I need to add a smoke detector to a room. I can add a classic style, but would love to get one that is z-wave and can connect to HE so I could program it to send me a push alert if it is going off.
It must be Battery Powered as where it is going I don't have power easily available
It must be able to connect directly to HE hub and not need to connect via something like a Ring Alarm Hub first.
This one caught my eye, but I think it REQUIRES a ring hub, right?
Hoping someone has a model recomendation that they like. Any post Ive read didn't look too hopeful.
Oh, I can defineatly wait until January for this. No rush.
Yeah....I wish soooo badly I had a mains powered spot here. From a mesh perspective alone, but then yeah, I'd 100% use a zen55. Saddly, without MAJOR pain in the rear, I'm stuck with battery powered.
I have 5 of these. They are fine. Slightly better with Jeff's driver because you get more frequent refreshes and a few other features. But def wait to see if the new one comes out in Jan if you can.
Needing to replace a bunch of my battery operated detectors and looking to add the new ones to my Hubitat system. I don't care about the CO side, but want some Z-Wave battery operated smoke detectors.
I ended up deciding that as of mid-April 2025 the new generation First Alert ZCombo still hasn't been released. I see that the Nest Protect compatible version is due out in May. Maybe they think everyone wants $130 detectors instead of $50 ones
In any case, I gave up and got some of the wireless interconnect versions recommended by Wirecutter and will probably use the z-wave listener device next to one to connect to my hub.
If your current smoke detector has useful life remaining, think twice before getting a new one simply to get new technology. Along with it comes an onerous new standard removing the ability to silence nuisance alarms when detection is above a certain threshold. There's no action you can take in an app or even hands on the detector to silence the alarm (that doesn't involve a ball peen hammer).
I have given up trying to locate a smoke detector in any room adjacent to my kitchen as frying bacon or a burger, or well-done toast, does in fact exceed that threshold.
Frees you up to purchase whichever smoke (or CO) detector makes the most sense for your needs, while still allowing for integration with a smart home system like Hubitat.
Well.....I guess I can say I'm just behind in techonology. From this statement alone, I'm able to infer what a "listening device does" and feel dumb having not known this was an option. 2 Follow up quesions:
Any model version you like/recomend?
How close does it need to be to the smoke detector? Could one be place in a hallway within earshot of more than 1 detectror and provide "coverage" for multiple ones?
Only one I’m aware of is the Ecolink Firefighter device. It needs to be placed within a few inches of the detector though (or at least that’s what the manufacturer says).
If you consider this device beware that it exists in a zigbee version but staff were unable to get it to work as expected with the hub. The z-wave version works great, though.
I like the flexibility of the listener, but with a native device and the right Hubitat driver one might get more detailed information in addition to the fact that the alarm triggered, though some things like battery level never seem to be that accurate.
Sorry, I should have given more detail. To add to the above details by marktheknife, I have one with another hub and they do not seem to differentiate between smoke and CO alarms. You just get a notification that there was an alarm. If you use the detectors with the wireless interconnect then you only need one Ecolink Firefighter to get an alert to Hubitat, but you don't know which specific unit triggered the alarm.
I used to use a relay from First Alert or BRK that did something similar, but without CO/Smoke differentiation.
The ZCombo out in the garage, along with an Ecolink Chime Siren, has been working out well for me. I used to get false alarms from other photoelectric detectors, which I believe were caused by spiders.
It is nice to know exactly which alarm went off, kind of like with leak detectors, which is possible with the ZCombo. Although, I suppose the talking interconnected models would let you know this as well if you were in the building.
If you have an alarm system, you might be able to have a separate smoke alarm close a dry contact which could be attached to an Ecolink door/window sensor, or similar. The alarm system could also give you a separate notification via text/email.
I'll look into that. I'm all in with Nest Protect smoke detectors all around the house, so I'm inclined to stay with those as they interconnect well with each other. As far as I know, the Nest Protect is photoelectric, although a "split-spectrum" to enhance ability to detect toast and bacon.
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