Smart smoke alarms

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esawers

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#250561 16-May-2019 12:09

Can anyone recommend a Smart smoke alarm?

We use Alexa dots in our house so integration would be a bonus but not necessary. I had a quick look at the Nest Protect which looks awesome but I see Google are pulling support for Alexa in August.

Edit: The main purpose would be alerting us of a problem if we are out of the house.

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#2239072 16-May-2019 12:41

Do you have a house alarm that notifies you? You can wire smoke alarms into your house alarm, which powers them (no batters) and can set the whole house off/notify depending on the house alarm

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farcus

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#2239076 16-May-2019 12:47

you don't necessarily need a smart smoke alarm. Alexa can listen out for your "dumb" smoke alarm . . .

https://gizmodo.com/alexa-can-now-alert-you-if-glass-breaks-or-your-smoke-a-1834747615?IR=T

Senecio

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#2239086 16-May-2019 12:54

We have two Nest Protects in our house. I like that they notify us of a problem when away from the house. I also like that they talk to each other. If smoke is detected in the Kitchen and we're up the back of the house the warning is repeated through the Nest Protect in the hallway down that end of the house.

I recommend them.

esawers

551 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2239088 16-May-2019 12:59

davidcole:

Do you have a house alarm that notifies you? You can wire smoke alarms into your house alarm, which powers them (no batters) and can set the whole house off/notify depending on the house alarm

Yes we have an unmonitored alarm (Bosch 844), which rings my cellphone - I will look into compatible smoke alarms.

I don't think I would remember to tell Alexa to guard the house each time we left.

davidcole

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#2239102 16-May-2019 13:32

esawers:

davidcole:

Do you have a house alarm that notifies you? You can wire smoke alarms into your house alarm, which powers them (no batters) and can set the whole house off/notify depending on the house alarm

Yes we have an unmonitored alarm (Bosch 844), which rings my cellphone - I will look into compatible smoke alarms.

I don't think I would remember to tell Alexa to guard the house each time we left.

I don't know how specific (branding) they need to be, or if they're all similar (possibly like infrared sensors). But they just become other zones.

kiwijunglist

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#2239935 17-May-2019 13:03

I have smart smoke alarms.

I have two of the Xiaomi Honeywell zigbee smoke alarms.

I use a program (docker) called zigbee2mqtt and a usb cc2530 ($10) to communicated with the smoke alarms.

I use home assistant as my automation hub and when the smoke alarms go off it sounds an alarm on all my Google homes and it also sends a notification to my phone.

The disadvantages of this setup are:

1. I'm pretty sure these smoke alarms are not tested against the NZ/Au standard. However Honeywell make very good smoke alarms and they probably exceed the standard anyway.

2. Because I am no longer using the Xiaomi home hub of one smoke alarm goes off it doesn't make the other smoke alarm beep as well. Unfortunately no one has worked out how to trigger the smoke alarm to make noise via zigbee2mqtt

Cost is about $30-40 per alarm.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

jarledb

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#2239953 17-May-2019 13:44

Cavius now has a HUB that works with their wireless smoke detectors and that alerts via smartapp and/or email. And integrates with Google Home.

They have battery powered wireless smoke detectors, mains powered, heat alarm, motion detectors and door switches for quite nice prices.

There is no main central panel or sirene, so if thats important then the system won´t be for you.

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msukiwi

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#2239963 17-May-2019 14:30

jarledb:

Cavius now has a HUB that works with their wireless smoke detectors and that alerts via smartapp and/or email. And integrates with Google Home.

Wonder when / if it will be available in New Zealand.

billgates

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#2239972 17-May-2019 15:09

The Cavius HUB imported will not work in NZ due to different frequency. You can buy the various Cavius detectors locally. If you want Z-Wave covered then Heiman are great and NZ standard approved.

https://activeautomation.co.nz/heiman-smart-smoke-sensor

https://activeautomation.co.nz/heiman-smart-carbon-monoxide-sensor

Do whatever you want to do man.

Kickinbac

427 posts

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#2239998 17-May-2019 16:26

msukiwi:

jarledb:

Cavius now has a HUB that works with their wireless smoke detectors and that alerts via smartapp and/or email. And integrates with Google Home.

Wonder when / if it will be available in New Zealand.

Yes, I'm interested in these too. I just put in three of the Cavius wireless smoke detectors and will do a couple of the wired sensors too (one upstairs and one downstairs in my house). Would be good to link them to the hub if it's ever available.

jarledb

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#2240665 18-May-2019 21:59

billgates:

The Cavius HUB imported will not work in NZ due to different frequency.

Ah, that sucks. Wasn´t aware of that.

Do you know why the 868 MHz frequency used by security equitpment in the EU isn´t allowed here?

esawers

551 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2248429 30-May-2019 12:51

I just had this reply from Cavius NZ

Thank you for your email and interest in CAVIUS.

We are launching the Hub in New Zealand around the end of September/start of October. There are a couple of aspects we need to adjust for the Australasian market, then I can place an order. It will be available at all the major DIY chains; Mitre 10, Bunnings, PlaceMakers and I’m sure our other resellers will also stock the product.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any further questions.

esawers

551 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2248430 30-May-2019 12:52

jarledb:

billgates:

The Cavius HUB imported will not work in NZ due to different frequency.

Ah, that sucks. Wasn´t aware of that.

Do you know why the 868 MHz frequency used by security equitpment in the EU isn´t allowed here?

I'm not an expert but this website says the equipment uses different frequencies depending on the country, so the overseas hubs would not work with NZ smoke alarms.

https://www.activeautomation.co.nz/what-is-z-wave

kiwijunglist

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#2248437 30-May-2019 13:00

correct. must have same frequency. overseas z-wave frequency is illegal to use in NZ.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

ben28

190 posts

Master Geek

#2248445 30-May-2019 13:13

apparently this low cost camera monitors for smoke alarm sounds. In case you want to go down this path...

https://www.wyze.com/wyze-cam/

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