Smart smoke detectors work similarly to traditional smoke detectors. In other words, they sound an alarm when either smoke or fire is detected, giving you as much warning as possible to evacuate the house in the event of a fire.
Smart smoke detectors have an edge over traditional smoke detectors in a way that they can send alerts to your phone each time the alarm is triggered. This even applies if you’re not at home because this smart device allows you to remotely access its features.
In this article, we’ve shared everything you need to know about smart smoke detectors before you buy one for your home.
What Are Smart Smoke Detectors?
Smart smoke detectors are the one smart home device that all homeowners should consider investing in. While the sensors used in both traditional smoke detectors and smart smoke detectors are the same, that’s all the similarities they have with one another.
Smart smoke detectors have a self-testing feature that allows them to monitor their proper sensor function and battery power, and further sends a notification to your phone if there’s ever an issue.
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Today’s smart smoke detectors also have carbon monoxide detection in them. If you were to integrate your smart smoke detector with a smart home system, it gives other smart devices the leverage to detect heat or light at a much faster rate.
How Do Smart Smoke Detectors Function?
It might be a little difficult to truly understand how smart smoke detectors work. If this is the case, just consider them to be Wi-Fi-connected smoke detectors. Each time an alarm is triggered, your smart smoke detector will either use Wi-Fi or a similar protocol to connect to its app or your smart home hub.
If you were to accidentally burn something while cooking and trigger a false alarm, you can silence it through its app on your smartphone. Now, if you have more than one smart smoke detector synced with one another, you can expect all alarms to be triggered if one is.
Moreover, the notification that was sent to your smart home hub gives the ability to know which alarm was triggered. If you’re not at home and receive an alert, you can always notify emergency services and hopefully avoid any serious damage.
What is The Power and Connectivity of Smart Smoke Detectors?
Smart smoke detectors always have workarounds for when the internet or power is out. Now, even if the smart smoke detector is hard-wired into the electrical system, there’s a backup battery system that takes over during a power outage.
Several smart smoke detectors use Bluetooth to communicate with your smart home system or your phone if you’re at home. This is one big benefit when there’s an internet outage.
As long as your smart home system or hub has cellular connectivity, it may use standard cellular signals to send alerts to your phone and the emergency services. That said, not every smart home automation system has cellular connectivity features.
In fact, some smart home hubs might require the use of an additional device, and probably charge a monthly fee to have a cellular connection. If power or internet outages are common in your neighborhood, choosing a smart smoke detector that has cellular connectivity offers you peace of mind.
What Are Smart Batteries?
Smart batteries are specifically made to work with traditional smoke detectors and further fit right into its standard battery case. The major difference with smart batteries is that they can send notifications if the battery power is low or if an alarm s triggered.
Smart batteries are perhaps the most affordable option. However, they cannot communicate with other smoke detectors in the house or self-test
Installing Smart Smoke Detectors
If you’re not too sure on how to go about installing a hard-wired smart smoke detector, it’s always advisable to either get help or simply hire an expert who will do the correct installation of our smoke detector.
The standard installation of smart smoke detectors ultimately depends on the fact if they are hard-wired or battery-powered. If you want us to be honest, battery-powered smart smoke detectors are much easier to install, as they can be mounted on any ceiling or wall.
If you’re thinking of installing more than one smart smoke detector, it’s best to insert each one’s batteries and perform testing and pairing before you begin mounting them on the wall. Whereas, hard-wired smart smoke detectors can only be installed when the entire house power is turned off.
Conclusion
Smart smoke detectors are more of a necessity in today’s time. We spend millions of dollars on buying and renovating our dream house, so it’s better to be safe than sorry with smart smoke detectors!
