I have a question, but first my hard/sw configuration to make sure that things are clear.
I am running the latest release of HA on a Raspberry Pi4 with a slae.sh cc2652rb USB stick and a RFXCOM module (433Mhz).
Now my question.
At home I use Flamingo FA20/21(RF) series for smoke detection.
Itās cheap, semi reliable, but uses one-direction traffic.
This year I adopted a dog from Greece. Unfortunately, when my smoke alarm is triggered, my dog gets an epilepsy attack (stress trigger). This is the main reason why I want to replace all my smoke detectors at home.
My requirements are:
Smoke/fire alarm running on 220v or a few batteries (slow energy consumption)
Reliable (no false positives)
Not too expensive (I have to buy 10)
Turn the alarm off remotely (very important!!)
Using (preferably) Zigbee as a protocol
Easy to integrate with Home Assistant (out of the box, without using complex scripting, MQQTT or such things)
Remote status feedback regarding (battery health if needed, current state, and so onā¦)
Alarm function on my smartphone (preferable via Home Assistant ā loud sound).
Certified (donāt want to have a discussion with the insurance company / Aliexpress, et ceteraā¦
I know, there are a lot of topics/questions about smoke alarms in this forum, but they tend to deviate from the initial question.
My question is: What are the best ones to buy regarding my requirements mentioned above?
Sorry to bother, but any smoke detector will cause that for your dog. The whole point of the smoke detector is to be loud and disturbing, to wake you up from your deepest sleep state as well.
Regarding remote turn off, I think that will not work either, as it is a local device, how would you know remotely that there isnāt a real emergency.
How often do you have false positives from your current one? And when you say, false positive, what is causing it?
The current ones that I have are cheap (6 Dollars), but they are also inreliable.
They also ābeepā when the batteries are low (no battery status feedback).
And in case when a real alarm goes of, I like to turn them of via remote control or ask the neighbours to take a quick look and help. I also can take a look via my cameraās when I am working and call some one.
I know that the meaning of an alarm is to wake me up or alert someone, but I donāt want to let the alarm go of for hours. This is not necessary. Thats why I was asking for advice (requirements).
Pretty standard. That is the low battery status feedback, what you are missing. Also they do flash periodically as well, if wired, to show that they are alive.
Donāt get me wrong, but I have never heard of a smoke alarm what you can silence remotely. The main reason for it, as it is being a smoke alarm. It is an alarm for an imminent danger to life locally where the device is.
If you have false positive alarms, what you havenāt explained how often and how, but if you have any, then you should consider why the device is triggering.
I do have Nest Protect smoke alarms at home. They have Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity. But they cannot be silenced remotely, only locally with the button on them or with the app by Bluetooth connection, which again a short range connection.
Maybe I wasnāt clear (sorry for that). There must be an alarm sound, but I donāt want that it will go on for hours on a row. When the alarm goes of, I just want to shut it down remotely, otherwise my dog will go crazy. Thatās why.
I understand you. But to my knowledge, there isnāt any smoke alarm what you can silence remotely. See the reasons above in my previous post.
Just to explain you why, just imagine the following situation.
Smoke, CO alarm goes off, but the level is small, and the software would allow you to silence it being away, without seeing what is the real situation next to the smoke detector. Even worse, you would set an automation to turn it off automatically because you deem there are far too many false positives.
Meanwhile there is a real situation, but you turned off the alarm in the low level state, and things get worse in a few minutes and alarm goes into a full blast smoke alarm state. That few minutes is enough to burn down a whole room. Or the CO to kill somebody in sleep.
What do you think how is a lawsuit would be if that would be a real situation and somebody would die, or the fire would spread further than your property?
Please tell me how many times you had a false alarm on your smoke detector which went on for hours?
And please tell me, what was that false alarm?
Maybe you should consult a professional regarding fire safety regulations in your countryā¦
And your insurance company as well regarding your plansā¦
I am not joking.
I understand your problem, but obviously you do not understand the functionality and purpose of the device what you are asking about.
Itās fairly simple in my opinion.
I didnāt mention a CO-alarm, but regarding the false positives, that is the current status with the cheap smoke detectors.
A friend of mine has a professional smoke detector and that is sometimes (also) triggered by starting the shower, during ironing, dusts, insects or other things. If that happens at my home, my dog will go crazy, so I would like to shut the thing asap. So, the point I am trying to make, is that I want a reliable smoke detector. I donāt want to have the alarm going of for 6 hours and noticed this when I am back from workā¦
Regarding the alarm when Iām not at home. I certainly aware that sometimes a room can burn down in a few minutes.
So, in that way there is also no purpose the let the alarm going for hours (at home or not at home).
I currently have 10 smoke detectors at home and believe me, you can hear the sound on another planet ļ. In case Iām not at home, I donāt want to have an alarm going of an hour.
PS.
I live in a free-standing house.
As I read your requests Iām certain you will need to amend your list to drop remote silence. Just a bad idea and I seriously doubt you will be able to find any smoke with that feature for the reasons already stated.
I feel for your puppy but thatās just a bad idea. Spend your time finding other ways to comfort your pet.
If you would read the instructions of your current smoke detector it says, that you should clean it periodically for the same reason what you stated above.
I am not here to argue, but you should understand remote silencing is not an option, because it is a LOCAL safety device.
Have you ever had a situation that the alarm went off for hours when you were away?
If there is a real event, you will be unable to turn it off anyway. And in case you are not at home, that sound can alarm other people to call the firefighters.
This is the purpose of the deviceā¦
And just to tell you a story, I have 3 Nest Protects. In October one of them triggered at 5AM in the kitchen. It woke all of us up. There is a electric mosquito trap close to the sensor which fried a moth probably and it produced smoke. The sensor picked it up and alarmed us. I couldnāt be happier that it has worked. It could have been a faulty electric equipment which could caught fire.
My wife and my kids doesnāt like the smoke detectors due to the same reason why you dog doesnāt like it. It is loud, and it goes off when we cook oily things and that starts to boil/smoke on a pan. But at this time my wife was happy as well that it worked. It is fulfilling its purpose being loud and annoying.
Anything what is smart is expensive. But here is one which would fulfill most of your requirements.
Something from the manual to note:
Other information ā¢ Note local country regulations regarding
installation of mains powered alarms in new
buildings.
ā¢ Note local regulations about information
to your insurance company regarding
installed Intelligent Smoke Alarms.
