Your Smoke Alarm May Need to be Upgraded Under New Law in New York

Gone will be the days of that annoying chirp when your battery is dead in a smoke alarm. Under a new law in New York state, smoke detectors must be hard wired to a home or have a 10-year battery.

The bill originally passed in June 2015 and was set to go into effect last January. But the Legislature amended the law with a new effective date of April 1, 2019.

All smoke detectors don't need to be in compliance, just ones that are being installed or replaced on or after April 1, 2019.

Under the new law, all new or replacement smoke detectors in New York State must be powered by a 10-year, sealed, non-removable battery or hardwired to the home. “It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to distribute, sell, offer for sale, or import any solely battery operated smoke detecting alarm device powered by a replaceable, removable battery not capable of powering such device for a minimum of ten years.”

The new detectors will cost more but in the long run, you'll save money on battery replacements. AND you won't have that annoying chirp anymore which always seems to happen in the middle of the night.