3 Best Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide Smoke Detectors

Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal if not detected in time. The worst part is that it’s odorless, making it difficult to detect through smell or taste. The CDC opines that more than 500 people perish due to Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. That’s why it’s crucial to get a carbon monoxide detector in your home, especially if you use alternative energy sources for cooking and power. Add a battery to the mix, and you get a device that requires the least manual intervention.

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,

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1. Kidde Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector

Kidde Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector

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The Kidde Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector is one of the inexpensive devices on this list. As noted earlier, this runs on batteries and can detect carbon monoxide and smoke. The best part is that it bundles two sensors to detect smoldering fires and fast flames. That makes it ideal for most homes. It has a long battery life, and a single change of batteries may last years before needing a change. If we talk numbers, this detector consumes about 3W of power.

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 Kidde Carbon Dioxide and smoke detector is popular on Amazon and has more than 30,000 user ratings to its credit, and most of it is on the positive side. The people at the Spruce tested it and found it to work as expected. They tested by spraying a hairspray (aerosol mimics smoke) near it, and the alarm was prompt in warning that it sensed a fire.

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

X-Sense SC06 Alarm

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Another battery-operated smoke and carbon monoxide detector are the one by X-Sense. The highlight of this device is its quick sensing and the fact that it can link up easily with other SC06 detectors without a phone app. It comes with only one sensor—Photoelectric—to detect the presence of smoldering fires. It doesn’t have an Ionization sensor to detect fast flames or a voice 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

First Alert SCO501CN-3 Smoke Detector

Buy

The First Alert SCO501CN-3 smoke detector is the most expensive alarm on this list, but you get a pack of three, which is a pretty neat deal. It combines the best of both worlds and brings home a smoke and CO detector that alerts with voice and also connects to other smoke detectors to create a wireless safety network. And that’s not all. You can program the location in these alarms when setting them up.

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.