Investigation of smoke detectors usable with OH

Hardware Home Automation
1

Hi all,

I have been researching different smoke detectors usable with OH. This thread is meant to collect the information I have been digging out, and hopefully for some of you to share your experiences.

First off, here are some threads that cover the same topic:

Ideally, I would want smoke detectors that work as stand-alone, interlinked and with OH integration. In other words:

  • each sensor should sound when it detects smoke
  • should signal other sensors to sound as well
  • separate OH notifications for separate sensors
  • of course it should work even if OH is not running (both sounding locally and interlinking)
  • would be a plus if it could be found as battery-operated or mains with battery backup
  • battery operated sensors should report battery level to OH

Unfortunately, that seems like a tall order. I found that Cavius has a nice line-up, covering it all except OH integration, see https://www.cavius.com/. They even have a ā€œhubā€ (https://www.cavius.com/cavius-hub/) that allows use with a cloud service and app, but I asked them if there was an API for integration with home automation systems, and the answer was unfortunately that that was not currently available.

I looked into the Nest Protect, which have a great feature set, etc., but as others I prefer a system that does not require a cloud service, and especially now that the Nest API seems to be closed and OH integration probably will suffer.

I also looked into ZigBee smoke sensors. I use deconz with a ConBeeII for ZigBee. These are the ones listed on deconz supported device page (Supported Devices Ā· dresden-elektronik/deconz-rest-plugin Wiki Ā· GitHub):

  • Bitron 902010/24
  • Develco SMSZB-120
  • Heiman HS1SA-M
  • Xiaomi Mi (Honeywell) smoke sensor

If anyone has specific recommendations, warnings or reviews of these, please share!

Otherwise, as others have noted, it seems Z-wave is somewhat more widely used for smoke detectors. Here is what I have gathered from various posts (mainly on this forum).

POPP 004001
Can be sounded remotely, but battery only lasts 3-6 months. Could possibly be used with power supply.

POPP Ei600ZW
Local alarm function uses non-replacable 10 year battery. Separate battery for Z-wave function. Can be sounded remotely.
If someone has experience regarding how long the Z-wave battery lasts, please share.
Also sold as:

First Alert Zcombo
Both smoke and carbon monoxide detector, Z-wave reporting does not distinguish between different alarm types or test. Not available in EU.

Fibaro FGSD-002
Several posts regarding false alarms, although it is not clear if this problem has been solved in the 2nd generation.

Heiman HS1SA-Z
Seems to be fairly popular, and a nice small size. Havenā€™t seen anyone saying to avoid it. It appears to be marketed under various other brand names:

Others found in Z-wave alliance database
Havenā€™t seen much about these:

This one seems to have a very nice feature set (Both smoke and CO, voice prompts, 10-year battery time using 3 lithium CR123A, mains-power option). Unfortunately I have not been able to find anywhere it can be acquired: Climax Technology SDCO-1 https://products.z-wavealliance.org/products/3670

Carbon monoxide sensors

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This is a great summary of what can be found.
I went through a similar exercise recently and settled on Elro Home Connect smoke detectors: https://www.elro.eu/en/connectable-smoke-detectors-2-pack-fz5002r. They connect between each other over RF, and can connect back to a base hub that makes access from a mobile app possible. There is a cloud service behind it for that. However, someone already reverse engineered the protocol and made a python library to be able to have a local connection: https://github.com/dib0/elro_connects. I am considering building a OH binding based on this info when I find the time.
Positives: reasonable price, works with the detectors connnected without hub available, can be triggered from the app, battery status in the app.I also have a water leakage sensor connecting to the same hub. Other sensors are possible as well.
As I can trigger them and have battery status in the app, it is very likely we can get that locally as well.
Negative: no 10 year battery, so need to replace. But the signal is not Wifi, so power consumption I hope is reasonable.

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Hi @Mherwege,

That looks interesting. I will surely look into that option as well.

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I use smokedetectors from Innogy (formerly known as smarthome supply)

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Great list!

I can appreciate not wanting a cloud service, but I think itā€™s worth noting that the Nest Protect is excellent in its primary function of detecting smoke and carbon monoxide. Some would say itā€™s the best, but Iā€™m not a fan of superlatives. I think it could be seen as one of the best, though.

Iā€™m disappointed that the Nest Protect doesnā€™t have better integration at this point in timeā€“you can connect it to IFTTT to get notifications, but you canā€™t do anything with it via Google Assistant. However, my top priority with life-safety systems is that they do their job. So, I wouldnā€™t personally choose a detector that has better integration with OH or GA, but worse performance than the Nest Protect.

Please note that Iā€™m not criticizing anyone for prioritizing integration or avoiding cloud services, which are valid reasons for rejecting the Nest Protect. This is just my perspective when shopping for life-safety equipment.

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What an impressive list @spiff42 - completely sums up my own research and then some.

Itā€™s really hard to find a device that does it all.

Climax
I have tried to contact Climax several and even talked on the phone with them. It is an uphill battle. They are a OEM supplier so unless their inventory is picked up by a brand the products are nowhere to be found in stores. Such a shame as the SD-29 (SD-29-THME-ZW-SC-AC) has all the right specs.

POPP 004001
I talked to Aeotec who bought the POPP brand. The external power supply only powers the z-wave board and not the alarm. The alarm part still runs on battery alone. So at least here in Denmark it does not fulfil the building regulations for new homes.

I canā€™t believe it has to be so hard to find a fully mains powered z-wave or zigbee smoke detector.

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Well, if my interpretation of the building regulations is correct, it is only required to have multiple smoke detectors if there are separate floors. In this case (i.e. only if there is a requirement for multiple detectors, which means for two floors or more) they have to be interlinked and mains-powered with backup.

My house was built in 2016, a single floor building, and has only one smoke detector (mains-powered with backup). I assume that lives up to the regulations.

And I hope it is not illegal to add a separate system of smoke alarms, which are integrated with OH, but could be battery powered, or could be interlinked in a way that they do not all sound simultaneously, but instead notify OH.

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I think your interpretation is correct. Personally I would like all our alarms to be mains powered and have some sort of smart integration. Seems like a unicorn product.

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just letting know : working with Develco SMSZB-120 (zigbee).
My setup : bitronvideo zigbee stick, openhab 2.5.7. Docker on synology nas.

paired Develco SMSZB-120 smoke alarm and all working correctly. You can even use the alarm for other purposes (burglar alarm for instance), by sending the right command.
Also has a temperature sensor build in.

1 Like
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Thanks @jackydec,
I like the possibility of triggering the sounder from OH.

If you have only recently installed it, I suppose you do not have any observations of battery life? Here they claim 3+ years of battery life when reporting every 5 minutes: https://www.develcoproducts.com/products/sensors-and-alarms/smoke-alarm/#SmokeAlarmTechnicalSpecifications.

But if it is reporting only every 5 minutes, how about triggering the alarm?

Also, is there any possibility one alarm triggering the sounder on others (even if OH is down)?

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About battery life : Indeed too soon to know : but it can be monitored : there are 3 channels : Battery Alarm, Low Battery and Battery Voltage.

for the second question : i would like to make a rule that when channel Fire Alarm is set to ON, that all 3 alarms are triggered. I was following this thread : Fire alarm trigger and notification : making a group of 3 smoke alarms and if one of them sounds the alarm, activate all 3 alarms and send mail notification. Still experimenting with thisā€¦

I suppose that if OH is down only the smoke detector that detects smoke will be triggering his own alarm. I donā€™t think they connect to each other independently from OH.

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In the (somewhat old, 2016) technical manual found here: https://www.smarthome-store.de/media/documents/smoke-alarm-technical-manual.pdf they actually claim ā€œBattery life: up to 5 years, 2 minutes reportingā€. But even 2-3 years is acceptable in my opinion, as long as there is a battery low indication.

However, I am having a hard time finding a place to purchase it. Any suggestions?

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Iā€™ve ordered mine at Cozify : they deliver really fast all over Europe, I suppose, considering they are in Finland. https://en.cozify.fi/collections/devices/sensors.

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@jackydec, I decided to follow your path and ordered two Develco SMSZB-120 from Cozify.fi. They arrived two days later (WOW).

Got them connected with deconz (although the process was not that easy). Integration with OH is pending.

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who tried Netatmo Smart Smoke Alarm to pair with Bluetooth and Openhab ?

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Are there any updates on smoke detectors?

My current option would be to use Wifi smoke detectors and flash them with Tasmota to integrate them via MQTT into OH. Tasmota works quite well with OH.

There seem 3 options currently available, but I donĀ“t know about the battery lifeā€¦

would be my main choise, since it doesnĀ“t need any soldering for flashing.

and those

Did anyone tried that direction?

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Homematic smoke detectors (life time battery supply)
You can buy very inexpensively a CCU on ebay which connects to openhab through its binding Homematic - Bindings | openHAB

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Thanks for the list. Does anybody have some recommendations which smoke detector works fine and reliable?

Iā€™ve tried the fibaro fgsd002. It was a mess. 6 of 10 had false alarms several times after installation. Iā€™ve decided to send them back.

Regards,
Matthias

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As mentioned above, the Homematic ones make a very good impression. Running very reliably since I bought them. Provided detailed documentation on the channels here.

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Just got ā€œpingedā€ due to activity in this old thread, and thought I would share my experience with the Develco SMSZB-120.

The two devices I installed in August 2020 are still running fine, reporting into Deconz with temperature and battery level. I have not yet changed the batteries; after 3Ā½ years one is reporting 50% battery, one is reporting 75% battery. I have used the remote siren option a few times.

I have had no false alarms, but also no real alarms. Maybe I should test them (I have a can of test spray).

I think interlinking these alarms need to be done in the host (e.g. OpenHAB). I would have preferred if they could communicate on the ZigBee network even if deconz or OpenHAB is not running, but AFAIK that is not possible.

Overall, I am quite happy with the SMSZB-120, especially battery life and no false alarms.

The other smoke alarm, which was installed when the house was built, to meet building regulations (an Esylux Protector K, mains powered with battery backup) failed a few years ago, constantly sounding the alarm. Of course this happened in the middle of the night. I tried various things, but I was not able to fix it, so I had to replace it.
The replacement had a few false alarms (also in the middle of the night, of course). I have vacuum cleaned it, and apparently that solved the problem.

Hope someone finds this useful