Yes! For 2023, any new hard wired smoke or carbon monoxide detector in California will come with a back up battery if the are sold in California. The back up battery will either be a removable battery, or a non-removable 10 year battery. By law, no retail store in California can sell a hard wired detector without backup batteries.
Where to install the hard wired smoke detectors? Below is a floor plan showing where smoke detectors should be placed.
Standard practice in California for smoke detector placement: A working smoke detector in each bedroom, bedroom hallway, on each floor, in any basement, and in any out-structure (guest unit, etc.) meant for sleeping. All smoke detectors should have a 10year battery installed, which eliminates the detector going off at 2am in the morning.
Do not install smoke detectors near the kitchen or near an AC vent. When in doubt, overdo it.
Smoke alarms were present in three-quarters (74 percent) of recent reported home fires. Almost three out of five home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent). The death rate per 1,000 home structure fires is 55 percent lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or alarms that fail to operate.
In Southern California, approx. 40% of the smoke detectors we inspect do not work, or the batteries have been removed in 2023.
Call us at 310-800-4418 if you have any questions regarding hard wired smoke detectors.