this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024
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Hey all,

This is only tangentially related to HA, but it seems like this crowd might have answers. HA integration would be nice but is not required

We moved into a new house about 3 years ago and have been plagued by nuisance alarms ever since. They happen most often in the middle of the night, but aren't uncommon in the daytime.

I have:

  • Replaced all the old hardwired detectors with new battery-only ones thinking it might be caused by EMI.
  • Ruled out insects crawling into the detectors.
  • Sealed the electrical boxes thinking it might be dust from the attic.
  • Installed an excellent filter system in the HVAC.
  • Cleaned out all of the detectors with canned air.

Other random info:

  • Only the ones on the second floor go off. There are five upstairs and two downstairs.
  • I'm pretty sure one (and only one) of the false alarms was caused by humidity from a shower.
  • Seems like they're happening less often since I installed a new HVAC system, but that could be due to less dust or due to smaller temperature swings (less of a setback at night).

I think at this point I want to get some fancy multi-criteria alarms, ones that are specifically for reducing your nuisance alarm rate. Also for increased capability, though - one of my coworkers just narrowly escaped a housefire with his wife and dog. Their fire alarms failed to go off and he was only woken by the sound of the flames.

Any suggestions for multi-criteria alarms that work with hardwired 120VAC, preferably with hardwired interconnection?

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[–] Omacitin@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

OP here, I ended up purchasing one USI MI106S, which advertises the following:

  • Combines the benefits of both Photoelectric & Ionization technology in one alarm
  • Smart Alarm Technology virtually eliminates nuisance alarms
  • Automatic temperature and humidity compensation continuously adjusts to variations in environmental conditions, reducing nuisance alarms

Which sounds like what I'm looking for. I'll try some informal tests on it before I buy more.