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Smart/Wireless

If you love telling Alexa or Siri to turn on your lights or turn down the air conditioning, you’re in luck. Smart smoke detectors also exist, and like hard-wired ones, they’re interconnected to alert your entire home. Some systems, like Google Nest Protect, can send alerts to your phone and connect to an external monitoring system.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get smart protection, though. “There are smart alarms on the market that detect smoke, carbon monoxide (CO) and other issues in one system,” McKelvey says. “But they offer no advantage in detecting or alerting people to fire over other hard-wired or wireless smoke alarm systems.”

Simple wireless smoke detectors, like First Alert’s wireless smoke alarm, use wireless tech to interconnect. They’re easy to install and provide great protection at a reasonable price.

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The Most Important Thing

No matter what kind of smoke alarms you buy, McKelvey says, make sure they work! Check to see they bear the mark of an independent testing laboratory, like UL or Intertek, to ensure they’ve been tested to established safety standards.

Test smoke alarms monthly, and replace them every 10 years to ensure maximum effectiveness. (Reduce that to every seven years for CO/fire combination detectors.) If you’re not sure when your smoke alarm was installed, check the manufacture date listed on the device.

“In the end, having the proper number of working smoke alarms installed [regardless of the type] in the correct locations is key when it comes to safety,” McKelvey says.