Why can't home smoke alarm systems be nearly as good as commercial-grade?

[IHaveRespawned]

I was frustrated you cannot have normal fire drill functionality with any home solution, including many of the "smart" home solutions. What if you wanted to put your smoke alarms into activation? You would either have to climb a step ladder and press the button on one of the detectors or use fake smoke. Plus, there is no easy way to silence them (except smart home solutions).

This inspired me to purchase a commercial grade system. Not only can I have fire drills by easier activation (via a pull station or panel button), but my smoke detectors can detect heat too other than smoke and have built-in sounders just like home smoke alarms.

I hate I had to pay several hundreds of dollars for this, but I wanted more control over my alarm system.

[WindAtMyBack]

Commercial fire systems are way over the top more than what is needed. The systems they have, and the rules they have to go by are absurd. You just don't need something like that at home.

If you want to spend the money on something better, it's your money and you can do what you want with it. But you can't expect it to become standard within the industry. The building codes and fire codes are already too strict and well into the diminishing returns territory.

[LazerBean]

My husband installs fire alarms and this is exactly it. The amount of residential people who would want this and be willing to pay for it is not large enough for it to be profitable for manufacturers to make it, and it's more hassle than it's worth for installers to work for.

[IHaveRespawned]

@LazerBean Tell him I have a FireLite MS-2 conventional fire alarm panel with i3 series detectors. He might know what I mean.

[LazerBean]

They don't use that exact model, but they do install FireLite equipment.

[MrOracle]

Most people are either poor or cheap, and would rather spend their money on other things. That's the bottom line.

[IHaveRespawned]

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. I guess I wouldn't have this system if I wasn't a fire alarm enthusiast, but I hope eventually these "smart" systems will eventually integrate that feature into their apps where you can set them off remotely.

[MrOracle]

Consider that a run of the mill "dumb" smoke detector costs about $25, which likely means it costs about $3 to make, $2-3 to distribute, and wholesales for $15. That would be a decent profit margin except, as a safety device, they have to carry some huge liability insurance.

Something like a Nest smoke detector is 5 times the price. Those probably only cost $6 to manufacture, but they have far higher software costs, cloud computing costs, and much higher liability risks simply because the software gets updated, and each update introduces safety risks. I'm pretty sure you can run a remote test, but most people aren't going to spend $750-1000+ to replace their dumb smokes with smart ones. I've put them in for a couple of my customers, but most weren't interested, and they could definitely afford them. If you can't get wealthy people to do it, most middle class folks definitely won't.

[exitseven]

I just replaces all the smoke alarms in my house this week.. I have a hard wired system and when one goes off, they all go off. The old ones were only three or four years old. The manufacturer changes model frequnetly so it one of them die you have t oreplace them all. The plugs are not the same either so i had to replace the pigtails as well

[msc545]

I would like some of the ones that you describe for my home. I have extremely high ceilings, and when a battery goes bad, it's a major production to get a new one into the unit. What kind did you get?

[IHaveRespawned]

I purchased a brand new FireLite MS-2 conventional fire alarm panel for like a steal on eBay (assuming it was overstock or something) for around $300. I also purchased the System Sensor i3 Series smoke detectors with built-in thermal heat detection and sounders (model 4WTA-B). That is another bonus with these systems: not only can you detect smoke but it can sense heat changes too. Then I had to buy an RRS-MOD sync module so that all detectors sound during alarm. Then I decided to sprinkle in some low-profile horn/strobes. 18 guage solid 4-wire cable and one pull station to activate the the system.

[In_Trance]

So buy a commercial grade

[IHaveRespawned]

I did. I have a FireLite MS-2 conventional fire alarm panel with System Sensor i3 smoke/heat detectors with built-in sounders.