Hard wire a smoke detector to rely on integrated power.
A smoke alarm warns the occupants of a building to get out whenever there is a fire. Many popular smoke detectors operate on battery power but consequently stop working when the battery dies. Smoke alarms that are wired to an electrical circuit will remain active as long as the building has power. Some municipalities require homes to have a hard-wired smoke detector installed before they can be sold. Rely on a wired smoke alarm for continuous monitoring of your home or office.
Instructions
1. Select a spot on the ceiling or high on a wall to install a smoke detector. Avoid the corners where walls meet the ceiling, as this is where stagnant air collects. Use a stud finder to check the drywall on the ceiling or wall to be sure there is a stud or ceiling joist nearby to support the electrical box.
2. Use the paper or cardboard outline pattern that comes with the electrical box to draw a pencil mark the size and shape of the opening needed for the box. Be sure that one edge of the outline lines up with the edge of a stud or rafter. Cut the drywall along the pencil mark with a drywall saw.
3. Cut power to a nearby receptacle by turning off the breaker switch for the controlling circuit. Use a night light to find the circuit, or turn off the main power switch on the breaker panel if the correct circuit cannot be found. Leave a warning note or lock on the breaker box to keep anyone from turning the power on.
4. Remove the holding screw on the cover plate over the outlet with a slotted screwdriver. Take off the plate and loosen the mounting screws that secure the outlet at the top and bottom with a Phillips screwdriver. Gently pull the wired outlet about five inches out of its electrical box.
5. Remove the electrical box for the receptacle by taking out the screws that hold it against the wall stud with a Phillips screwdriver. Carefully pull it a few inches away from the wall while allowing the cable that connects to the outlet to slide through the cut-out hole. Punch through the extra metal or plastic cut-out for an extra cable with the tip of a slotted screwdriver, and pull out the excess material to make an opening for the Romex cable.
6. Slice the outer jacket of a 12/2 Romex cable lengthwise with a utility knife at both ends of the cable. Make a four inch slice in the jacket to free the three wires inside. Strip away 1/2 inch of the insulation from the black and white wires at both ends with wire cutters.
7. Attach one end of the Romex wires to a fish tape, and wrap electrical tape around the wire ends to hold them securely. Push the fish tape through the receptacle opening in the wall and up into the attic. Retrieve the end of the fish tape in the attic, and pull the cable over to the opening for the electrical box that will hold the smoke detector.
8. Punch out one of the cut-outs in the ceiling electrical box with a slotted screwdriver. Unwrap the tape from around the Romex and fish tape, and push the wire ends through the cut-out. Secure the electrical box to the adjacent stud or rafter with the wood screws that came with the box, and tighten them with a Phillips screwdriver.
9. Stand on a step ladder and twist the exposed black Romex wire around the black wire on the smoke alarm, and twist an insulated wire nut over the connection. Twist the white Romex wire around the white smoke detector wire, and cap that connection with an insulated wire nut. Wrap the copper ground wire from the Romex around the green ground terminal screw on the detector or inside the electrical box. Connect the alarm to the ears provided for such on the electrical box.
10. Push the other end of the Romex cable through the extra cut-out in the receptacle electrical box. Loosen the terminal screw on the outlet that holds the black hot wire. Twist the black Romex wire around the terminal screw with the hot wire, and tighten the terminal over both wires. Add the white Romex wire to the receptacle terminal holding the white neutral wire in the same way. Wrap the copper ground wire from the Romex around the green ground terminal on the receptacle and secure it.
11. Put the receptacle electrical box back into the wall, and replace the mounting screws that secure it. Push all the wires attached to the outlet gently into the box, and tighten the mounting screws that hold the outlet in the box. Put the cover plate on and secure the holding screw.
12. Restore power to the circuit by turning on the breaker switch. Check the alarm by pushing the "test" button. Many smoke alarms have a green light that blinks every 15 seconds or remains on to show that the unit is operational.
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