New York – New York state will soon mandate that new smoke detectors contain 10-year, non-removable batteries.
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law late Monday.
States including California and Maryland already have similar requirements.
When the new law takes effect in New York in 2017 the state will prohibit the sale of any detector that requires traditional replaceable batteries. The rule is intended to reduce tampering and ensure detectors continue to work even if a homeowner or business owner forgot to change the batteries.
Sponsors say detectors are a proven lifesaver, noting that fire deaths have been cut in half since the state first required smoke alarms in homes starting in 1961.
According to manufacturers the mandate will save consumers money by negating the need to purchase new batteries.
The solution for people not to hamper with smoke detectors that a kind of snooze button which is easily accessed and not by crawling up on a ladder to turn it off. At my house, and most probably not the only one, every time I cook something smokey I take out the battery of the smoke detector and not always do I remember to put it back in.
The fire department advised us to *NOT* buy these because you never remember to test them, since you don’t need to change the batteries. They regard them as more dangerous and less effective in practice than the battery operated kind.
I guess I’ll have to buy my detectors on Amazon.
The key line in this article is: “According to manufacturers the mandate will save consumers money by negating the need to purchase new batteries.” They are more expensive devices that have higher profit margins for the manufacturers. Who cares if a few people die unnecessarily in fires, right?
And how many people are going to replace a more expensive item after ten years?
And how are they going to be recycled? Or do they just add to the poisonous waste trash?
MAKE the companies exchange them for a SMALL fee after ten years.
Most landlords will not spend anymore gelt on their renters.