For some reason, I was pondering smoke alarms this morning, trying to figure out why they need batteries. Why not just wire them directly into the house electrical current? No more having to put up with obnoxious beeping when the batteries get low, no more worries about a dead smoke alarm causing someone’s death in a house fire because they couldn’t get out in time.
Aah — sounds good, but what if a house fire destroys the electrical wiring and cuts off power to the smoke alarm?
Seems simple enough in this day and age. Don’t get rid of the current battery system — just replace it with a rechargeable backup battery that kicks in in the event of a power outage, and then is recharged from the house current once power is restored.
If I ever have the money to build my own house (hey, I can dream), if a device like this doesn’t exist yet, I may see what it takes to create one, or hack one together.
Random morning ramblings. That’s all.
“Goodnight Lover” by Fluke from the album Risotto (1997, 7:34).