We have a couple of hard wired (inoperable) smoke detectors. Can we just replace these? Or is it necessary to contact security professionals like Canadian Security Professionals(csp) ? I think these are around 30 years old. Also, do new houses in have to have hard wired smoke dectectors? Just curious.
Is this in a household residence or apartment/commercial building? For households, I don’t see why you couldn’t just replace them yourselves. But I would say it would be best to buy new hard wired ones to replace the old ones, and if they’re interconnected to buy the same ones. You just have to make sure they are ULC listed.
If you’re talking about more of an apartment, or commercial building, there is a code for that in the Ontario Building Code (assuming you’re from Ontario), which states that smoke alarms must have permanent connections to an electrical circuit, have no disconnect switch between the smoke alarm and breaker, and have an alternate power source, like a battery [3.2.4.22.(5)].
Building off of what EdwardsFan said, if you’re not that experienced with wiring, try to buy alarms that have an adapter kit, so you won’t need to rewire anything. Unless of course, those aren’t ULC listed.
Also, can a mod move this to Fire Alarm Help? I think OP will get more of the help he or she needs.