Discussion, feedback and support for app to integrate SDCO (Smoke and CO-detector) provided by FutureHome.
Pre-release version for testing;
Known issues;
After connecting to the device in Homey, you will get a ‘null reference error’. You will have an option to retry, and pressing it will allow you to add it to Homey.
I do not have any testers for the AC alarm and do not own one myself, so have not been able to test. I however assume it will not work until I identify the correct ZWave device ID. Also the code now assumes there is a battery, so will need to add the AC-version as a seperate device.
I wrote the 3-clicks message, but giving both your and my own experiences I think I am going to update it to 4-clicks - as I have never had any problems clicking too often. I think that will cause more users to successfully add the device.
Pre-release version 0.1.1 is released. The ability to turn the siren on and off via a flow action has now been added. I am using the smoke alarm, but this may change in the future to either be different actions for the different alarms, or using arguments.
When testing, I highly recommend to use both the siren.on and siren.off, where the siren.off is executed with a delay.
Thank you for allowing us to beta test this app.
I have a problem when I try to add my alarms (battery version).
They are not being recognize by Homey as anything else than a generic z-wave unit.
Thanks for the great work developing this integration @Thies!
Just wanted to jump in here and say that we’ve taken over development of the official Futurehome app for Homey together with one of our partner agencies. We’ve received samples of almost all the missing products and will start adding support for them where technically possible, including the smoke and CO-detector.
Cool, will add the icon. I have also asked for what I understand to be offical supplied icona, but I am not sure how long those will take - if at all. Can you PM me your name/alias if you would like me to add you as a contributer. Would be available to see on the app page.
I have now added the product Id you identified @Bendik1 - I have also added what I think is the correct Product ID for the AC version. Once I have someone that can test the AC version, I will need to tune the features, as now it performs as a battery device.
I have also added the icons provided by @user3951, thank you for that.
I have now tested the app (v 0.1.2) together with the smoke detector (battery).
Here is what I found:
The integration works, and exclusion works with three presses on the button (tested twice).
Battery level, temperature, and humidity are reported correctly and can be seen in the Insights statistics, both in the app and on the web interface.
The sabotage alarm works and responds correctly in the app when the device is removed from the mounting bracket.
Testing the siren via the app (using the activation button) works: the siren sounds, and I received a Critical Alert saying “Smoke is detected” the first time, but not on subsequent tests.
When deactivating the siren via the app, the siren stops, and I also received a notification that smoke is no longer detected, but again, only on the first test.
I can see both the activation and deactivation events in the timeline on the first test only.
Forcing the siren ON and OFF via a Flow (and through the app) works as expected.
However, the Flow card “Then: Siren ON/OFF” is only available under the app itself, not under the device unlike all the other Flow cards.
(Also worth noting: no alert is received in the app when the siren is forced ON or OFF.)
Approximately 5 seconds after the siren is activated, the voice prompt begins shouting to evacuate the building.
All 19 possible Flow cards have been tested, each with a separate timeline notification. They all work perfectly.
Pressing the button on the smoke detector triggers a self-test. This results in a Critical Alert saying “Smoke is detected.”
The timeline also shows that smoke was detected and then cleared within one second. (As the manual states: “By pressing the button on the SDCO Detector, you can test if the SDCO is functioning normally: If the SDCO Detector functions normally, the red LED will flash once followed by a 2-tone beep.”)
The alarm/siren does not start when pressing the device icon manually, which is good.
Is there an app notification when the battery is removed or the device loses connection to Homey?
I noticed the polling interval is 6 seconds, but even after removing the batteries for 10 minutes, I still didn’t receive a notification. Suggestion: If possible, consider adding a forced notification (or flow) if the device is offline for more than 10 minutes or critical battery level.
The device icon is not displaying correctly on the web interface and on the web App store page, it appears just black or white only.
It looks fine in the app. I’ll double-check if I missed something during the making of the icon.
Not all Flow cards available in a Flow (and Advanced Flow) are listed on the App Store page. Nothing important, just me being a bit detail-oriented ; )
The following seem to be missing from the page:
When battery is greater than / less than
When temperature is greater than / less than
When humidity is greater than / less than
Additionally, the following Flow cards can be inverted:
And “Smoke Alarm is ON” → can be inverted to OFF
And “Sabotage Alarm is ON” → can be inverted to OFF
I will continue testing tomorrow by simulating a real fire using smoke testing gas to confirm that the alarm (Homey) reacts appropriately to a real fire.
Thank you again @Thies for taking the time to develop an app for this smoke detector, it’s much appreciated!
Could this be that by sending the alarm off the alarm is also put in alarm silence mode which I understand can last 10 minutes? Or are you experiencing that the alarm sounds, but without the voice?
That is a really good suggestion, adding a timer and if no feedback within some defined time, raise an event. I will see if I can implement that.
Thank you for the detailed testing, and if possible it would be great if you could summarize a list of issues/suggestions, so that I do not miss anything in your reply.
Sorry I wasn’t clear enough in my previous message.
What I meant was that when I manually force the siren ON or OFF using the slider button in the app, the siren activates with voice prompts and deactivates correctly every time. So that is no problem.
However, I only received a notification the first time I tested this. Perhaps this is because the alarm silence mode is active, preventing further notifications.
In any case, it’s just a minor detail and not a critical issue.
Suggestions (if possible to implement):
Add Flow cards “Siren ON” and “Siren OFF” directly under the device itself, just like the other Flow cards. Currently these are only accessible under the app section, not the device. Maybe the idea with the “Siren” Flow cards is to control all sirens at once, instead of just one smoke detector?
Add a notification for “Device disconnected” and “Critical low battery” by polling the device status regularly and sending a notification when necessary. (This might already be handled automatically by Homey, but I’m not sure.)
Display all available Flow cards on the App Store page, the following Flow cards seem to be missing from the App Store page:
*When battery is greater than / less than
*When temperature is greater than / less than
*When humidity is greater than / less than
*When Smoke Alarm is OFF
*When Sabotage Alarm is OFF
These Flow cards are available for the device but not shown on the app page, so it would be helpful to list them for users to better understand what’s supported.
Add a confirmation prompt before manually activating the siren via the app.
For example, if a user wants to check the battery status and taps the device icon to open the status page, they might accidentally hit the button that triggers the siren, possibly without even realizing it.
A simple “Are you sure?” confirmation message would help prevent accidental loud siren activations.
As for issues, I haven’t really encountered any because everything works well so far! These are just suggestions for improvements.
I also checked the device icon and noticed it wasn’t properly centered, so I’ve fixed that now. It should now be aligned correctly and according to the guidelines.
Tried to connect one of the smoke alarms today, but was told that this z-wave product was not integrated. It was therefore added as a regular z-wave device.
If you need more feedback on the 220v detector, feel free to ask!
I am not associated with Futuehome, I just got tired of waiting for an offical app. This would be an app provided by a community member (like many others). I am trying to identify a bug and will then try the Homey release process. The test app can however be installed and used, ref the links at the top.
I was replying to the post by @Doekse above regarding the official app.
But very cool that you’re also making an app for this, I’m just trying to get a picture in my mind of when these products will be fully operational on Homey - especially the 230 V version of the FH smoke detectors.
