Are Smoke Alarms Programmed to Only Chirp in the Middle of the Night?

Belinda,

I know what you mean, it is so annoying!  Ours screech not chirp.  LOL A

Hi Belinda Spillman - I thought it was just me!  Here is the other rub - what do you do at 3 AM when the smoke alarm is on a 12 ft high ceiling? You grab a broom and knock it off the ceiling!  LOL!   I used to change my smoke alarms when we changed the time but AZ doesn't change time! 

Hi Belinda... funny you should mention that... it's the same in my house and I've often asked that question, too! (And the carbon monoxide detector, too!)

I can only imagine what a covey of 12 smoke alarms chirping at once might feel like. That would be a nightmare deluxe!

Funny!  I think you are right!  The makers of those alarms most have installed an internal clock to have those darn things go off at just the right (wrong) time! =)

Hi Belinda - I know the answer! Batteries lose power as they cool, and with colder nights, as the temperature in our homes goes down, those smoke detectors with batteries running low are going to cross that threshhold and start chirping. And in the morning, as the house warms up, they may even stop - until the next night.

Yes....I have the same problem.  You probably need to change the batteries..

It is the time of year that I generally change all the batteries.  12?  I thought I was the only one with smoke alarm overkill with 10 in my 3 Bedroom house. LOL  

PS- I often tell Donald that he would sleep through it if someone came and cut my head off with a chain saw sleeping next to him.

If they are over 10 years old, you may want to replace them.  Battery replacements stopped working in ours about the time they turned 9.  

You ask a valid question with that title line.  I cannot ever recall one going off in the daytime.  They all seem to go off around 2:00 am or so.

Hi Belinda - I think you have that one right.  The same story in our house.  Ours are hard wired so we had to call the electrician.