Get your house up to (fire) code with these smoke detector installation tips
There should be at least one smoke detector on every level of your home.
Make sure to put alarms inside and outside of every bedroom.
Place smoke detectors on the ceiling or high on the wall.
Don’t install them in drafty areas or within 20 feet of your stove.
Choose interconnected alarms that beep at the same time if there’s a fire.
If there’s a fire in your home, your smoke detectors are the first line of defense, but to work properly, they need to be installed in the right places. When deciding where to put smoke detectors in your house, you’ll want to follow the national guidelines as well as your local building codes. Below, we’ll dive into these fire safety specifics so you can protect your home and family in an emergency.
You can install several different types of alarms to alert you to a fire or dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in your home. Because each is designed to detect a different risk, install each kind strategically throughout your home.
Heat detectors, or thermal detectors, detect heat rather than smoke. These alarms are a good choice for areas where smoke may occur naturally or more frequently, like a kitchen or garage. They go off when the room reaches a certain temperature, typically 135 degrees or 194 degrees.
Some models will also detect the rate of rise, which is when the temperature in the room rises at a certain rate, such as 15 degrees per minute.
Heat detectors don’t replace smoke detectors, but you can use them together for more fire protection. They’re also an excellent addition for areas like a crawl space or laundry room and come in battery-powered or hardwired units.
Smoke alarms detect the presence of smoke, but two types of sensors should be included in your home—photoelectric and ionization. A photoelectric smoke alarm detects slow-burning, smoldering fires, while ionization alarms are better at detecting flaming fires with lots of smoke. A dual smoke alarm offers both types of detection in one unit.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas produced by fuel-burning devices, including fireplaces, dryer vents, and furnaces. If a CO leak occurs, people in the home can experience headaches, confusion, fatigue, dizziness, and even death if they’re exposed for too long. CO detectors will alert you to this danger, allowing you time to evacuate the house immediately.
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Smoke detector laws depend on where you live, so you’ll need to contact your local building department to understand the rules in your area. Separately, there are national guidelines set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that you should follow.
According to the NFPA’s Code NFPA 72 (National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code), you must place smoke detectors:
On every level of your house, including basements and finished attics
In every bedroom or sleeping area
In every hallway or space outside of bedrooms
In your communal gathering places (living rooms, family rooms, or dens) or near staircases to upper levels
So, what does this mean for your home? Let’s say you live in a four-bedroom property with two stories and a basement. In that case, you’d need at least seven or eight smoke alarms. If you have a ranch-style home with three bedrooms and an attic, you should install at least five or six smoke detectors.
It’s important to have working smoke detectors in each of the key areas mentioned above, but the ones inside and outside your bedrooms are arguably the most important. If a fire breaks out while you’re sleeping, these alarms will give you the best chance of escaping.
Are you unsure where to put a smoke detector in a bedroom? You can work with a qualified smoke detector installer near you to determine the best placement for your alarms.
Smoke detectors are important safety devices that can help save lives, but if you install them in the wrong place, you might accidentally set them off. Here are some of the places where you shouldn’t place smoke detectors if you want to avoid false alarms:
Within 10 feet of humid or damp places, including showers, saunas, or dishwashers
Within 20 feet of cooking appliances, including stoves
Within 20 feet of heat sources, like furnaces, space heaters, and water heaters
Parts of your home that get particularly cold or hot (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit), such as outdoor rooms and unfinished basements or attics
Dusty and dirty spaces, including laundry rooms, garages, and crawl spaces
Insect-infested places (to prevent bugs from crawling into the smoke detectors and setting off the alarms)
Within 1 foot of fluorescent lights (the noise and flickering can interfere with the smoke alarms)
Now that you know where to put a smoke detector (and where not to put one), you can start installing them around your house. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Don’t set up your smoke alarms near windows, doors, air vents, heating ducts, or ceiling fans if possible. The drafts in these areas can blow the smoke away from the detectors, so they might not go off if there’s a fire.
Don’t place smoke alarms too close to fans or air ducts when mounting them. Moving air can displace smoke from the sensor. You also don’t want your alarms right by the kitchen stovetop or bathrooms. Smoke from cooking and steam from a shower can set off an alarm.
Since smoke rises, your ceiling is the ideal location for your smoke detectors. You can also mount them on your wall as long as they’re less than 1 foot away from your ceiling. If you have sloped or pitched ceilings, ensure the alarms are more than 4 inches but less than 3 feet from the peak of the ceiling.
When shopping for smoke alarms, it’s best to choose models that interlink with one another so they all go off when one detects smoke or fire. You’ll pay between $1 and $12 per square foot for this type of system, plus $80 to $120 per hour for professional installation.
To make sure your smoke alarms are working, test them at least once a month, but some recommendations say you should check them weekly. You can test your smoke alarm by pushing the test button on the alarm itself. If you have a smoke alarm connected to an app, you may be able to test it from the app.
Installing battery-powered smoke detectors in your home is a pretty easy DIY project. Smoke alarms come with installation instructions and all of the materials you need to install them, including the alarm, the bracket, screws, and concrete anchors. If the alarms are interconnected or come with an app, it’s easy to connect them and set up a whole-home system on your own.
Most building codes for new construction require hardwired smoke detectors throughout the house. In this case, you’ll need to hire a qualified electrician to wire the smoke detectors into your home’s electrical system. You can also hire a home security pro in your area to add smoke alarms to your home or call your local fire department or Red Cross, both of which might help you with the installation at no cost.
You don’t have to put smoke detectors in every room. At a minimum, though, there should be one on every level of your home, one in every bedroom, and one in the hallways outside the bedrooms. If you have a floor without bedrooms, place a smoke detector in the living room or next to any stairs that lead to an upper level. Attics and basements should also have at least one smoke alarm.
Although you can put a smoke detector on a shelf, the NFPA recommends mounting one on the ceiling or a wall (within 12 inches of the ceiling). If you place your smoke alarm on a shelf, ensure it’s away from drafty, damp, or dusty areas and not near cooking appliances, heat sources, or fluorescent lights.
