A standard smoke detector screams at 3 AM and hopes someone is home to hear it. A smart smoke detector connected to Home Assistant does that AND sends alerts to your phone, turns on every light in the house, unlocks the front door, and shuts down the HVAC so smoke does not spread through your ducts. This guide covers the best smoke detectors for HA, how to set them up, and the automations that turn basic fire detection into a proper emergency response system.
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Regular smoke detectors do one thing: make noise. That is fine when you are standing in the kitchen, but useless when you are at work, sleeping with earplugs, or on vacation. A smart smoke detector connected to Home Assistant transforms a passive alarm into an active emergency response system.
Get a push notification the second smoke is detected, anywhere in the world. Know exactly which room triggered the alarm. No monthly subscription needed.
Automatically turn on all lights, flash them red, and illuminate escape routes. In a smoke-filled house at 3 AM, those lights could save your life.
Unlock doors automatically so you can evacuate without fumbling for keys. Smart locks that stay locked during a fire are a real danger.
Stop your heating and ventilation system from spreading smoke through every room. One automation can prevent smoke damage from doubling.
According to the NFPA, 3 out of 5 home fire deaths happen in homes with no working smoke alarms or no smoke alarms at all. Smart detectors that report their battery status, test results, and alert you remotely dramatically reduce the risk of a detector failing silently. A $30 Zigbee smoke detector that tells you its battery is low is infinitely more valuable than a $5 detector with a dead battery that nobody noticed.
Not every smart smoke detector plays nicely with Home Assistant. Cloud-only models can fail when your internet goes down, which is exactly when you need them most. Here are the best options, ranked by reliability and HA integration quality.
The best overall smoke detector for Home Assistant. Connects via Zigbee 3.0, works completely locally through ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT, and has a 10-year CR123A battery. It carries EN 14604 certification for Europe and reports smoke detection, battery level, and self-test results to HA. The 85 dB siren is loud enough to wake anyone in the house.
The best Z-Wave smoke detector for Home Assistant. This tiny device packs a photoelectric smoke sensor AND a temperature sensor, so it can detect both smoke and rapid temperature rises. It reports smoke alarm, tamper alerts, temperature readings, and battery level. The built-in LED ring changes color based on temperature, giving you a visual heat indicator even without checking your phone.
The go-to choice for US-based Home Assistant users. This combo detector handles both smoke and carbon monoxide, connects via Z-Wave, and carries UL 217 and UL 2034 certifications. It reports smoke alarm, CO alarm, and battery status. The dual-sensor design (photoelectric for smoke, electrochemical for CO) covers both threats in a single device.
The cheapest option that works locally with Home Assistant. Shelly's smoke detector connects over Wi-Fi and integrates natively with HA through the Shelly integration. No hub or coordinator needed. The downside: Wi-Fi smoke detectors drain batteries faster than Zigbee or Z-Wave models, so expect to replace the battery every 1 to 2 years instead of 5 to 10.
The cheapest Zigbee smoke detector that actually works with Home Assistant. Heiman has been making these for years, and they are well-supported in both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT. Build quality is not as polished as Aqara, but the detection works reliably. Good choice if you need to cover a lot of rooms on a budget.
A Danish-designed Zigbee 3.0 smoke detector with temperature monitoring and a sealed 10-year battery. Frient (formerly Develco) makes professional-grade sensors, and this one is popular in the European HA community. It reports smoke alarm, temperature, battery level, and tamper status. Clean design that blends into any ceiling.
Quick side-by-side to help you pick the right detector for your setup.
| Detector | Protocol | Battery Life | Temp Sensor | CO Detection | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aqara JY-GZ-01AQ | Zigbee | ~10 years | ❌ | ❌ | ~$30 | Most people |
| Fibaro FGSD-002 | Z-Wave | ~3 years | ✅ | ❌ | ~$60 | Z-Wave users |
| First Alert ZCOMBO-G | Z-Wave | ~5 years | ❌ | ✅ | ~$40 | US / CO detection |
| Shelly Plus Smoke | Wi-Fi | ~1-2 years | ❌ | ❌ | ~$25 | No hub needed |
| Heiman HS1SA | Zigbee | ~3 years | ❌ | ❌ | ~$20 | Budget builds |
| Frient Smoke Alarm | Zigbee | ~10 years | ✅ | ❌ | ~$45 | EU premium |
Already have certified smoke detectors and do not want to replace them? You have two solid options to make them talk to Home Assistant without swapping a single device.
An ESP32 board with an I2S microphone (like the INMP441) can listen for the specific 3100 Hz frequency that smoke alarms use. When it detects that tone, it triggers a binary sensor in Home Assistant. Total cost: under $10 in parts.
This approach works with ANY existing smoke detector. Place the ESP32 device near a central alarm and it will pick up the siren from across the room. Several ESPHome configs for this are shared on the HA community forums.
Devices like the Aqara Smoke Detector Listener or the Heiman Siren Listener clip onto any existing smoke alarm. When they detect the alarm sound, they send a Zigbee signal to Home Assistant. It is the easiest retrofit option.
Perfect for rental properties where you cannot replace the landlord-installed detectors. Just attach the listener and connect it to your Zigbee network. No wiring, no modifications to the existing detector.
Important: Retrofit solutions add smart notifications on top of your existing detectors. They do not replace proper smoke detectors. Always maintain working certified smoke detectors as your primary fire safety system. The smart layer is an enhancement, not a replacement.
Getting a smart smoke detector into Home Assistant is straightforward. Here is how to do it for each protocol.
A smart smoke detector is only as good as the automations behind it. Here are five automations that turn a simple alarm into a full emergency response system.
Send a critical notification to every family member with the exact room where smoke was detected. Use the critical alert type so it bypasses Do Not Disturb mode.
automation:
- alias: "Smoke Detected - Emergency Alert"
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id:
- binary_sensor.kitchen_smoke_detector
- binary_sensor.bedroom_smoke_detector
- binary_sensor.hallway_smoke_detector
to: "on"
action:
- service: notify.notify
data:
title: "🔥 SMOKE DETECTED"
message: >
Smoke detected in {{ trigger.to_state.name }}!
Evacuate immediately.
data:
push:
sound:
name: default
critical: 1
volume: 1.0Turn on all lights at full brightness and flash hallway lights to mark the escape route. At 3 AM in a smoke-filled house, this could be the difference between finding the door and not.
automation:
- alias: "Smoke - Emergency Lighting"
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: group.all_smoke_detectors
to: "on"
action:
- service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: all
data:
brightness: 255
color_temp: 250
- service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id:
- light.hallway
- light.stairway
data:
effect: "alert"Shut down your heating, air conditioning, and ventilation to prevent smoke from spreading through the duct system. This single automation can prevent smoke damage from reaching every room in your house.
automation:
- alias: "Smoke - Shutdown HVAC"
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: group.all_smoke_detectors
to: "on"
action:
- service: climate.turn_off
target:
entity_id: all
- service: fan.turn_off
target:
entity_id: all
- service: switch.turn_off
target:
entity_id: switch.ventilation_systemAutomatically unlock all doors so you can evacuate without searching for keys. Smart locks that stay locked during a fire are a genuine safety hazard.
automation:
- alias: "Smoke - Unlock All Doors"
trigger:
- platform: state
entity_id: group.all_smoke_detectors
to: "on"
action:
- service: lock.unlock
target:
entity_id:
- lock.front_door
- lock.back_door
- lock.garage_doorThe most underrated automation. A dead smoke detector is worse than no smoke detector, because it gives you a false sense of security. Get notified well before the battery dies.
automation:
- alias: "Smoke Detector - Low Battery Warning"
trigger:
- platform: numeric_state
entity_id:
- sensor.kitchen_smoke_battery
- sensor.bedroom_smoke_battery
- sensor.hallway_smoke_battery
below: 20
action:
- service: notify.notify
data:
title: "🔋 Smoke Detector Battery Low"
message: >
{{ trigger.to_state.name }} is at
{{ trigger.to_state.state }}%.
Replace the battery soon.Smart or not, placement determines whether a smoke detector saves your life or just decorates your ceiling. Follow these guidelines.
Kitchen Tip: Instead of putting a smoke detector in the kitchen where cooking fumes will drive you crazy, place one in the hallway just outside the kitchen. Pair it with a heat detector (like the Aqara Temperature Sensor) in the kitchen itself. Heat detectors do not react to cooking smoke but will trigger on the rapid temperature rise of an actual fire.
Covers your most critical room (hallway outside bedrooms). Add more Heiman detectors at $20 each as budget allows.
The sweet spot. 10-year batteries mean you set them up and basically forget about them, except for monthly tests.
Covers smoke, CO, and heat across your entire home. Temperature sensors double as heat detectors in rooms where smoke detectors would false-alarm.
Run our free compatibility scan. It checks your existing devices and tells you what works with Home Assistant, what needs replacing, and how to get started.
Run Free ScanThe Aqara Smoke Detector (JY-GZ-01AQ) is the top pick for most people. It connects via Zigbee, works 100% locally, has a 10-year battery, and costs around $30. For Z-Wave users, the Fibaro Smoke Sensor is an excellent alternative with temperature monitoring built in.
Yes. You can use a microphone-based approach with an ESPHome device listening for the specific frequency of a standard smoke alarm (3100 Hz). Another option is a siren listener device that clips onto any existing alarm and sends an alert when it hears the siren. Both let you keep your existing detectors while adding smart functionality.
Zigbee and Z-Wave smoke detectors work entirely locally with Home Assistant. They communicate directly with your coordinator without needing any cloud connection. Wi-Fi models vary: some require cloud connectivity, while others like Shelly Plus Smoke work locally.
Not necessarily. In many countries, smoke detectors must meet specific safety certifications (like EN 14604 in Europe or UL 217 in the US). If your existing detectors are certified and working fine, adding a listener device or sound detection sensor alongside them is a perfectly valid approach. Smart detectors from Aqara, Fibaro, and First Alert all carry proper certifications.
Follow the same guidelines as regular smoke detectors: one per bedroom, one outside each sleeping area, and one on every level of your home. For Home Assistant purposes, you only need one or two smart detectors to trigger automations. The rest can be regular certified detectors, since most setups can trigger all detectors through HA automations when any single one goes off.
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