FIRST ALERTPhotoelectric Smoke Detector | 10 Year Sealed Battery Backup, P1010

I did a ton of research before getting a smoke alarm and here's why I picked this one:There are two technologies, photoelectric and ionization. While ionization alarms typically go off sooner, they're actually worse because they not only go off often when cooking and get disabled by users for too many false alarms, but they allegedly sometimes DON'T go off during a fire. Dual sensors are NOT what you want because those don't go off unless both types inside are activated, meaning dual alarms are the most likely to not go during a fire. So photoelectric is the best to get. (although maybe one of each type in different places would be a good idea.) This is the kind you want, a photoelectric one.The other reason this that there are some that have batteries that die often, this one has batteries that last the life of the alarm, which again increases the chance it will work if needed and you don't have to chase beeping phantoms around your house ever few months or years, this will last 10 years then you need to buy a new one. The ones with replaceable batteries shouldn't be used for more than 10 years so it's dangerous if you don't keep track with those.And finally, I picked this one because it has a great style (it really is tiny, it's only a little bit larger than a golf ball). And because it had some of the best reviews meaning it's the least likely to fail and the most likely to work in a fire.

UPDATE: the alarm is actually awesome. At first I gave this one star because I badly burned some food in the toaster oven and thought no way this thing can tell the difference between the smoke coming out of that and smoke from a fire. So I wrote the bad review below, and then someone commented that I should test it with an alarm tester. It took me a long time to find the time to do that, buy the tester, but I just did it today. The alarm went off exactly after five seconds of spraying the test smoke. So it can tell the difference, and has a smart delay timer. It’s the perfect alarm then. Small, cute, smart, and functional. I added a picture of it velcroed to the bottom of our dining room light, which is a really great option you have because of the tiny size. Love it.Old Review, for reference, I was completely wrong: This alarm seemed great at first because it didn't seem to give false alarms from our cooking. But I got suspicious and tried to test it to make sure it would go off if a fire started. I ran the test program and the alarm beeps well, scares the cat, everything seems fine. But then I held it to a candle, a match, open oven, gas burners, nothing set it off. So I have zero confidence this will actually alert me of any fires. I would change my review if I hear of a better, proper way to test these, until then I'm very skeptical and will be attempting to get my money back.

I bought these photoelectric smoke detectors to use as an additional "supplement" for the ionization smoke detectors I already had hardwired into my house. If you do a little research online you'll see that there are two types of detectors: ionization, and photoelectric which actually "see" the smoke particles in the air. Both have their plusses and minuses. I like these small First Alert ones because they are super-ease to install: All you need to do is find a stud high up on a wall or even on the ceiling, and you simply screw the base in with the included screw. Then you just twist the detector into place after removing the plastic battery tab. That's it. Since smoke rises, you want to put these either in the ceiling or as close to the ceiling as possible on a wall. You can also just place them on top of a very high book case or cabinet as an alternative to making a hole in the ceiling or wall, but just be aware that the alarm won't sound until the smoke rises to that level.We have had these go off in the kitchen when something like a tortilla or a piece of bread got a little too toasty -- enough to emit a lot of smoke. I've had some of these installed from prior purchases for more that two or three years now and the battery has not failed yet. I have a calendar entry set up in my Google calendar to remind me to replace them after 10 years. They're a great buy and get you additional peace of mind, and are a great gift to give to college students or others who are moving into their own dorm or apartment for the first time.

Update: I figured it out and it's great - small, can sit on a shelf and not ugly. So, here it is, three days short of one year in and I accidentally set it off BUT all I had to do to silence the alarm was stick it in the pantry where there wasn't any smoke - which is a HUGE improvement over what I had in the kitchen before which required the step stool, removing the battery, blah, blah, blah. Don't remember whether the alarm was three beeps or long or short beeps but it did the trick. Definitely loud enough to wake me, had it gone off in the night.Original reviewI have no idea what I got. It doesn't beep, pause, beep, pause when I push the test button as the manual says and it looks different than the picture but it appears to be working. The light flashes every minute (I never knew how difficult it is to stand and stare at something for just a minute) so...If I have a fire and it does the deed, I'll update this review. If I have a fire and it doesn't go off, I'll update the review if I survive. If I have a fire and it sounds with a continuous alarm rather than the T3 it claims to use, I'll update whether I'm rendered deaf or not.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST!!! I permanently disable the device because I followed the diagram on the back of the device. They put the activation instructions and the permanently disable right next to each other with the image showing how to permanently disable. I ended up having to disassembling the device and resting the permanent disable switch which after that worked great! I do not recommend disassembling if you do not know what you are doing...It may be small but it is super loud! Discrete and perfect if you don't like the aesthetics of large smoke detectors.