How do I choose a carbon monoxide alarm?

The best carbon monoxide alarm is the one that meets the safety standard and stays installed where it can warn you. CPSC recommends at least one CO alarm that meets UL 2034, and EPA repeats the same baseline while reminding you that alarms belong on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas.

That gives you the core decision rule: standard first, placement second, extras third. If your house has fuel-burning appliances, a CO alarm is not a luxury add-on. It is the thing that tells you a leak exists before symptoms get blamed on a bad night of sleep.

Interconnected alarms are worth paying for if you have a bigger home, because one alarm sounding in the basement is a lot less useful if nobody upstairs hears it. Battery backup is also worth it, because the most useful alarm is useless if the power is out.

The smoke detector and surge protector pages cover the other half of the home safety stack.

If you are shopping now, look for a carbon monoxide alarm rated UL 2034.