How to Install Hardwired Smoke Detectors

How to Install Hardwired Smoke Detectors

1. Mark Locations for the Smoke Detector Boxes

   Find the best locations for the smoke detectors. Ceilings are generally the best place for smoke detectors since smoke rises. If installing the detector on a wall, install it within 12 inches of the ceiling. The manufacturer's instructions, as well as your local building code, will have recommendations for where the alarms should be installed.

   First, use a stud finder to locate the ceiling joists or wall studs. Hold the electrical box backward and use the perimeter of its face as a template to draw a cutout around the perimeter. With old-work boxes, be sure to locate the boxes between joists or studs, not over them.

2. Make Cutouts

   With a drywall saw, cut openings in the drywall to hold the electrical boxes for the smoke detectors. You may need to drill a pilot hole to establish a starting point for the saw.

3. Run NM Cable to the First Box

   From the power source, run a 2-wire cable (with ground) to the first box location. The power source can be any one of several locations:

   • An existing wall outlet
   • A wall switch
   • A ceiling light fixture with a pass-through circuit cable that is not controlled by a switch
   • The circuit breaker panel

   Fishing cable through walls is often the most difficult part of the installation. It can take some ingenuity to figure out the best route for the cables to run. Some professional electricians prefer to fish cables up into attic spaces, along ceiling joists, then down into the smoke detector boxes. This method may require more cable, but it can be much easier to fish the cables in this way.

   As you route the cables, leave a good amount of excess cable extending through the hole in the drywall. You will cut it down to the proper length during the installation of the boxes.

4. Run Cables to Other Boxes

   Beginning at the first smoke detector box location, run 3-wire cable (with ground) to each subsequent smoke detector. The extra wire in these cables allows the smoke detectors to "talk" to one another, so that all detectors will sound the alarm when any of them detect smoke or fire.

   Again, leave plenty of excess cable extending through the holes in the drywall.

5. Insert Cables into Electrical Boxes

   At each box location, first cut away the excess cable so that about 8 inches of wire will extend into each electrical box. Then, strip away outer sheathing from the cables using a cable ripper, and insert them into the electrical boxes so that about 1/2 inch of cable insulation extends past the clamps and into the box.

   The way in which the cables are clamped into the boxes will vary, depending on the type of box you are using. With some metal boxes, you may need to install a cable clamp in knockout openings on the box, while other types have internal clamps that hold the cables.

6. Mount the Boxes

   With cables secured in each box, install each old-work box into the opening in the drywall. Tighten the screws in the box, which will draw the retaining tabs up tight against the back of the drywall, securing it in place.

7. Install Mounting Plates

   At each smoke detector location, feed the circuit wires through the detector's mounting plate. Then, align the screw holes on the mounting plate with the holes in the electrical box, and use the included screws to secure the plate to the box.

8. Connect the Smoke Detectors

   In the first box, use wire nuts or other UL-approved wire connectors to connect the wire leads on the smoke detector:

   • Join the black circuit wire(s) to the black wire lead on the smoke detector.
   • Connect the white circuit wire(s) with the white wire lead on the smoke detector.
   • Connect all bare copper ground wires together. If you are using a metal box also attach a bare copper or green insulated pigtail wire to the box.
   • Connect the red circuit wire(s) to the interconnect (traveler) wire from the smoke detector, usually marked as yellow.

   Carefully tuck the wires through the mounting plate, then secure the smoke detector to the mounting plate, following the manufacturer's directions. For most detectors, you will need to slide notches on the detector into slots on the base, then twist to secure the body of the smoke detector to the mounting plate.

   Tip

   Connection methods for smoke detectors vary from model to model, so make sure to follow the manufacturer's directions. On some models, the wire connections are made to a mounting plate that has a socket into which the smoke detector is plugged. In other models, the wire connections are made directly to the smoke detector.

9. Install the Backup Smoke Detector Battery

   Insert the battery into the smoke detector, aligning positive and negative terminals in the correct configuration. Replace the cover.

10. Connect to the Power Source

    The trickiest part of the installation is connecting the feed cable that brings power to the first smoke detector to its power source. This is where some DIYers may choose to have a professional electrician make the hookup.

    If you are feeding the smoke detectors off an existing outlet or light fixture circuit, this connection is made by turning off the circuit and testing for power, then opening an outlet, light switch, or ceiling fixture box and pigtailing into the circuit wires to join the smoke detector cable to the circuit.

    It's important, though, that you splice into circuit wires that are not controlled by a wall switch. This means that if you are splicing in at a light fixture box, it must be a box where there are pass-through wires that are not controlled by a wall switch. If splicing in at a wall switch, you must connect to the black feed wire that feeds the switch, not the outgoing wire that brings power to the light fixture.

    If you are installing a new circuit, the feed connection involves installing a new AFCI-protected circuit breaker to feed the smoke detectors.

11. Test the Smoke Detectors

    Turn on the power to the circuit, then test the smoke detectors by pushing the test button on each detector, one at a time. If they are operating correctly, all alarms should sound when each test button is pressed.

When to Call a Professional

Hardwiring smoke detectors is an advanced electrical project that has a direct impact on your safety. If you feel at all uncomfortable about your ability to install these devices, call a licensed electrician for assistance.

Homeowners who feel quite comfortable installing the electrical boxes and running the cables may still want to hire an electrician for the hookup to the power source, especially when it involves connecting to a new circuit breaker at the main service panel.