First Alert provided samples to facilitate this review; however, all opinions are my own.
My husband has been in the fire service for 35 years, so we’ve got quite a collection of smoke detectors. When a new type hits the market, he checks it out so that he’s up on what’s available and how they work.
This new First Alert 10-Year Alarm is a smoke and fire alarm that has both photoelectric and ionization detectors. Having both is crucial because photoelectric detects a slow smoldering fire while the ionization detector relies on a rise in temperature to trigger it. This dual alarm takes care of both, and that’s two of the three types of alarms every family needs to protect them. The third is a carbon monoxide detector.
First Alert Dual Sensor Smoke & Fire Alarm: Home Coverage
Now that you know the three types of alarms you should have, it’s essential that you have adequate coverage in your home. Alarms like this First Alert Dual Sensor Smoke & Fire Alarm provide diagrams like the one below which shows the proper placement of and the reasons for multiple units. My husband would also tell you to put them in your crawlspaces because, without an alarm, a fire has a chance to take hold before breaking through to a location where a detector is present.
What makes this dual alarm special that it’s powered by a 10-year lithium power cell that never needs replacing. At the end of its life, the unit is disposed of. The battery can’t be removed so you’ll never have to worry that someone took the batteries out to silence the alarm or borrowed them to power something else. Nor will you have to worry about the batteries being dead. My husband has had many homeowners who’ve experienced a house fire tell him that these are reasons why their smoke detectors failed to work – it boils down to human error.
This detector is easy to install, and since it doesn’t need biannual battery replacements, it’s perfect for my inlaws home. Their house has very high ceilings that make maintaining a detector a job no one looks forward too.
My husband installed the detectors with the included mounting hardware in just a few minutes. They have been protecting his parents for a few weeks now, and they’re working great, and there have been no false alarms to report. My husband will visit them once a year to clean and test them to be sure they continue to work well.
Now they’re installed, we feel good knowing that their alarms are powered and ready to alert them should a fire break out. We’re trusting their safety and my husband’s childhood home to the First Alert SA3210 Dual Sensor Smoke and Fire Alarm with 10-Year Sealed Battery.
The First Alert 10-YearAlarm Life Dual Sensor Smoke & Fire Alarm is the only commercially available dual-sensor smoke alarm with a 10-year sealed lithium battery. These worry-free alarms are available from home improvement stores like Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowes, TruValue, and Amazon.com. Get the complete list from the First Alert Where to Buy page.
First Alert SA3210 Dual Sensor Smoke and Fire Alarm with 10-Year Sealed Battery
- Average battery life: 87600 hours
- Single test/silence button mutes unnecessary alarms and tests function.
- Loud 85db alarm
- End of life timer sounds when it’s time to replace your alarm.
- Meets UL217 standards and complies with legislative requirements for 10-year battery operated smoke alarms.
- Includes mounting hardware
- 10 year limited warranty
This is definitely a great thing to have in your home! Love the First Alert brand.
This product has a nice long warranty. I love that is was easy to install. We actually have smoke detectors on all three levels.
The importance of a fire alarm is very important. I remember I went for months with mine being broken with it making a slight but annoying sound…I shouldnt of ignored it because what if I had a mini fire. This is a great gift its important!
I try to be good about changing my berries every six months, but I just love that you don’t even have to think about it with this. Peace of mind, for sure!
We have a few of these in our house. Wonderful choice in product and a brand name many stand behind.
We have smoke detectors on each floor. I feel better knowing they are there.
We bought our house in 2008 and still have the smoke detectors that came with it during the sale. I think it may be time for an upgrade.
This is the alarm we have in my house. I have nothing but good things to say about First Alert.
I’ve lived in a few places where the smoke alarms are easily set off, even by steam from the shower! I need to remember how important they are instead of getting annoyed at them 🙂
We just changed all our batteries in our monitors. Now we have to get a new carbon monoxide detector.
That alarm sounds great. I think it’s important to invest in the absolute best detectors you can get. They could save our lives.
This sounds great. My husband is a former fire fighter, so he always changes the batteries in ours.
I think they’re always a great housewarming gift. So is a fire extinguisher.