Customer Reviews For The Hardwired Photoelectric Smoke Alarm with 10 Year Battery Backup
Yes, if you the alarm has a battery backup. Hardwired smoke alarms are wired directly into your home’s electrical system, but nearly all modern models - including most Universal Security Instruments alarms - also include a backup battery. This built-in battery allows the alarm to continue operating even if your home loses power, ensuring you’re protected at all times.
Power can go out during a fire for several reasons. Intense heat can damage electrical wiring, circuit breakers may trip to prevent further hazards, or flames and smoke may affect electrical panels and utility lines. In some cases, firefighters or utility crews will intentionally shut off power to keep conditions safer. Because of these possibilities, the backup battery is an essential feature - it ensures your smoke alarm will sound even if the fire itself disables your home’s electricity.
For homeowners, this means peace of mind: whether it’s a fire, a storm, or a routine power outage, your hardwired smoke alarm is designed to keep working when you need it most.
Many people assume that every smoke alarm requires a backup battery change, but most Universal Security Instruments hardwired smoke alarms are designed differently. The majority of our models feature a sealed, 10-year lithium free battery that never needs to be replaced. This long-life backup battery is permanently built into the unit, ensuring continuous protection even during a power outage.
Because the battery is sealed, there's no door or compartment for you to open. When the alarm reaches the end of its 10-year service life, the entire smoke alarm should be replaced with a new unit. This design eliminates the need for battery changes, prevents tampering, and ensures you always have reliable backup power.
If you have an older model that uses a replaceable battery, the user manual will provide step-by-step instructions. Typically, this involves twisting the alarm off its mounting bracket, opening the battery compartment, and installing a new battery of the specified type. However, if your alarm is a newer sealed-battery model, you do not need to replace the backup battery at all.
Permanent Power also saves money from battery replacements (up to $38.00 over the 10-year life of the alarm), eliminates annoying low battery chirps and helps the environment by reducing environmental waste from disposed batteries. This detector features smart alarm technology to assist in completely eliminating nuisance alarms, a single silence/test button to quiet a non-hazardous alarm and an end-of-service life warning that sounds when it's time to replace the battery (approximately 10-years from activation).
The perfect replacement for existing Universal Security Instruments Alarms, this unit features a large mounting base to cover imperfections in drywall and the option to replace retrofitting applications. The quick deactivation key switches the alarm off and makes the batteries safe for disposal. Once the alarm is deactivated, the tamper resistant feature turns on to prevent deactivated alarms from being reinstalled.
This alarm exceeds industry standards by meeting new laws and legislation. The Universal Security Instruments MP116S Photoelectric Smoke and Fire Smart Alarm is ETL listed to UL Standard UL 217 and is also California State Fire Marshal approved.
