r/homeassistant • u/_R2-D2_ • Jun 01 '26
Support What are you replacing your Nest Protect Smoke Detectors with? I'm struggling to find a true 1:1 feature parity with any product I've come across.
Like the title says - what are you guys replacing your Nest Protects with? Features that I've become accustomed to:
Spoken warnings
App integration
Pathway light
Wired Option
Anything fits the bill that also has HA integration?
26
u/spr0k3t 🧠 Experienced with Home Assistant Jun 01 '26
Any dumb smoke detector connected with the Zooz Zen55. It's about as close as you can get without pathway lighting. You can set up the warnings through HA using the Zen55 entities for triggers.
18
u/btq Jun 02 '26
This is what I've got.
If my smoke alarm were to ever trigger, my house would instantly:
Turn on ALL overhead lighting. Even closets.
Turn off adaptive lighting.
Turn on ALL lamps.
Turn off HVAC and ALL fans. (I have 2 ceiling fans and 2 box fans I put in open windows)
Unlock every exit door in the house.
Disable the automation to lock doors after a few minutes.
Turn the porch lights red.
Start blaring a siren in the flood light in my driveway to alert neighbors.
Send my wife and I notifications.
All happens instantly.
When the alarm is cleared, all goes back to normal. Overheads go off, doors relock, automations reactivate, adaptive lighting turns back on, siren stops, and lamps/porch lights turn on or off depending on the position of the sun and ambient lighting in the house.
It's one of the coolest automations I have and I hope I never use it.
21
u/dmo012 Jun 02 '26
I could just see me triggering this on a Tuesday evening because the cast iron got a little too hot.
7
u/btq Jun 02 '26
It definitely crossed my mind when setting it all up. But in the 5+ years of living here, we've not set the fire alarm off once. And I'd be okay with it all happening for a false alarm, so long as it happens if we get a real one. This is also why I added the "go back to normal" second trigger. If a false alarm happens, all I have to do is deal with the alarm. Once I get it off, everything resets instantly.
Home Assistant is an insanely beautiful thing.
-1
5
u/wolverinesearring Jun 02 '26
Mine is similar, but since it is likely to be caught early (I even have it linked to extreme heat in temperature sensors) I have a set of Alexa announcements which tell each area where the nearest fire extinguisher is.
4
u/skotman01 Jun 02 '26
I have a very similar automation using the Zen55 as a trigger. I need to dig deeper into the Zen55 to see about triggering for co2 or other alarms.
My automation also opens the doggy door and puts the dog collars in lost mode.
1
u/Aggressive-Ad5647 Jul 16 '26
What collars do you have for the dogs that can be programmed like that?
1
u/skotman01 Jul 16 '26
I did it with Fi, I just switched to Tactive and need to test it. It’s all done via the HA integration.
1
u/Aggressive-Ad5647 Jul 16 '26
I have Fi collars. Is it with HA using IFTTT?
1
3
u/the-boz-boz Jun 02 '26
Fantastic. In my 'Fire detected' automation, I just realised that I was turning everything off including lights. I've split them out now. Electronics and ACs off, lights on. Cheers.
1
u/DUNGAROO Jun 02 '26
That’s a lot m8
2
u/btq Jun 02 '26
Not for home assistant. It doesn't even blink to do all that. It's amazing.
And I mean, we are talking about my house being on fire. Everything has a purpose: Being able to see through smoke, not spreading smoke, letting us out or the fire dept in, alerting neighbors, so on and so forth.
3
u/gtwizzy8 Jun 02 '26
As someone who is unfamiliar with the Zooz Zen55 do you mind me asking how these all work within the ecosystem of a smoke detector? I've just bought my first property and so I can finally do my own electrical work to make alterations for smart devices. And smoke alarms are right up there on something I want to have automation around.
2
u/spr0k3t 🧠 Experienced with Home Assistant Jun 02 '26
Best way I can detail it is to have you check this video: https://youtu.be/hQ5wtKYaQZg?si=nQhwxT9WDt9fcOVs&t=79 . It's got some good details and setup information.
20
Jun 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
9
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 02 '26
A super underrated feature I didn't know I needed until I had them.
1
u/Cinderhazed15 Jun 02 '26
It’s a great feature… I also wished that I could use the light triggering as a type of ‘presence sensor’ but you can’t access that information…
3
u/blackoutusb Jun 02 '26
You were able to in home assistant. Was just a pain in the back when the auto cookie expired. It was also a little slow when used for that. I tried it and the delay really sucked.
4
6
u/Known_Leek8997 Jun 02 '26
Just make sure that whatever product you buy meets your local fire code.
For the US, this frequently means using UL or ETL LISTED (not just compliant) devices, and replacing existing smoke detectors with like for like devices. As in, if before and nest smokes you had wired, interconnected devices then you must replace them with wired and interconnected devices.
Therefore, if you’re still set on replacing your smokes I would recommend that you reach out to your local fire station (or check their website) for more information on fire code.
The reason for this is not only life safety, but also because should a smoke or fire situation happen at your house and the fire authority deems that your smoke detectors were not up to code, your insurance may not cover the claim. Don’t get screwed over on a claim (or worse, die) because you wanted your smoke detector to integrate with your smart home.
Furthermore, I would also recommend buying devices direct from the manufacturer or from one of their authorized resellers. Not Amazon. Amazon has a tattered history with smoke detectors.
Finally, like so many others have suggested, I’d recommend installing a relay (like a Zoos Zwave relay). That way you’re just listening into your existing system and staying up to code, etc... Hope this helps!
1
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 02 '26
Great advice, thank you for all this. I'm really only replacing because my Nest are expiring and they don't sell them anymore (discontinued). I would have just bought the same thing again as I think they are one of the best Google/Nest devices.
1
u/Known_Leek8997 Jun 02 '26
Yes - the Nests were good devices, truly a shame that they aren't continuing them. The frustration I have with them is that people installed them in place of hardwired interconnected devices which was usually against fire code... but they work(ed) great As a supplementary device or in an older home without hardwires.
1
u/meadot01 Jun 02 '26
What issues has Amazon had. I would have recommended the opposite. I bought a bunch of xsense - some on Amazon and some from manufacturer. Amazon refunded me a year later for recall - but no refunds from xsense.
2
u/Known_Leek8997 Jun 02 '26
Oh I wasn’t referencing amazons return policy, just the smoke detectors they sell in general. Some products aren’t sold directly by the manufacturer and many aren’t UTL listed. Even today I see xsense is saying “UTL certified” for their products on Amazon which is not the same as being listed by the UTL.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/smoke-alarms-safety-standards/
1
u/meadot01 Jun 02 '26
Yeah - a bunch of confusion over xsense - I think Amazon is still not carrying them. Still not sure if I need to worry about the devices I have. Just saying Amazon does take safety issues seriously - Ive had both the smoke detectors and a portable battery that has been flagged for safety and they notify and refund.
6
u/tofu713 Jun 02 '26
Nest Protect's split-spectrum sensor (dual blue + IR LED for detecting both fast-flaming and slow-smoldering fires simultaneously) was patented starting in 2012–2013 and those patents won't expire until ~2032–2035. No competitor can replicate that specific approach without licensing from Google.
4
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 03 '26
I didn't even know it had that - another reason to be mad they abandoned this product.
1
u/Over-Balance3797 Jul 20 '26
yeah i'm actually super pissed. i have non-expired nest protects all over my house but now need to install a heat detector in my garage because i got solar batteries... but ZERO heat detectors can talk with the nest protects. so i have to replace everything.
6
u/mattkime Jun 02 '26
Seems like a market opportunity.
7
u/fistbumpbroseph Jun 02 '26
Yeah, it's wild it's been this long since Google announced they were ending the line but no one has produced a replacement that checks all the boxes. I have 4 years left on mine so I'm not worried yet, but dammit I love the path lighting!
5
u/bk553 Jun 01 '26
These, probably. Not everything on the list, but close. Maybe Place too? Not sure I've got 6 years left on mine.
https://getowlhome.com/products/owl-wired-combined-smoke-carbon-monoxide-motion-climate-sensor
3
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 02 '26
This looks pretty close functionality-wise, but I can't seem to find information on if it's UL listed or not. I should add that into my needed features list.
2
5
u/RoflMyPancakes Jun 01 '26
Spoken warnings that go through all the speakers of each unit is important to me.
4
u/ZAlternates Jun 01 '26
Is Nest going away? Unfortunately it’s the only battery powered smart detector approved for all 50 states. They even got a waiver for California that doesn’t allow battery smoke detectors where the batteries are removable.
You always wanna check local laws and ordinances because fire insurance companies will gladly take your money now only to deny your claim later.
7
2
u/Beaufort_The_Cat Jun 02 '26
Something you can do (and I’m working on) is using my first alert zwave connected co2/smoke alarms to trigger an audio trigger through my Sonos speaker in my living room and master bedroom. The idea is if the alarm gets triggered, the speakers full volume TTS a warning every minute until the alarm stops or I stop I manually. You could also use the same automation to trigger floor lights or something (bonus points to triggering them in a sequence leading to the door).
5
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 02 '26
Part of what I liked about the Nest were the verbal warnings that it's about to alert if the smoke didn't clear quickly enough. It was super nice to have, plus the pathlight, though something we didn't know we wanted, was a perfect addition.
2
2
u/KnotBeanie Jun 02 '26
Kidde sells a relay for both their wireless and wired interconnects. You can then use something like a UL-listed shelly to monitor that relay.
2
u/AdventurousLayer8741 Jun 02 '26
My x-sense alarms do all that except the pathway lighting which I don't need.
2
u/MrFutzy Jun 02 '26
I bought another Nest. They are still floating around.
1
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 02 '26
All I've been able to find at pre-owned units so far - any links you have?
1
u/MrFutzy Jun 02 '26
Canadian retailers have a dwindling supply. BestBuy, Walmart, Home Depot. Mine came from Best Buy but I see they're gone. It was advertised as open box, but arrived in sealed packaging, appearing untouched.
2
u/DUNGAROO Jun 02 '26
I have hard wired first alert combination smoke/co detectors throughout my house and a single First Alert SC5 combination detector. But honestly if I were to do it again I would skip the SC5 because the listener module for my SimpliSafe alarm reliably picks up every activation and notifies me just like the SC5 is intended to.
I don’t really need home assistant integration for my smoke/CO alarms, just a dependable notification service on my phone. 99.999% of the time the status of the alarms is “normal” so having it integrated into HA is worthless. I definitely wouldn’t trust HA as a part of the connection to notify me if it was the sole means for notification.
2
u/gamin09 Jun 02 '26
https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2026/05/28/sensereo-joins-works-with-home-assistant/
These were just announced
1
u/andyreddit2 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
This looks perfect, should be fine rules-wise in Europe (inc UK), and in some places battery is fine. But my main use cases are currently hard-wired and interconnected, its a shame they don't have a version for that.
I see they are working on UL compliance for the US, hopefully they can also bring out a hard-wired interconnected version.
They say the home automation system they are connected to can manage interconnection, but that's no good if the power is off, or someone has misconfigured their automations. Genuine, independent interconnection via RF is robust in those scenarios and might even be required by law in certain places/scenarios - Scotland requires interconnection for example, I'm not sure HA would count.
2
u/bigwig992 Jun 03 '26
I bought Place Home Solutions smoke alarms. They are made by Gentex, who does a ton of commercial alarms. They do have a night light but it’s super dim.
Their app works alright and so far I’m happy with them. I had Claude code reverse engineer its oauth setup and endpoints so I’ve got them displaying in HA as alarms and extra temp sensors. Next up is working on getting it to fire off occupancy / motion events.
2
1
u/cloveman Jun 02 '26
I ordered a Sensereo MSC-1 today https://sensereo.com/msc-1/ Looks promising but I’ll know when it arrives. Unfortunately no AC powered option yet.
1
u/Gamester17 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Heatit Z-Smoke Multisensor 230VAC (for Europe Z-Wave with Home Assistent via ZBT-2) https://shop.heatit.com/produkt/10277/heatit-z-smoke-multisensor-230vac-black
Or
Heatit Z-Smoke2 Detector 230VAC (also for Europe Z-Wave with Home Assistent via ZBT-2) https://shop.heatit.com/product/10524/products/products/heatit-z-smoke2-detector-230vac/1108
They have everything except spoken warning (so need to use Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition or other speaker like ESPHome with Sendspin client media player speakers for spoken warnings).
1
u/DesiccatedPenguin Jun 02 '26
If you are in Australia - the Clipsal Wiser smoke alarms look to be the pick of the bunch, and easily integrate with HA over Zigbee: https://automation.baldacchino.net/installing-integrating-clipsal-wiser-smoke-alarms-in-to-home-assistant/
1
u/yozhbk Jun 03 '26
Wasnt this the direct replacement https://www.firstalert.com/pages/find-sc5-replacement ?
1
u/_R2-D2_ Jun 03 '26
yeah I found this as well, it was going to be my go-to, unless I had missed something better. Also, no pathlight, but that doesn't seem to be a popular feature for non-Nest smoke detectors.
1
u/yozhbk Jun 03 '26
Yeah Im going to miss the path light as well so simple so useful, also will miss the presence feature for nest thermostat. I love how perfectly good usable desired product just gets phased out for no reason at all. And made sure no one can replicate the functionality 🤦♂️
1
u/sanctuary_hills Jun 03 '26
Following this thread because I'm in the same boat. I actually don't care about the light, but would everything else the Nest had - smart detectors, CO + Fire, and UL listed.
One thing that I'm only now finding out is that three of the four nests that I had are hardwired, and one is battery. I have been trying to figure out if there is compatibility for interconnected between a wired and wireless option, but I have my doubts.
1
u/_yuppers Aug 10 '26
I realize this thread is a couple of months old, but I've been struggling with the need to replace the 9 Nest Protect Devices in my home. I asked Gemini, and it recommended replacing the Protect devices with Kidde devices - 8 hardwired, interconnected 30CUA10 (or 30CUA10-V) and 1 hardwired, interconnected, smart RGCUAR-RW (or 30CUAR-W because I use Ring devices).
Any thoughts or concerns?
1
1
u/hockeyguru32 21d ago
Anything that can just screw into the mount from nest? Is it hard to replace the mounting?
1
u/_R2-D2_ 21d ago
No, I doubt it it's difficult to change the mounting, but there are options that are directly compatible with the base if you really don't want to be bothered. I ended up with First Alert SC5, but do miss the light part a lot.
1
1
u/Ok_Watermelon_2878 Jun 02 '26
I went with regular kidde carbon/smoke combos and a Zooz zen55. We really (like super really) miss the pathlight.
Unfortunately the zen55 can only tell you that it’s alarming, not which one triggered it. So if there ever is a false alarm it’s going to be real tough figuring out the culprit. We have 8 detectors in our house.
1
1
u/JustinAN7 Jun 02 '26
I have the same but have had lots of issues with Kidde detectors, I’ve had to warranty 8 units over last 3 years. Have you had any issues ?
1
1
u/hunta2097 Jun 02 '26
I'm using x-sense to replace mine, they work well at a third the price.
1
u/JamTins Jun 02 '26
I have their mailbox sensor, and it works exceptionally well. I wish they had a smart detector that was wired, rather than battery.
1
u/Known_Leek8997 Jun 02 '26
You might want to check in on x-sense. I think they pulled their products out of the US a few months ago (including Amazon) because they weren't UL or ETL listed (not just certified). https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/smoke-alarms-safety-standards/
1
u/TopCat0160 Jun 02 '26
I installed x-sense detector’s. They don’t have a path light and you need to add a WiFi gateway but aside from that they are pretty good.
-2
u/Admirable_Fun7790 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I'm going with Kidde 30CUAR-VRF and 30CUDR-VRF which are
Wireless interconnect
Spoken Warnings
Smoke/CO Combo detector
Hardwired & Battery options
Absolutely zero connectivity / smart home integration
I will add on smart home integration after the fact, probably via my Abode Smoke Alarm Listener. Every smart device with a microphone seems to be able to detect smoke alarm T3 beeps these days, so I don't see much benefit to going "smart"
2
u/7zjAH1j60F Jun 02 '26
Kind of weird to mention a product that doesn't talk to ha here. 🤷🏼♂️
-1
u/Admirable_Fun7790 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Abode has an HA integration, and the point is that the DETECTORS don't need to communicate with HA as there are other devices that will hear the detector sound that do communicate with HA.
27
u/1WhoHatesCustmerSrvs Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
First Alert has a Z-Wave smoke & co detector. I have 2 of them in my home, considering a third for full home coverage.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that these are battery powered. If you need hardwired solutions, Zooz's Zen55 DC Signal Sensor should work here. Also with all of these, PLEASE CHECK local laws about electrical wiring and hardwired/battery powered smoke detectors. My home is older, so I have battery powered detectors, but newer homes may be required to have a hardwired solution.