Can anyone recommend a good zwave or Zigbee smoke & co detector?
I used to have first alert or kidde but they don't seem to make them anymore.
I whish I could remember the name of the company that made a smoke and CO2 alarm listener. Instead of replacing your current detectors you install a small ZigBee "listener" near the existing smoke / CO2 detector and when the alert goes off it detects it and sends the signals to your hub.
I know that SimpliSafe just started shipping their version of this device but two years ago I was researching the same for the Hubitat. Abode and Ring I think do the same thing.
Recent(ish) discussion had some recommended listeners. I'm probably going to go down this path when my Z-Combo devices "expire."
Costco appears to have them, "on sale" 75USD/2pack
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I have these from First Alert and their newer model. They’re fine. Mine aren’t near the kitchen and have never gone off. But they seem to be well behaved zwave devices.
That being said, the argument for cheap standard detectors and a connected “listener” is legit.
I had a Firefighter listener in place to connect my Nest detectors to my hub, but all my Nests have expired, so I'm only using First Alert Z-Wave detectors now. The main advantages I see to having Z-Wave detectors vs. the listener are:
- the listener requires interconnected detectors if you don't want to have multiple listeners.
- the listener has a separate battery from the detector (although monitoring it shouldn't be a problem)
- a single listener can't tell you where the alert is coming from (if you're not home). With the Z-Wave detector you know which one went off.
My parents have hard-wired interconnected detectors in their house and they were getting a lot of false alarms. The Firefighter I installed there reliably notified me when the alarm went off, but I wish I had some way of knowing which detector had alarmed.
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I still say Nest Protects with a Ecolink firefighter is the best way to go,.
I used to have a bunch with BRK photos. I blame spiders. Went with BRK ions and no problems. Although I have a Combo in the garage (photo) and no problem, so who knows.
Use one of these and just off the shelf wired smoke detectors?
Zooz Z-Wave Plus Smoke and CO Detector Bridge ZEN55 800LR - The Smartest House
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I just replaced all of my expired wired detectors with a combination of First Alert smoke and smoke / CO2 depending on location and a Zen55. Adding a fire detector to the garage with a Zen55 for that as well.
One last postscript:
I did manage to find some availability for the First Alert Zsmoke device, and immediately ordered a few of them (from HomeControls).
HOWEVER, buyer beware.
As soon as I got home (a few weeks after receiving these units), I opened one up, and low and behold, it had a manufactured date of May 2024. That means that I will probably get that end of life warning again, around May 2031.
It does appear that First Alert has decided to cease production of these devices.
As a result, sooner or later, the "firefighter" listening device will be the only alternative.
I don't think that's true. I think it's 7 years from when it's first activated.
