The best thing about these carbon monoxide detectors is that they also do the double duty of detecting smoke. These battery-operated units save you from the trouble of hard-wiring them. These detector-alarms are not expensive and may save you from potentially fatal situations. So, if your house doesn’t have a smoke detector as yet, here are the best battery-operated carbon monoxide and smoke detectors you must buy. Let’s check them out. But first,
1. Kidde Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector
Interestingly, Kidde smoke detectors last up to 10 years. It comes with conventional alarm and voice notifications. However, if it trips due to a power cut or surge, it will alert you with a Fire or Warning voice alert. The alarm’s volume is high enough that you can hear it even while you’re asleep.
The battery-powered design makes it great for rental apartments where you do not want to drill into drywalls or install long power cables. It comes with a test mode, where you can test the effectiveness of the smoke and carbon monoxide detector. This Kiddie smoke and carbon monoxide detector make for a good buy at an affordable price. But buying several units in bulk might turn out to be costly.
2. X-Sense SC06 Alarm
The feature that sets it apart from its counterparts is its fast response time. The smoke and other gases enter from the sides, and the people at MB Reviews found the SC06 to respond in about 18 seconds during their smoke test. At the same time, you can see the carbon monoxide concentration on the main screen when you hit the Test button on the device’s belly. If the device detects carbon monoxide concentration above 30 ppm above its stipulated period, it will sound an alarm to warn you.
This battery-operated smoke detector comes with a non-removable battery that lasts about 10 years. The carbon monoxide sensor means that the X-Sense SCo6 has a wide form factor and will stand out a little on your ceiling. That said, installing it is an easy task. You should have no issues if the base is mounted properly. At the same time, these X-Sense smoke detectors can pair with other SCo6 detectors, thus covering your entire house. So far, it sits high on the popularity ladder as users laud its battery life and easy installation.
3. First Alert SCO501CN-3 Wireless Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm
Interestingly, it announces the location when tripped, thus saving you precious seconds in hunting for the right smoke alarm. Moreover, setting it up or programming the location in each of these smoke detectors is no rocket science.
It bundles two types of sensors—Ionization and Photoelectric sensor. These can detect both large and small particles in case of fire. On the other hand, it uses an electrochemical Carbon Monoxide sensor to detect the presence of CO in the air. When the folks at MB Reviews put the SCO501CN-3ST through its paces, they found it to respond in approximately 22 seconds when they sprayed aerosol from a distance of 2 feet. The build quality is decent for the price. If you are in the market looking for connected smoke and battery-powered smoke and carbon monoxide detector, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Stay Alert
These were some of the best battery-operated smoke and carbon monoxide detectors you can buy. Most of these devices come with a test button. You’ll need to test the alarms periodically (once a month if you follow USFA’s recommendations). However, it’s important to remember that you should not use fire to test these alarms since it may make the alarm susceptible to reporting false alarms (smoke getting trapped inside). It’s wise to use an aerosol-based spray to test the effectiveness of the alarm. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
