Why do smoke alarms keep going off even when there’s no smoke?

An electrical engineer explains how smoke detectors work, and how to reduce the chances of a false positive.

By: MVS Chandrashekhar, University of South Carolina, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 29, 2026

Words: 779

Last Updated: 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Body Text Preview

By MVS Chandrashekhar, University of South Carolina

Editor’s note: MVS Chandrashekhar is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of South Carolina. In this interview, he explains how smoke detectors work and why they sometimes sound an alarm for what seems like no reason.

Why do smoke detector alarms go off even when there’s no smoke?

The most likely reason smoke detectors go off unexpectedly is that people aren’t changing the batteries in them often …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

About

FAQ

Email Us