I recently purchased 3 First Alert combo devices (Smoke and CO). After looking at their website it appears (as the wording is confusing) that these devices do not communicate with each other. So when one goes off they don't all go off. If true... does anyone have any advice / rules on how to get all three to sound off when one of them alerts (to either smoke or CO)? I'm relatively new at this but have created a few basic rules (and learn fast).
I have 9 of these and can confirm that they do not communicate with each other. I am using HSM to tie them all together along with 3 sirens. I have HSM setup to trigger the sirens and flash specific lights if any of the devices detect smoke or CO. I also have HSM send push notifications to our phones via Pushover. The push notification identifies which smoke detector triggered the alarm.
As added redundancy, I also have IFTTT setup to call my cell phone if any of the alarms are triggered. The IFTTT recipe for this also calls if there is an intrusion or water leak alarm as well.
Here's a screenshot of my HSM Smoke and Carbon Monoxide setup.
Thank you! So does HSM automatically trigger the other smoke detector alarms when one sounds? Or do they just stay quiet until they also sense the smoke/CO? I can't really do a smoke test right now. If they stay quiet I guess I'll have to invest in a couple of sirens.
There was also something in the HE documentation about using Flash. That is one the devices doesn't support flash that the rule would stop? Have you found that to be true?
"NOTE: Any lights you choose to flash must have the capability. You can determine if the lights are capable of flashing by looking at the driver settings. If a flash button exists, the driver is capable of flashing your lights. If you select a light to flash that does not have the capability, it will disable all of your HSM alerts"
Not sure what the mean by "looking at the driver settings". I've looked at the Device Commands screen and don't see anything about flash. Most of the lights are Cree bulbs that use the "Generic Zigbee Bulb" type.
HSM will not trigger the other smoke alarms so you will need a siren. I put a siren on each level to ensure they can be heard throughout the house.
If the flash command isn’t available then either the device or the driver doesn’t support it. Below is an example of a light that supports flash.
You can't trigger something that isn't looking for a message about being triggered. The alarms are asleep and only wake up if their particle/smoke/co sensor is triggered or they hit the wake-up window.
In short, you cannot wake up any battery powered device if it is not listening. These aren't listening. If you want noise to happen on demand in the rooms where the other alarms are located you can purchase sirens (Aotec, Dome, etc)
Thank you. That makes sense that the alarms are sleeping and basically don't take 'incoming calls'.
I couldn't find any good sirens for under $50 so I've decided to build a couple using a couple of this 120db piezo alarm , a 2 amp 12volt power supply and an inexpensive z-wave smart plug. About $38 for each siren setup. They won't be considered as a siren in HE, but having HSM turning them on will have the same effect. One will be connected to an existing battery backup system. One is going under a hutch that is on the way to the door, so I may add some lights to it to help light the way out.
You could whip up a custom driver that would fix this very quickly and they could be considered as sirens. 
I'm using Utilitech wireless indoor sirens. These aren't being manufactured any longer, but they are fairly cheap and still available on ebay. They are also supported in HE.
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