Hard wired detectors save lives and money. You might be surprised how cheap it can be to install hard wired smoke detectors. Not only are they safer because they do not require batteries, but they can help you in 2 additional areas. On the insurance side, you may receive a discount on your homeowner's insurance by having hard wired electric smoke detectors. This is especially the case if you are a landlord or own rental properties of any kind. On the real estate side, you may fail the home inspection if you forget to change the batteries and the detectors are not working at the time of inspection. Re-inspections are not cheap.