Over the past few years I’ve had trouble with smoke detectors beeping after I changed the battery. Only way to stop it - take the battery out. I have one that’s been okay but it beeps during high humidity. Only way to stop it - take the battery out. I read where the smoke detectors are expired if they beep, recommendation purchase a new one. So I checked the Bunnings site for smoke alarms. The reviews were terrible for all of them, and the main complaint was constant beeping requiring the battery to be removed. I’m at a loss - we are supposed to install them but they are useless.
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After 22 years in my home I have not had a single case of ‘beeping’. I am an insignificant sample of 1 person with a history of 3 battery powered detectors (plus the wired in A/C powered battery backed one mandated by standards of the time).
I too was put off by those reviews, but needing one for a recommended 10-year replacement in what was then an ‘optional location’ I went for the ‘pretty label’ even though it had as bad a review list as any, but never had a worry with it.
Choice last smoke detector review was 2017. It is not obvious what products still remain on the market. There are scores for detecting ‘real’ smoke as well as ‘nuisance’ alarms. The buying guide is dated excepting for the overview of types. New builds in places now require multiple A/C powered, battery backed, networked smoke detectors to meet codes. My A/C unit has never had a nuisance alarm, noting I have not had a ‘real’ alarm either.
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Bunnings are not the only source of smoke alarm devices. There are also brands only Bunnings stock, and other well know brands such as Quell available at Bunnings and elsewhere.
Bunnings includes also sells the ‘Family First’ branded range. We’ve several of their products now 8+ years old. The following from the user manual for a current model with highlight. I’ve read similar for other brands.
We have had some random alarms from the unit in the kitchen. We’ve put these down to moisture from cooking and or baby spider season or stray midges that have flown in. We’re rural and try to minimise our environmental impact by not drowning the house with insecticides to manage stray pests.
Taking note of:
An aside - @BrendanMays
Our current Australian Standards compliant alarms reach their 10year life in 2025. It would be useful if Choice does get the opportunity to provide an updated guide and product assessment/test. Relevant to note the statutory requirements vary between States and Territories. I also noted within the product range at Bunnings there are appear to be options for complimenting CO monitoring alarms and …? Advisable for anyone with any gas or combustion or wood burning installations.
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I’m elderly and need hip & knee replacements. I can’t be up & down the step ladder for smoke alarms. If it gets too technical - that also counts me out. I have 3 smoke alarms sitting on the bench with batteries out. Next time I vacuum, I’ll try sucking out any debris inside them and see how they go then. Also a pensioner, so I can’t pay the earth for new ones. Just wish there was a reliable brand at a reasonable price.
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I hope you have some functional ones in the house. Fire detectors not functional/with batteries removed have resulted in deaths in houses where fires have occurred. So much so, that some of the current requirements have resulted from these tragedies.
They can be vacuumed from floor level in a house with standard ceiling heights by attaching a nozzle attachment and gently vacuuming around and over the cover.
If getting up a ladder is a problem, there are 9V lithium batteries designed to last 10 years in smoke detectors. Many wired smoke detectors have long lasting lithium batteries their backup (this is an example).
Smoke detector requirements have changed significantly over the past decade(s) and it is worth looking at current standards:
if one is looking at changing smoke detectors in their home.
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If you’re in Qld there are a couple of services that may be helpful in dealing with smoke alarms and ideas for placement.
Qld Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) offer a free home visit service that will look at where fire alarms should be placed and fire related security issues.
Second one is Home Assist Secure and the link is
Other States/Territories may have similar State based support, if not they rely of the following Commonwealth supplied support.
Under Commonwealth Aged Care services there is the possibility of getting a support package that can offer the same set of services (both the Commonwealth and Qld services usually require a contribution to the cost). Cost to the user of the services particularly for smaller maintenance jobs is small (based on the assessment of income and needs).
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phb, I understand your concerned response to Kezia’s post, and your advice is of course wise. But, I think the point Kezia was making was that the almost universally poor design and implementation of modern smoke alarms frequently makes them VERY hard to live with - particularly if you’re not as nimble on your feet as previously. I too have experienced intermittent periods of “rogue” mis-behaviour by my many alarms - from persistent chirping to full-on mysterious blaring. It’s maddening.
It’s a given we all should have functioning, reliable smoke alarms - but, often, alarms are neither functional nor reliable. There seems to be no “encouragement” by emergency fire services or Standards Australia on manufacturers/suppliers to design and manufacture decent alarms - a technical challenge that hardly seems insurmountable for such simple devices. It’s not smartphone-level tech…maybe somewhere between a toaster and a doorbell!
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Ozcelt - your comment has nailed it. Who ever designs and manufactures a reliable smoke alarm at a reasonable price will overtake the market.
I thought general advice was not to put them in the kitchen due to false alarms.
On that thought I wonder how many of the complaints here are due to device malfunction and how many due to exposure to particulates from other sources not apparent to the owner.
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I think you will find that smoke alarms are designed and manufactured for a specific and functional purpose, to warn those within the building/dwelling of a potential fire and risk to life from smoke and fire. Most alarms on the market are decent and must meet the Australian Standard. Any faulty alarms or those which don’t meet the AS are recalled to ensure that any smoke alarm within the community can do the job they are made to do…and yes, some smoke alarms have been subject to product recalls in the past where they didn’t meet the Australian Standard.
Smoke alarms are very simple devices, but, like any device they require some maintenance. This maintenance is to ensure that they are functional and working appropriately when needed. This includes ensuring that they are kept dust free (to ensure that inlets into the smoke detector allow the free movement of air to that smoke can be detected) and replacement of batteries when they expire. No other maintenance is required.
The challenge with maintaining smoke alarms is they need to be installed at the highest point in a room. The highest point because hot air containing smoke rises and when installed on the ceiling, it maximises the time between smoke is detected and the available evacuation time. It would be great if they could be installed in easy to accessible locations, such as on a wall at a height which was easily reachable, but doing so significantly reduces potential evacuation time placing those within the room/building at risk of not being able to safely evacuate.
There also has been information posted in this thread about services available where a home owners isn’t able to maintain smoke alarms themselves. Other options include asking family, friends or neighbours to help out if one is finding their maintenance challenging.
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Just a small point of clarification in terms of nomenclature. “Smoke detectors” are typically a component of a wider fire alarm system, i.e all they do is detect the presence of smoke or other products of combustion (sometimes flame, infra-red signature, or simply unexpected heat) and then send a signal to a central ‘fire panel’ (technically called a Fire Detection Control & Indicating Equipment (FDCIE) panel). After interrogating the particular detector(s) sending their signals for a set time, often about 90 seconds, the panel (via preset algorithms) will then decide if the signal sent is a false alarm, or is likely to be a genuine detection of the presence of combustion and then send signals to warning speakers to alert occupants of a likely fire event. In multi-storey buildings, the alarm may be only for a couple of floors above the detector(s) in alarm (latched) and one floor below. This allows for staged evacuation of occupants. The FDCIE may then go into a wider alarm for the whole of the building.
A smoke alarm however is (typically) a fully self-contained warning device in that it will detect smoke, and then within the same device, sound a warning signal to alert occupants of the space in which the smoke alarm is contained. This is the most common device in single dwellings or low-rise multiple dwellings. Take-away message is that ‘smoke detectors’ are different from ‘smoke alarms’.
Michael - Consultant Building Surveyor (retired).
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phb, As always a carefully considered and well-expressed response on this topic. Thanks.
But, if I can belabour the point: no-one is arguing that Australian devices do NOT (on the whole) perform to a high standard in their “specific and functional purpose”. The concern is the “inadvertent” side-effects that attend the normal operation of the devices - which can be at the very least irritating and even hurtful to some users. There is no question the devices do what they are supposed to…but they do MORE than that also - often not so beneficially. My analogy would be certain classes of pharmaceuticals designed to target cancers. They can often be incredibly effective at suppressing the spread of cancers - as that is their intended “specific and functional purpose” - but they are not infrequently also responsible for painful and uncomfortable side-effects that we may choose to regard as a necessary evil in the dire circumstances. The point is that the need for improvement to design of cancer drugs, or smoke alarms, is absolutely not somehow unwarranted just because our intentions are good.
So, no, smoke alarms in Australia may indeed be of the highest standard for their intended purpose, but they are NOT well-designed by any stretch. Current designs and implementation are obsolescent, lazy, and uncaring of side-effects. You only have to own one to experience it. Thanks again.
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I do own many and often experience chirping at 2am (due to low battery when the air is cooler), false alarms (from steam in the bathroom), challenges keeping them clean on 10-12 foot ceilings and one alarm causing all to go off in our accommodation as each alarm is integrated (which is annoying for our guests).
Testing is relatively easy as a broom handle is very useful for pushing the test button.
What are the side effects…vacuuming to remove dust so the inlets are clear, beeping when someone burns toast or from steam from a shower, battery is getting low, an alarm indicating a fault or the alarm needs replacing or periodic testing of the alarm using the test button?
Are these the side effects which should be designed out of a smoke alarm?
Smoke from toast burning and setting of an alarm shows that the alarm is working correctly. Possibly if this is a concern, possibly one should avoid burning toast or reposition the alarm to reduce the likelihood of false alarms.
If steam, such as that from a bathroom is setting off the alarm, the alarm is possibly poorly located and could be moved to prevent false alarms. Using extraction fans in a bathroom can also expel steam outdoors reducing the incidence of false alarms.
It is also important that the alarms are kept clean and inlets are free of dust. No matter the design, homes contain dust which can easily block inlets. It doesn’t matter the design, dust will always be an issue. Dust collecting on the inlets which can be readily cleaned, would be better than dust collecting on the sensor causing false alarms or the alarm to fail in the event of a fire.
Chirping due to low battery is extremely annoying, but, it is a safety feature to ensure that the battery is changed so the alarm is good working order at all times.
Chirping or other noises indicating that the alarm has a fault or needs replacing, like batteries it these alarms occur to ensure that a full functional smoke alarm is in good working order at all times. Any safety device whether it is personal protection equipment, dosage meters or alarms have a life. At the end of an smoke alarm’s life (about 10 years), their performance or reliability is potentially greatly reduced.
I suppose that the alarms could be wifi and send notifications to a smart device indicating a fault, battery replacement or alarm needs replacing, but, these notifications are likely to be ignored. Why, because they aren’t annoying. A chirp or other noise signalling a problem is annoying and being annoying serves a purpose…those that hear noises from the alarm to do something to stop the noises.
Not having a fully functional smoke alarm is a high risk to those which may be relying it to signal evacuation of a building/home in the event of the fire.
They also need to be sensitive which may trigger the odd false alarm. It is better being sensitive, rather than not when one is relying on them to go off as early as practicable to maximise evacuation times.
While maintenance may be annoying/frustrating to do, it is no different to maintaining appliances or other every day items to ensure that are in good working order. It is just another one to add to the list of things to do in the home.
I am not sure how to design them better, with exception possibly making them look nicer on the ceiling for aesthetic reasons. Trying to design out some of the annoyance will only result in poorer performing alarms which will result in lives being lost.
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There are alarm models produced specifically for kitchen areas.
‘Long Life Kitchen Smoke Alarm & CO Alarm - Quell
‘ Heat Alarm (10-year Lithium battery) - Brooks (may not be acceptable if installed to meet regulations, depending on state/territory).
Depending on the design and layout of a house or apartment (and which state/territory) it may be necessary to install an alarm in a kitchen area.
In appartments and townhouses bedrooms may connect to an open plan kitchen area or use the kitchen area as the primary access. We lived in a Townhouse where access to the bedrooms relied on the adjoining kitchen area. All on the upper story.
For our current home the usual path of access and exit is through a side door in the kitchen. Even if we were not required to have an alarm in the kitchen area being a wooden Queensland build an extra smoke alarm is added security. Knowing early there is a fire in the kitchen might be the difference between a home and no home. Assuming it’s safe to respond using either of the full size fire extinguishers or fire blanket. Or a head start on getting the professionals to turn up.
For our part of the Oz. Note the last two dot points. The other requirement from Jan 2027 is for every home to have all alarms interconnected.
Yet you still get false alarms.
This thread is not going to be very constructive in helping people avoid the annoyance until each complaint can eliminate using the wrong kind of alarm or putting the alarm in the wrong place. So far that hasn’t happened, and it is assumed the alarm must be faulty, which may be true or not.
