Best Smart Smoke Detector (and Why You Still Need a Dumb One)
Adding Wi-Fi doesn’t work always turns out to be as smart as he seems. A smart smoke detector turns out to be dumber than I thought, even with Wi-Fi added.
Smart smoke detectors will let you know if a fire breaks out when you’re not at home, but other than that, they don’t offer any additional benefits over a ‘dumb’ model. And there’s a problem with these devices: Most smart smoke detectors exclude one of two sensors to alert you of a fire. Every smart model I tested had only a photoelectric sensor, which detects smoldering fires, while ionization sensors that detect fast-burning fires were left behind. Ionization sensors are more likely to trigger nuisance alarms (while you’re cooking, for example), but it’s still a sensor you should have somewhere in your home, especially since modern building materials have shortened your time to escape a house fire.
This is not to say that smart smoke detectors are useless, since what matters most is having a working smoke detector. A photoelectric-only smoke detector is still a good smoke detector and will detect smoldering electrical fires in your walls as well as similar style smoke. Still, you’ll want to make sure there are one or two ionization sensors in your home, more than needing to add a Wi-Fi model. There are also dual-sensor smoke detectors, but no smart models with both sensors yet. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re considering getting a smart smoke detector for your home.
Should a smoke detector be smart?
You already know what a smoke detector is: a device placed on the ceiling (or sometimes high on a wall) to alert you if it detects smoke in a house or building. Most buildings, whether residential or commercial, are equipped with modern smoke detectors that comply with current codes. In recent years, this is another device that has become “smart,” or at least Wi-Fi enabled. It’s not smart in the way a smart thermostat would be, since you can’t exert significant control over it over Wi-Fi. You’ll simply receive alerts on your smartphone of choice when smoke is detected, so you’ll know if a fire occurs while you’re away from home, in addition to the regular alarm sounding.
Is this necessary? No, but it’s a nice feature to be alerted, wherever you are, if smoke is detected. But this isn’t required to operate these appliances, and it won’t help you deal with the rate at which fires spread in newer homes.
“While new smart features like Wi-Fi alerts and app connectivity can be convenient, they are not essential for safety,” says Steve Clemente, president and COO of Mister Sparky, an electrical services company. “A well-placed, properly powered detector will do much more to protect your home than additional features like air quality monitoring. One exception to consider is a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector, which adds an extra layer of protection.”
How do smoke detectors work?
Smoke detectors have built-in sensors to detect smoke in your home. Two main sensors are included: photoelectric and ionization. “Photoelectric models are better at detecting slow, smoldering fires, such as those in upholstery or wiring, while ionization models respond more quickly to fast, blazing fires,” explains Clemente.
He says neither is universally better and rather the two styles are complementary. The National Fire Protection Association recommends having both types of smoke detectors in your home, or one smoke detector that incorporates both sensors (these are generally called dual-sensor smoke detectors). The NFPA doesn’t have specific codes on what type of sensor you should install in your home, but a spokesperson recommended placing photoelectric smoke detectors near kitchens and bathrooms because they are less likely to be triggered by everyday use in those rooms (things like steam and cooking smoke are more likely to trigger an ionization alarm).
However, all of the smart models I tested only included photoelectric sensors. As I continued my research, most smart smoke detectors seem to include only photoelectric sensors, leaving out ionization. This is probably due to the sensitivity of the ionization alarms. That’s a problem for me after speaking to Nicole Sanders, manager of public education at the UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute, who warned me that new data shows you may only have three minutes to escape a house fire.
