k5map Posted January 22, 2016 Posted January 22, 2016 I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has connected the First Alert Smoke Detector to their ISY http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-Z-Wave-Carbon-Monoxide/dp/B00KMHXFAI If you have, any issues/concerns and what has been your experience.
Teken Posted January 22, 2016 Posted January 22, 2016 I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has connected the First Alert Smoke Detector to their ISY http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-Z-Wave-Carbon-Monoxide/dp/B00KMHXFAI If you have, any issues/concerns and what has been your experience. There have been a few related threads already for the Z-Wave enabled One Link units. Since the 994 Series Controller presently doesn't support multi channel devices you may see off behavior or status results.
k5map Posted January 22, 2016 Author Posted January 22, 2016 Glad I asked I didn't see any mention of multi-channel in the information on the device (also thought only multi channel devices were buttons, keypads, etc).
Teken Posted January 22, 2016 Posted January 22, 2016 Glad I asked I didn't see any mention of multi-channel in the information on the device (also thought only multi channel devices were buttons, keypads, etc). In a general sense you're correct but anything that has more than one status indicator is considered multi channel by many controllers. Here is a Insteon Smoke Bridge and the channels it shows in the 994 Series Controller. As you can see these *nodes* would either show up or not show any kind of real time status due to the multi channel limitation. Which I have been hearing is imminent for 12 months now . . .
elvisimprsntr Posted January 22, 2016 Posted January 22, 2016 I went the 80/20 benefit/cost approach. Existing $9.99 wired interconnected smokes and a Kidde RemoteLync Smoke Monitoring device. Works with all smokes manufactured since the 1970's. And they have their own IFTTT integration. http://remotelync.kidde.com I really don't need to know which smoke/co went off, or the batteries are at 55.27% charge. My actions are exactly the same. Get the hell out of the house when one goes off and replace all the batteries when one starts chirping. I also can't justify spending more than $10 each for 9 smokes/co every 10 years, as required by NFPA code. To each their own...
gregf Posted January 22, 2016 Posted January 22, 2016 I have one that is smoke only, no CO. Works fine, reports smoke, test button pushed, low battery. Greg
k5map Posted January 22, 2016 Author Posted January 22, 2016 gregf, Am I correct in that you can see the items in ISY like Teken showed in the thumbnail pic?
MikeB Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 I just noticed this is powered by AA batteries only. Since my house is wired I'd prefer a hardwired unit with battery backup.
Teken Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 I just noticed this is powered by AA batteries only. Since my house is wired I'd prefer a hardwired unit with battery backup. If your home is hardwired you must use a hardwired solution with a battery back up as the primary method to detect a fire / smoke condition. Nothing is stopping you from deploying battery operated only sensors in other areas as a means of over lap and fail over protection.
MikeB Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 Nothing is stopping you from deploying battery operated only sensors in other areas as a means of over lap and fail over protection. Thanks Teken, good point - but since I'm due to replace my smokes anyway I thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone and get something that can communicate with the ISY at the same time. I'd rather have 1 smoke installed in room than 2.
Teken Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 Thanks Teken, good point - but since I'm due to replace my smokes anyway I thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone and get something that can communicate with the ISY at the same time. I'd rather have 1 smoke installed in room than 2. Understood and wasn't suggesting installing two different detectors in a single room. More in the line with say you have the hardwired ones installed outside of the bedroom hallway and basement. Any other rooms say living room, bedroom, office, etc would have the battery operated one's as over lap and fail over. I can tell you with 100% certainty using battery operated sensors offers a huge fail over against electrical surge events. Many years ago my area was inundated by a two week lightning storm that simply would not go away. The final outcome for me and others were massive damages to electrical appliances and hardware. Unbeknownst to me the hardwired smoke / heat sensors were damaged in a odd way not readily apparent simply by looking at the green LED status indicator. Only my monthly testing and alarm diagnostics picked up on the fault and even then it took a lot of sweat equity to figure out why the system was declaring a fault when none seemed to be present. All in all the fire protection devices in my home are layered and isolated by optical relays and SPD's.
MikeB Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 Understood and wasn't suggesting installing two different detectors in a single room. More in the line with say you have the hardwired ones installed outside of the bedroom hallway and basement. Any other rooms say living room, bedroom, office, etc would have the battery operated one's as over lap and fail over. I can tell you with 100% certainty using battery operated sensors offers a huge fail over against electrical surge events. Many years ago my area was inundated by a two week lightning storm that simply would not go away. The final outcome for me and others were massive damages to electrical appliances and hardware. Unbeknownst to me the hardwired smoke / heat sensors were damaged in a odd way not readily apparent simply by looking at the green LED status indicator. Only my monthly testing and alarm diagnostics picked up on the fault and even then it took a lot of sweat equity to figure out why the system was declaring a fault when none seemed to be present. All in all the fire protection devices in my home are layered and isolated by optical relays and SPD's. Wow, interesting story - would have never thought of the possibility of my hardwired smoke detectors getting fried. I do have a whole house surge suppressor but I'm sure the possibility still exists. I do have hardwired smoke detectors in all bedrooms already, with a combo CO2 detector in the hall. My office, finished basement, etc. are all hardwired already. I believe I have 10 hardwired detectors throughout my house. I could go with battery operated units in my living room and play room. I saw this device and wondered if it might be a good option: http://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/products/fire-safety/safety-accessories/auxiliary-devices/sm120x/ If I'm understanding it correctly I could interconnect that with an existing smoke detector and wire the contacts into a zone on my Elk, allowing me to get notified if any of my hardwired smoke detectors trip. Does that seem correct? Then perhaps I could supplement with a couple wireless detectors around the house and get separate notifications from them.
Teken Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 Wow, interesting story - would have never thought of the possibility of my hardwired smoke detectors getting fried. I do have a whole house surge suppressor but I'm sure the possibility still exists. I do have hardwired smoke detectors in all bedrooms already, with a combo CO2 detector in the hall. My office, finished basement, etc. are all hardwired already. I believe I have 10 hardwired detectors throughout my house. I could go with battery operated units in my living room and play room. I saw this device and wondered if it might be a good option: http://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/products/fire-safety/safety-accessories/auxiliary-devices/sm120x/ If I'm understanding it correctly I could interconnect that with an existing smoke detector and wire the contacts into a zone on my Elk, allowing me to get notified if any of my hardwired smoke detectors trip. Does that seem correct? Then perhaps I could supplement with a couple wireless detectors around the house and get separate notifications from them. Yes, this device and similar are used extensively in Canada to do exactly what you suggest. It should be noted some parts of North American do not allow this device to be used and mandate a 2-4 wire low voltage smoke alarms to be used. If your local areas does not adhere to such codes you have no issue going this route. For your own personal edification this similar device was part of the system that was damaged during the lighting storm. For what ever reason it was slow to activate the relay and thus when power would blip it would cause the smoke alarms to go active and cause a fire condition to be seen on the security alarm panel.
MikeB Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 Yes, this device and similar are used extensively in Canada to do exactly what you suggest. It should be noted some parts of North American do not allow this device to be used and mandate a 2-4 wire low voltage smoke alarms to be used. If your local areas does not adhere to such codes you have no issue going this route. Do you have any more information on this? What is a "2-4 wire low voltage smoke alarm"? Wondering why local code would be against me adding this to my system. What is the reasoning?
Teken Posted April 11, 2016 Posted April 11, 2016 Do you have any more information on this? What is a "2-4 wire low voltage smoke alarm"? Wondering why local code would be against me adding this to my system. What is the reasoning? In the industry you have three choices for the types of smoke alarms installed. The most common are 2 wire / 4 wire DC powered smoke alarms. As you're a consumer like me we are more familiar with the residential type which are 120 VAC powered. Codes vary from State to State / Province to Province which *some* places indicate at no time the device you listed above be used to interconnect with a fire alert system. I believe part of it is the whole more things to break in the chain etc. While other places want you to know exactly which smoke / fire alarm caused the tripped state. You can only know this using zone assignment or where the sensor calls out its ID as to the tripped state. Because companies like First Alert have made the voice acknowledgment this has offered even the consumer similar features and notification while on site. It in no way tells you remotely which sensor actually tripped only that there is a fire, smoke, co condition is present. Speaking plainly here, I would not lose any sleep in installing the device you linked to. As I stated before this device and similar have been used for 30 plus years in Canada with out issue. Canadians over all when speaking about smoke alarms and how it interfaces with security alarm systems are how ever a little more lax in terms of requirements. Again, it comes down to your own personal choice, codes, and belief in the product. We have millions of these things installed all over Canada but as I stated above it can be a failure point as it was in my install.
blueman2 Posted October 14, 2016 Posted October 14, 2016 I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has connected the First Alert Smoke Detector to their ISY http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-Z-Wave-Carbon-Monoxide/dp/B00KMHXFAI If you have, any issues/concerns and what has been your experience. Just installed this. It seems to recognize all the capabilities. I did a test and it showed test turn on for about 30 seconds while the test ran. Interesting that it shows 7 different devices in this one unit.
stusviews Posted October 14, 2016 Posted October 14, 2016 That appears to be seven modes/functions for one device. Thanks for the screen shot.
Chris Jahn Posted October 15, 2016 Posted October 15, 2016 Just installed this. It seems to recognize all the capabilities. I did a test and it showed test turn on for about 30 seconds while the test ran. Interesting that it shows 7 different devices in this one unit. Capture.PNG Hi blueman2, Yes, it represents the 7 supported alarms as different nodes. In general, we have one alarm type per ISY node.
k5map Posted October 15, 2016 Author Posted October 15, 2016 Just installed this. It seems to recognize all the capabilities. I did a test and it showed test turn on for about 30 seconds while the test ran. Interesting that it shows 7 different devices in this one unit. Capture.PNG blueman2, what version of ISY are you running?
blueman2 Posted October 16, 2016 Posted October 16, 2016 blueman2, what version of ISY are you running? 5.0.4
k5map Posted May 9, 2018 Author Posted May 9, 2018 Bump... I'm still on 4.6.x so if I connect this device to my ISY, will I be able to use any of the features?
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