Battery powered smoke detectors have been an essential home safety accessory ever since they were first commercially popularized in the 1970s. But even though the blinking device is fastened to ...

When you move into or buy a new home, no one hands you a guide to how the smoke detectors work. They "chirp," which really means shriek loudly, and you occasionally have to put new batteries in them.

Why are you reading about smoke detectors, may you ask? Well, for one, they can save your life — indicating the onset of a fire at home. According to the “Smoke Alarms in US Home Fires” report by the ...