Kidde Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm - Best Overall Smart Smoke and CO Alarm
A top-rated, hardwired smart alarm that excels at detecting modern fires, sends fast phone alerts, and integrates with other Kidde alarms for comprehensive home protection.
- +Hardwired with smart features for reliable power and remote notifications
- +Can interconnect with non-smart hardwired Kidde alarms for whole-home alerts
- +Adheres to latest UL 217 edition 9 standard for faster fire detection and fewer false alarms
- -Requires annual replacement of AA backup batteries
- -Physical hush button is small and difficult to press without a phone
- -Some users have reported false alarms potentially due to dust accumulation
The Kidde Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm stands out as a leading choice for modern home safety, combining critical smart features with robust, certified detection. As a hardwired device, it offers superior reliability compared to battery-only models, ensuring constant power. Its smart capabilities are comprehensive: it sends immediate smartphone notifications when triggered, provides early low-battery warnings to the app, and can be silenced remotely during false alarms—a significant convenience and safety upgrade. A key strength is its ability to wirelessly interconnect with compatible non-smart, hardwired Kidde alarms. This creates a unified safety network where any triggered alarm will cause the smart unit to send an alert, effectively 'smartening' an existing system. The alarm is built to the stringent UL 217 9th edition standard, which is engineered to detect fires involving modern synthetic materials up to 29% faster while being three times more precise at distinguishing real threats from cooking smoke or steam, reducing nuisance alarms.
The companion app allows for easy testing and lets users assign location names to alarms. It also sends alerts if the device goes offline or nears its 10-year end-of-life. The primary drawbacks include the need for annual AA battery changes for backup power, unlike models with sealed 10-year batteries. Furthermore, the physical hush button is notably small, making it challenging to press without a smartphone handy, which could be frustrating during a false alarm. Regular maintenance, such as vacuuming vents, is recommended to prevent dust-related false triggers.