Hi Everyone,
I’m looking for advice on adding smoke detector to my Quolsys system. I currently have Kidde Smoke Alarms in every bedroom (5x) and Kidde Smoke/CO alarms on each floor (3x). The devices are connected to each other on each floor (ie: the devices between floors are not connected) and none of them are “smart” devices.
I’m looking for a reasonably priced option to connect this to my alarm.com account. My current devices only use ionization technology and if I’m going to upgrade, I’d like to get something that uses Ionization and photoelectric technologies. The only “smart” devices I’ve seen do that are Nest Protect, but it doesn’t connect to Alarm.com and I don’t want to spend $800. I also thought of adding some “dumb” photoelectric devices in the hallway and this: FireFighter Wired Smoke Alarm Audio Detector (2GIG-FF345). Does anyone know if the FireFighter Device works with Quolsys?
Any advice would be appreciated.
The 2GIG model of the Firefighter would not work with a Qolsys Panel, you would want the 319 GE model, but yes, they would do the exact same thing: monitor interconnected smoke detectors.
the devices between floors are not connected
So are you saying each floor has its own circuit? You would need one FF319 per circuit of interconnected detectors. As long as all of a group of detectors sound when one is tripped, the ECFF319 can be placed next to any one of them.
Thanks Jason.
Is anyone aware of a “smart” smoke detector that handles ionization and photoelectric? I’d prefer to have the alarm connect directly to my panel rather than relying on an external source.
No, the detectors directly compatible with the Qolsys panel would be photoelectric or photoelectric + heat. The compatible wireless detectors would be a good add, but make sure code requirements are met. Interconnected AC smokes are a requirement in new homes, and we’ve seen no reliability concerns with the Firefighter.
You can find a list of compatible sensors here.