Polarizing filters absorb components of the electric field that is not parallel to the desired polarization, which makes them rather inefficient. I'm wondering if there's a way to polarize light without removing energy from the wave.Reflection seems promising since we can produce very reflective material, but I don't think the polarization angle can be adjusted easily.
The chirping noise may also mean that the sensor is no longer working correctly. If you don't know the age of the detectors, it's probably a good idea to replace ALL of them anyway. The price of smoke detectors is nothing, compared with losing the entire house - or worse. Note that the battery-powered unit probably isn't up to code in your area, so THAT should be the one to go. If there's a house fire, and the insurance company finds that the detectors don't meet code, your coverage may be in question. On the other side of the coin, replacing the existing detectors may -lower- your premium. Things to think about..
This is not an answer but a question as well. I live in an apartment and cannot remove or move my hard-wired smoke detector. It is about 3 feet from the stove and even boiling water sets it off. Just so you know, I don't burn my food, my stove and oven are spotless (ok pretty clean) and I know how to boil water. It has gotten to the point where I don't even enjoy cooking anymore because I am so anxious about the smoke detector. No window nearby to open, but a great fan.. but it still goes off almost every time. It is making me crazy. Oh and it is on the same fuse as the stove. Ahhhhh. Suggestions? Thanks in advance.
You should be able to simply turn it on direction or the other and pull it off the ceiling/wall. It should have a wire harness that plugs into the back that you just need to pull out. Now if it isn't mounted like that then you should be able to remove the face of it. You would find it screwed onto the wall with the wire coming in. It would be best to find the fuse/breaker that provides current for this circuit before you attempt to remove it. After removing power just cut or unscrew the wires and put a wire nut on the ends of the wires tuck them into the electrical box the alarm should have been mounted to. Cover the box with your choice of style blank wall plate or a picture and restore power. On some smoke detectors after the batter has been changed you need to reset the alarm. You do this by pressing the test button. If it is a seriously outdated alarm then you may want to replace it. I dont like battery only alarms and there is no substitution for a wired detector with a batter back up. Be sure to check the other detector and make sure it is for smoke and not some other gas like Radon or carbon monoxide. They look alike and are easily mistook for one or the other. I would suggest getting a new detector and installing it where the other one was. In fact if all of the smoke detectors in the house are the same I would replace them all as they are good for 10 years. There should be information on the back of the detector saying when it was made or when to replace it, read it carefully. Be safe!!!
mostly true unless i'm really grumpy then i might explode and feel all good again
Locate the breaker for the detector in your service panel and switch it off. Unscrew the detector from it's mounting plate (usually a half turn to the right or left). Uncouple the wire nuts joining the detector wires to the black, white and ground wire of the incoming conductors. Then you will need to either cap the black and white wire with tape or the wire nut, if this detector was a stand alone, or at the end of the line. If there are downstream detectors, you will need to couple the black, white and copper ground conductors together. Switch your breaker back on and you should be good to go.
