There're detectors for smoke and thermal differences matching the characteristics of fire, carbon monoxide (CO) as well as natural gas. For some reason only some are combined (in the room where the central heating is running it makes sense to detect all three). In some rooms I need thermal difference detectors only (workshop, kitchen), whereas in others an optical detector is sufficient.
But even if I swallow the pill and put different detectors in place, the problem with connecting them arises. A alarm even with 85db in the basement doesn't help me if I'm sleeping well on the second floor while the basement fills up with explosive gas. So connection is a must-have for a house.
There seem to be no cross-company connetion standards which I'd expect from Apple smoke detectors, but not in general.
After researching for 5 hours now, I find no company or combination of products (of the same company or different companies) that offer
- combinations of detectors or connection facilities for an arbitrary number (< 10) for the 4 detector types smoke, thermal differnce, CO and natural gas
- specification and application of standards which decouple the detection from the connection of the alarm signal
What are people doing to protect their home? Do they just drop the detection of one or more lethal dangers in some places because no manufacturer has figured out to combine the detectors? Do they put up multiple wireless alarm rings for different threats? How would that work for natural gas? Do I have to put up a gas alarm in my bedroom on the 2nd floor to be alarmed for gas in the basement only for the wireless connection? Are there even connected wireless natural gas alarms? Has anyone thought this through at all 🙂 ?
Best Answer
I personally use the Ring (yes, the doorbell company) alarm system. First Alert makes a smoke & CO detector that integrates well with it, and there are many other third-party devices. That will cover many of your needs.
For the combustible gas detection, however, my suggestion would be an alarm listener that basically listens for a siren. Keep your existing gas detector and add this to tie it into your system.
More expensive alarm systems can do all this as well, especially the systems commercial installers will recommend for businesses or higher-dollar residences & multi-family buildings. If that might be suitable for you, check what local contractors would install.