Recommendations for Home Assistant smoke detectors

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Recommendations for Home Assistant smoke detectors

tim0001

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 146

#303189 23-Jan-2023 13:57

When going around and checking all the smoke alarms in the house last week, I found one that had totally failed. This got me thinking of a hack that I saw a few years ago about adding an ESP8266 to an ordinary smoke detector to make it “smarter”. esp8266 mod

So I was thinking as well as the existing certified smoke/heat alarms, I could add some smoke detectors that work with HA. Has anyone here had some successes ?

The main features that I would like are:

Report battery voltage back to HA
Detector to send something to HA regularly (which HA could use to help determine whether the device is alive)
Wirelessly send alarms from other buildings (eg workshop, garage) to Home Assistant (already have WiFi in those buildings)
Long battery life
WiFi (LoRa would be ok too)

Not looking for "five 9s” reliability because these will be in addition to the existing alarms.

The plan would be for HA to notify me if the battery voltage got low, or if one of the devices failed to report in daily.

Other than the DIY approach, Aliexpress has some tuya smoke alarms . Maybe they would fit the bill, or be easily flashable? Anyone tried them?

1 | 2

3348 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2842

#3025775 23-Jan-2023 14:33

These are Tuya based and there's a few methods to access Tuya on HA as you probably know: https://www.dicksmith.co.nz/dn/buy/zoestore-wifi-smoke-detector-smart-fire-alarm-sensor-wireless-security-system-tuya-s4779/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_ads&gclid=CjwKCAiA2rOeBhAsEiwA2Pl7Qz3jeRG_Sx-pUZDX3Ww6Rsys5sZkKQ3jucfTocIM3UU13ffCQKaKghoC0aAQAvD_BwE

No personal experience with these detectors though.

davidcole

6099 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1465

Trusted

#3025863 23-Jan-2023 16:37

What about smoke alarms attached to your house alarm? Then later if you can get access to the house alarm via home kit.

Yes wiring is a pain. But no batteries needed…

Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight

michaelmurfy

meow
13579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10910

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3025872 23-Jan-2023 16:54

One thing to strongly consider is basically don't screw around with safety. I personally wouldn't trust the Tuya ones and since smoke detectors are a thing that protect life and property you're better to get the best you could possibly get.

I have the Google Nest smoke detectors due to the fact the fire service rates them at the very top in terms of reliability and detection performance. Expensive, yes, and they don't link to Home Assistant but they self-test, they tell me when their battery needs changing and they tell me without fully screaming if smoke is detected just in case I am burning something in the kitchen.

Don't every mess around with safety. Do it properly. Hard wired certified alarms or go with a name brand that is also certified. Cheap Tuya ones you shouldn't ever consider.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

timmmay

20857 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5349

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3025890 23-Jan-2023 17:59

I have a calendar reminder to test the smoke alarms every three months. If I wanted HA to be integrated I might consider trying to detect the alarm, rather than integrating with it.

tim0001

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 146

#3025897 23-Jan-2023 18:37

@davidcole Hard wired alarms would probably be a long term goal. Don't have a house alarm.

@michaelmurfy I agree that cheap uncertified sensors should not be used as your only smoke alarms. The Tuya sensors would be in addition to the existing smoke detectors. I'd be gaining resiliency. Ultimately I'd like a home sprinkler system, but I'm too afraid to ask how much that would cost...

@timmmay I'll have a look at what detection options are available. So far I've mainly looked at electrically connecting to a standard smoke alarm. (Based on yesterdays teardown, this looks to be pretty easy). But there are some other options that I haven't really looked at eg alexa-guard

Handle9

11923 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9674

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3025909 23-Jan-2023 19:36

michaelmurfy:

One thing to strongly consider is basically don't screw around with safety. I personally wouldn't trust the Tuya ones and since smoke detectors are a thing that protect life and property you're better to get the best you could possibly get.

I have the Google Nest smoke detectors due to the fact the fire service rates them at the very top in terms of reliability and detection performance. Expensive, yes, and they don't link to Home Assistant but they self-test, they tell me when their battery needs changing and they tell me without fully screaming if smoke is detected just in case I am burning something in the kitchen.

Don't every mess around with safety. Do it properly. Hard wired certified alarms or go with a name brand that is also certified. Cheap Tuya ones you shouldn't ever consider.

It's interesting you are citing Nest Protect as I don't believe they are compliant with NZS4514:2009 or an acceptable solution under the building code clause F7/AS1.

The state of the NZ fire detection regulations is another very messy topic but if it doesn't have a physical hush button it's not compliant with NZ regulations.

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

michaelmurfy

meow
13579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10910

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3025916 23-Jan-2023 20:17

@Handle9 the Nest Protect does have a physical hush button however you can either wave to hush it, hit the physical button or use the app. It is also what the fire service recommends here too. Also comes out at the top in consumer tests and the fact it has carbon monoxide detection makes it a great option.

Same bush button can be used to test the alarms - they do however do a monthly test themselves.

I didn’t want something that would mistakenly go off without warning and spook our indoor cats. The advanced warning is great for that (it will scream if it’s 100% confident a fire is happening).

pchs

187 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 46

#3025924 23-Jan-2023 21:12

+1 Looking for the same, in my situation I have existing wiring from an older alarm system that I'm just looking to upgrade - so my big 2 requirements are hardwired and HA integration, seems very hard to find.

Previously been using Fibaro Z-Wave detectors but they are horribly unreliable and have many false positives.

eonsim

403 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 192

Trusted

#3025940 23-Jan-2023 22:15

I don't know if it's NZ compliant (though they've been pretty good at getting most things signed off), but Shelly has a smoke alarm 'Shelly Plus Smoke' considering it's running an ESP32 I suspect it will hook up to HA like the rest of there devices.

https://www.shelly.cloud/en/products/shop/shelly-plus-smoke

dasimpsonsrule

148 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 37

#3025945 23-Jan-2023 22:37

You can get events from Cavius wireless detectors using RTL_433 and pass that into home automation using MQTT. In this case the detectors are fully standalone and the automation is receive only which I think is good from a safety aspect

Handle9

11923 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9674

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3025950 23-Jan-2023 22:58

michaelmurfy: Handle9 the Nest Protect does have a physical hush button however you can either wave to hush it, hit the physical button or use the app. It is also what the fire service recommends here too. Also comes out at the top in consumer tests and the fact it has carbon monoxide detection makes it a great option.

Same bush button can be used to test the alarms - they do however do a monthly test themselves.

I didn’t want something that would mistakenly go off without warning and spook our indoor cats. The advanced warning is great for that (it will scream if it’s 100% confident a fire is happening).

The standards require a physical button, an app isn’t an acceptable substitute. If it’s got that it should be ok.

The NZ fire standards are arcane and very obsolete in todays world but they are what they are.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

michaelmurfy

meow
13579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10910

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3025951 23-Jan-2023 23:12

@Handle9 Yes, they have a physical, clicky button...

Silvrav

477 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 173

ID Verified

#3026008 24-Jan-2023 08:57

tim0001:

@davidcole Hard wired alarms would probably be a long term goal. Don't have a house alarm.

@michaelmurfy I agree that cheap uncertified sensors should not be used as your only smoke alarms. The Tuya sensors would be in addition to the existing smoke detectors. I'd be gaining resiliency. Ultimately I'd like a home sprinkler system, but I'm too afraid to ask how much that would cost...

@timmmay I'll have a look at what detection options are available. So far I've mainly looked at electrically connecting to a standard smoke alarm. (Based on yesterdays teardown, this looks to be pretty easy). But there are some other options that I haven't really looked at eg alexa-guard

Alexa guard unfortunately is not available in NZ, even though they stated back in 2019 its coming to NZ.

I am also looking at hard wired options as a ESP in a battery nit will severely drain the battery, even in sleep mode.

Johnk

837 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 192

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3026018 24-Jan-2023 09:36

Handle9:

It's interesting you are citing Nest Protect as I don't believe they are compliant with NZS4514:2009 or an acceptable solution under the building code clause F7/AS1.

The state of the NZ fire detection regulations is another very messy topic but if it doesn't have a physical hush button it's not compliant with NZ regulations.

It looks like Nest is all good to use in NZ, they meet UL217; CAN/ULC-S531; EN-14504; and AS 3786, meeting any one of these on its own would make it complaint with NZS 4514:2021 Sec 2.1.1

tim0001

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 146

#3026078 24-Jan-2023 11:23

Silvrav:

I am also looking at hard wired options as a ESP in a battery nit will severely drain the battery, even in sleep mode.

Running a esp8266 on a 9v battery has its challenges, but I haven't ruled it out yet because other people seem to have pulled it off. A bare bones esp-12 module and low quiescent current regulator draw around 20uA in deep sleep. An esp32s might also be worth looking into. But before I go down that route, I was hoping to find out more about the Aliexpress Tuya alarms. (Also, the Cavius option mentioned by dasimpsonsrule sounds interesting)

1 | 2