alarm, open it up carefully, and look inside for dust or dirt. Use a vacuum attachment or electronic aerosol cleaner to remove dust particles.
It's a sound many homeowners have heard: the 3 a.m. alarm chirp. Why does it happen? Well, it's a simple matter of the battery's charge level and a home's air temperature. As a smoke alarm's battery nears the end of its life, the amount of power it produces causes an internal resistance.
You Hear a Chirping Sound
A smoke alarm that needs attention will chirp for a long time, sometimes indefinitely, if it is hardwired to your electricity. But you'll want to make sure you take action ASAP once you hear that sound because it means the batteries in the smoke detector are going bad and need to be replaced.
Battery smoke detectors run solely on batteries. Hardwired smoke detectors run on electricity, but they also have a backup battery for power outages. When you hear a hard-wired smoke detector beeping, it means you need to replace its battery.
Hardwired alarms often have a battery backup just in case the electrical power goes out. If you take the battery out of one of these units and your power goes out, the alarm will fail to sound and warn you of the danger.
If your smoke detector has a blinking red light that flashes every 10 seconds, it means that it is reacting from the after-effects of smoke and is in a temporary desensitized state. When the smoke is no longer heavy in the air, the smoke detector should silence its alarm and the red light will start blinking.
Opening a window will slow carbon monoxide poisoning, but it likely won't stop it. There simply isn't enough airflow through most windows to get rid of the poisonous gas, and it could take between four and eight hours for the CO to dissipate entirely.
Self Checks/At-Home Testing
There isn't a self-diagnosis option for carbon monoxide poisoning, but anyone with confusion or a loss of consciousness should have 911 called for them.