Hey all, my next project is going to be replacing my aging smoke detectors with something HA can understand. Can anyone give me a hint which integrate well and work reliably? One requirement I have is that I specifically need a system that offers heat sensors in addition to smoke detectors to outfit my kitchen.
#Which smoke detectors to buy for HA integration?
rapid lantern
strong echo
I'm also curious if there are good solutions. I can share some research I've done. Generally I could not find any that seem safe (e.g. NEC compliant, UL rated) that have good integration, at least not in terms of control. When tied to a real panel, sometimes the panel itself can be controlled for example to reset them, but (again as an example) control at the level of resetting them just doesn't seem to be available on ones you want to trust with life safety. What I did find is a number of solutions that fit in line somehow to provide indications of an alarm, e.g. they can ride on the wired interconnect (if you use wired), or even just listen for the alarm tone and relay that as a sensor. Basically things not integrated with the alarm at all, but riding on top somehow.
One problem with those that has kept me away is my main use case is "which alarm went off". The US requirement that smokes be interconnected, i.e. all alarm when one alarms, means it is very hard to tell quickly which is alarming. I get that you want the whole house awake, I get that the "safest" answer is run away, but I really want to know where the smoke is coming from, and none of the add-on integrations I found help with that (if you have interconnected alarms, which you probably should).
So... following along to see if others have better luck than I did.
indigo night
I have a First Alert ZCOMBO 2-in-1, which seems to work fine. I haven't had a fire to test it, but everything appears fine with it. I don't think it has a temp sensor, but I have it in an area with a Aoetec 6 in 1 sensor, which can handle temp, motion, humidity, etc.
stone pasture
I have 7 wired and linked in smoke/CO detectors as required by current building codes They work great . I got this that listen for alarms and can distinguish between smoke and CO alarms Ecolink Zwave Plus Wireless Audio Detector Wireless Audio Detector for existing sensors, White (FF-ZWAVE5-ECO)
https://discoverecolink.com/product/firefighter-z-wave-plus-wireless-smoke-co-audio-sensor-diy/
strong echo
I have a First Alert ZCOMBO 2-in-1, which seems to work fine. I haven't had a fi...
Is that their z-wave version? I read through their manual and while the specs say it is interconnected wirelessly, the manual does not indicate how. It wouldn't be acceptable (NEC or safety wise) if it relies on a zwave hub to inter-connect.
Though I do like z-wave for things, it is more vendor independent and rarely involves setting up cloud accounts. I'm not quite sure what this means though "certified z-wave devices enabled with the First Alert protocol", almost sounds like there's some addendum to the zwave standard for first-alert?
indigo night
also, it will "interconnect" with other smoke detectors wirelessly, without a carrier wire, I believe it is audible. When my other alarms went off, it sounded as well. I believe it just detects the alarm and triggers.
so not sure how it triggers when others go off, but it did for sure. The alarms I have throughout my house are Kiddie Firex alarms, which are not zwave at all, but I wanted this one for a special purpose.
one drawback is that it is battery only, but HA tells me when the battery is low, so I can change it out.
this is how is shows up in ZwaveJS UI.
strong echo
I might just order a couple of those and experiment. That's the one I looked at the manual for. It shows promise. Thank you. Surprised it doesn't have security (not that I need it, but seems odd for something related to safety).
Hmm... they have three SKU's, one discontinued (First alert site shows ZCOMBO), one 1045015 and one 1044807. Can't see any difference in specs. Interestingly the amazon link (1044807) is cheaper than the discontinued one. US$39. I need to go pull a couple down in my (new to me) house, see what flavor they are re interconnect, AC, etc.
strong echo
Lots of complaints online (e.g. reddit) about false alarms from these.
indigo night
INteresting, I don't think I've had 1 false alarm. I do have it in a clean room, filtered air in and out, door is semi sealed, positive pressure. So it stays really clean. The only time I recall it being triggered, was when I hit the test button. Maybe I should blow some smoke at it and see if it works at all.. I know Zwave is alive and says it is working
strong echo
Well, it's the internet, and people rarely come here to say "it works fine", so who knows if it is representative.
indigo night
I agree, odd that it isn't listed as security 1 at least, but I think I have the original zcombo... but it is working, I just hit the test on it and HA showed it as Test immediately, so it is working and reporting to HA.
pine elk
Look at 4-wire smoke detectors
astral radish
Have the First Alert Z-Wave throughout my house for about six months, they work great. It’s also nice to be able to head off overnight battery warnings by monitoring battery health proactively