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Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:26 am
by CliveS
Just had the gas engineer do his yearly check and he pointed out that the engineer who did last years test failed to put a test plug back and it was a point of escape for CO!

So...... Need some advice on which CO sensor to get, I have narrowed it down to 3 but open to other suggestions.

1) Fibaro ZWave is the preferred option but due to lack of any support in Indigo and no date as to when or if it will be supported I think it will be either of 2 or 3 below.

2) Fibaro Homekit which as we are an iPhone/Mac home would be fine but can it be integrated with Indigo?

3) Nest Protect, both CO and smoke alarms and their is a plugin but is it reliable? and as it is a google product it needs its own app and never going to get HomeKit support (or would/does HomeBridge Kit support it).

I have an existing CO sensor in the living room but I suspect it is getting near the time to replace it and the install engineer never put an install date on the unit so better safe than sorry and adding a new one to the boiler cupboard is the better option for the new device.

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:42 am
by jay (support)
There are several listed in the Smoke/CO/Air category in the Compatible Devices list. I have experience with the FirstAlert ZCombo and those seemed to work well though I never tried to place them in a cabinet (don't know if they're available in UK/Europe).

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:03 am
by RogueProeliator
3) Nest Protect, both CO and smoke alarms and their is a plugin but is it reliable? and as it is a google product it needs its own app and never going to get HomeKit support (or would/does HomeBridge Kit support it).

I did a lot of research on the smoke alarm side of things and ended up going with the Nest Protect... I didn't really want to because they are expensive as heck and I don't have any other Nest devices and don't plan to purchase any. However, they were the highest rated in a few independent tests and thus far have been heads and tails better than my previous ones -- not a single false alarm after having numerous issues with my Kiddie, FirstAlert, and a few other brands (though based on their look those others are probably all made by the same factory).

However, that research and testing is based solely on the smoke detector side of things. Still, with the endorsement of the third party testing labs I feel pretty confident in them. Indigo can't utilize the full feature set (motion, presence, etc.) as Nest doesn't expose that so the plugin can't load it. But, you aren't getting that with the other options either, I guess. Would have been a bit happier with the purchase price if I could have used those features in Indigo.

Adam

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:59 am
by siclark
I couldn't find any decent zwave ones in UK but thankfully my texecom alarm has wireless ones and thanks to the plugin they appear in indigo!
Do you need a new alarm?



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Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:07 am
by CliveS
jay (support) wrote:
There are several listed in the Smoke/CO/Air category in the Compatible Devices list. I have experience with the FirstAlert ZCombo and those seemed to work well though I never tried to place them in a cabinet (don't know if they're available in UK/Europe).


Just look at the specs and manual for these and it seems it is a US only device, well no mention of frequency and no UK/EU suppliers have it listed.

Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:17 am
by siclark

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:19 am
by CliveS
siclark wrote:
I couldn't find any decent zwave ones in UK but thankfully my texecom alarm has wireless ones and thanks to the plugin they appear in indigo!
Do you need a new alarm?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Funny you should mention that, just paid 80 pounds for the alarm engineers to turn off the Risco system installed in 2003 by the previous owner, errors everywhere and false alarms at 2am.
More reliable with the Dahua cameras, window and door sensors and movement sensors reporting via Pushover and also HomeKit Bridge!

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:29 am
by CliveS
lanbrown wrote:
Did you look at this manual? Look at page 16.

https://manuals.fibaro.com/content/manuals/en/FGCD-001/FGCD-001-EN-T-v1.1.pdf

If this is fully compatible with Indigo is not known though but is the current CO sensor from them.


Ian, yes that is my preferred option, but at present the Fibaro is not supported.

The mention of not supported was to Jays suggestion of the FirstAlert ZCombo unit.

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:38 am
by CliveS
RogueProeliator wrote:
3) Nest Protect, both CO and smoke alarms and their is a plugin but is it reliable? and as it is a google product it needs its own app and never going to get HomeKit support (or would/does HomeBridge Kit support it).

I did a lot of research on the smoke alarm side of things and ended up going with the Nest Protect... I didn't really want to because they are expensive as heck and I don't have any other Nest devices and don't plan to purchase any. However, they were the highest rated in a few independent tests and thus far have been heads and tails better than my previous ones -- not a single false alarm after having numerous issues with my Kiddie, FirstAlert, and a few other brands (though based on their look those others are probably all made by the same factory).

However, that research and testing is based solely on the smoke detector side of things. Still, with the endorsement of the third party testing labs I feel pretty confident in them. Indigo can't utilize the full feature set (motion, presence, etc.) as Nest doesn't expose that so the plugin can't load it. But, you aren't getting that with the other options either, I guess. Would have been a bit happier with the purchase price if I could have used those features in Indigo.

Adam


I think I might have to go down this route, does it work as a standalone unit or does it need WiFi/Ethernet (as it is not ZWave), if so I can move it to the motorhome to replace the Kiddie that will need replacing soon. Hopefully by then the Fibaro may be supported by Indigo or perhaps just get a Fibaro and put that in the motorhome.... unsure and confused over which way to go but cost is irrelevant when CO is concerned!

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:46 am
by siclark
CliveS wrote:
siclark wrote:
I couldn't find any decent zwave ones in UK but thankfully my texecom alarm has wireless ones and thanks to the plugin they appear in indigo!
Do you need a new alarm?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Funny you should mention that, just paid 80 pounds for the alarm engineers to turn off the Risco system installed in 2003 by the previous owner, errors everywhere and false alarms at 2am.
More reliable with the Dahua cameras, window and door sensors and movement sensors reporting via Pushover and also HomeKit Bridge!


Sounds like you need to replace it with a texecom and be your own alarm engineer

You could just buy standalone now and wait?

Reports of fire when no one in the house I want checked and fire brigade if I'm not there to limit damage.

CO though, if people in-house we have loud noise, but if out of house it can wait until we are back. Although I still went for Indigo notification


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Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:03 pm
by CliveS
lanbrown wrote:
Just because it is not on the list doesn't mean it won't work; no guarantees that it will work either. Maybe Matt or Jay could look at the documentation and see if the device classes are supported?


It was requested last October but hopefully will be included soon, device definitions are definitely Indigo's achilles heel.

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:58 pm
by RogueProeliator
I think I might have to go down this route, does it work as a standalone unit or does it need WiFi/Ethernet (as it is not ZWave), if so I can move it to the motorhome to replace the Kiddie that will need replacing soon

Yeah, works fine without WiFi, though without remote reporting and "smart" capabilities, obviously. It uses the WiFi to upload data/stats/whatever to the API and phone app, but that is it. Functions as an alarm just fine without it - including interconnecting with other Nest Protects to all go off at the same time (this uses a different radio so you aren't relying on a 3rd party WiFi point).

Again, I have been extremely happy with them, except for the cost. If I was more invested in the Nest system, or thinking about it, I guess it would make a lot of sense too. But no plans on that front at the moment for me.

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:39 pm
by autolog
Just to add to the discussion; I also have Nest Protects (six in al), and am very happy with them.

I can see them in Indigo and monitor their status via the Nest Home plugin.

I like the way they all link together, so if one goes off, they all go off and all speak e,g, "Smoke detected in the Kitchen" (normally burnt toast!) :)

Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:44 pm
by siclark
autolog wrote:
in.

I like the way they all link together, so if one goes off, they all go off and all speak e,g, "Smoke detected in the Kitchen" (normally burnt toast!) :)


That's why you have heat not smoke detectors in the kitchen


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Re: Which Carbon Monoxide Sensor to buy - Help !!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:25 pm
by CliveS
Thanks to everyone for your input, I think I have decided on the Nest (and I hate anything "Goggle") so went to Amazon and get the option of battery or wired, what is the life of the batteries or is wired better as I can hide the cable in the wall and up into the loft if the batteries need replacing every year.