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My house has electric smoke detectors wired into an ADT alarm system. I'm not using the alarm system but the smoke detectors seem to work anyway. I'd like to have carbon monoxide detectors too. Can I replace the existing electric detectors with ones that detect carbon monoxide too? Or do should I just screw a battery powered one onto the ceiling next to the existing smoke detector?

-Thanks.

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To understand why the smoke detectors continue to work, imagine the lawsuit the monitoring company would face if someone died in a house fire just after canceling their monitoring service. – Niall C. Feb 2 '12 at 3:43

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up vote 4 down vote

In our area, local codes made at least one CO detectors mandatory in all condos and rental units. I have had to replace dozens of standard smoke detectors with combo units in hard wired/battery back-up systems. Most every manufacturer makes a CO/Smoke unit that will plug in directly to the existing system. A hard wired replacement is far better than a stand alone battery operated unit, as it will alarm all units in the system if there is a problem.

Having the system monitored or not monitored makes absolutely no difference on how the system works inside the house. All monitored systems will work fine in the house even if the monitoring system is off.

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up vote 3 down vote

If you want to keep the system working with the alarm system, then you'll need to replace with a compatible combo device. If you no longer care about the alarm system integration, then just rip it out and replace with a combo, which would probably be cheaper.

The advantage of the alarm system integration (even if it's no longer linked to ADT), is that in the event of a fire you'll probably get whole-house alarming instead of just the alarm detecting the fire going off. That's a BIG benefit, and it probably makes replacing the alarm with a compatible combo unit worth the while.

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It's worth noting that smoke detectors that integrate with residential security systems usually run on 12V or 24V DC supplied by the control panel whereas standalone units run directly from the mains electricity. Be sure to get the right type. – Niall C. Feb 2 '12 at 3:36
Also, if your detectors run from voltage off the panel, make darn sure the panel can't go dead in a power outage! Your panel probably has a backup battery - make sure you know it's limits and get it replaced when it's old. – Michael Kohne Nov 4 '12 at 22:59

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