How to Change the Battery in a Smoke Detector

Nearly 3,000 people a year die in house fires across the United States. Most die from smoke inhalation, at night while they are sleeping, rather than from a result of burns. The risk of dying in a house fire without working smoke detectors is twice as high as in houses with working smoke detectors. These tragedies could be avoided by testing and maintaining smoke detectors.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Smoke detector
• Fresh battery
• Ear plugs (optional)

1. Open the detector's cover by pulling on the lip around the outside. Some of these will pop off entirely, while some others are hinged so be gentle so as not to damage the cover.

2. Pull the old battery out of its retaining clip. This is easiest to do by placing a finger under the end that does not have wires attached and pulling outward.

3. Detach the wire coupling from the battery with your fingernail. Be careful not to pull the wires out of the smoke detector and damage it.

4. Line up the fresh battery with the battery terminals ensuring that the positive lines up with positive and the negative lines up with the negative. Squeeze the coupling firmly in place.

5. Pressing evenly across the body of the battery, push the new battery into the battery-retaining clips.

6. Replace the smoke detector's cover by pressing evenly and gently on all of the edges simultaneously.

7. Test the new battery by pressing the battery test button on the front of the alarm, if the battery is good and the installation correct then you will be rewarded with an ear splitting alarm.

Tips & Warnings

• Smoke detector batteries should be tested once a month and changed once a year. It is useful to set a date like a birthday or daylight savings to do this. (You can start a new family tradition by testing the smoke detectors first thing on New Year's Day. Ring in the new year with the blaring of smoke detectors.)

• If your battery powered smoke detector begins to emit a low battery warning (usually a sharp chirping noise), then replace the battery with a new one.

• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for testing and maintaining smoke detectors.

• Avoid using rechargeable batteries in smoke detectors. They don't last as long as alkaline and the power drop near the end their charge can be very sudden, so you may get very little to no warning that the smoke detector's battery is getting weak.

Resources

• The U.S. Consumer Safety Products Commission website
• The U.S. Fire Administration website
• The National Fire Protection Association website