Wow. Just noticed NACHI’s SOP for electrical. Seems like an extreme oversight for our times. There is nothing more important about the safety of the occupants than functioning smoke and CO alarms.
"IV. The inspector is not required to:
…
operate or test smoke or carbon-monoxide detectors or alarms. "
The Texas SOP requires testing of smoke & CO detectors. See TREC Rule 535.229 (b)(1)(C)(v)(VI) with exceptions for ones that are or may be monitored or require codes to operate.
I don’t test them. I have a narrative in my report directing the client to test all smoke and CO detectors upon moving in and annually for proper function. I do note if they are present as quite often they are nowhere to be found.
Been there done that. The fire department came in with sirens blasting.
We did check CO levels with our meter though. I used to run one on every inspection. Carbon Monoxide kills 170 people a year, which isn’t very much compared to radon which kills 21,000 people a year, but a life is a life.
Terrorist attacks kill very few Americans: 72 a year on average. More Americans die from Carbon Monoxide than terrorist attacks. We wasted 7 trillion dollars along with 180,000 civilians attacking the wrong countries. Anyway, even bees kill more Americans than terrorist attacks.
To test the new smoke detectors that are connected to Nest, you have to have the owner’s phone or tablet connected to Nest Protect, and you have to have access to that phone or tablet. That’s what this video doesn’t tell you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlwIW_OAvns) . Here is how fancy the new ones are getting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyuTphUrz60)
FABI’s SOP is worded oddly on the matter (probably should have been under their “describe” section rather than their “inspect” section, but I understand what they were trying to say to do.
Some of the new smart home systems shut the furnace off in a fire. But it’s unclear to me if it shuts the furnace off during a test. And if it doesn’t kill the furnace during a test, would that be considered a failed test or simply a system that is smart enough to know it’s only a test?