First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm

Why it's worth it

This battery alarm covers smoke and carbon monoxide, talks to your phone, and says out loud which room the trouble is in. It also links to other compatible alarms, so a basement fire wakes the whole house instead of just the basement.

You can put this one up with a screwdriver and be done. It runs on batteries, so there's no junction box, no breaker, and no landlord conversation. That matters if you rent, if the ceiling has no wiring, or if you'd rather not spend a Saturday on it. The NFPA wants an alarm in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the house. Batteries make hitting that list realistic.

When this alarm goes off, it says what's wrong and where. A voice announcement beats a shriek at three in the morning, when you're half awake. It tells you whether to head downstairs or grab the kids. Wirecutter's reviewers found that First Alert's talking alarms, which name the room and the hazard, help households respond faster. Your phone gets the same message through the First Alert app, whether you're upstairs or three states away.

From our review of 7 smart smoke detectors

What we like

• +You can put this one up with a screwdriver and be done
• +When this alarm goes off, it says what's wrong and where
• +Alarms that talk to each other are the real upgrade here
• +Cooking is the reason most people pull an alarm off the ceiling

What to know

• –The batteries are replaceable rather than sealed for a decade, so you're still buying batteries at some point
• –Everything smart about it depends on your Wi-Fi and the First Alert app