Heat Sensor for Fire Alarms

Christopher NO, this device does not substitute for an actual fire detector that triggers an alarm when fire is detected.  I've asked Simplisafe to design one several times now to no avail.  Sometimes I think I'm talking to a stone wall with the responses I've gotten.  Don't understand why Simplisafe can't do it.  Most home systems out there have a passive heat detector that will trigger an alarm except for Simplisafe.  My previous Bosch system had them and I had several installed.  Having only an extreme temp. sensor as Simplisafe offers doesn't fit the bill for fire detection in my garage, or in the kitchen, wood working workshop, over my fireplace, or in an attached enclosure for a generator that I have in the backyard, or any place where a fire could occur that needs immediate attention without the installation false alarming because of smoke or haze.  As a retired electronics engineer I bet that I could tear apart one of your smoke detectors and modify it to have a solid state heat sensor rather then smoke sensor to trigger a fire alarm.  I'd also bet it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out either so WHY CAN'T SIMPLISAFE DO THE SAME?  This past summer I installed a smoke detector in my garage because you don't have a heat detector that triggers an alarm and, unexpectedly, had it trigger when a contractor was paving my driveway and smoke fumes entered the building.  The responding engine's Fire Captain told me to replace the smoke detector as soon as possible which, of course, I couldn't.  Would appreciate if Simplisafe  replace the optical or ionizing element in your current detector with a solid state heat sensor and you'd have what I'm looking for.  I would very much like such a device because I already have a half dozen locations that I could use one immediately and I know other customers who also have the same requirement.       

@christopher_ribeiro_tp​ So what do I put in my attic to protect me from attic fires?

@christopher_ribeiro_tp​ No. we need an actual NFPA approved heat detector that is either fixed temperature 200°F or or a rate of rise heat detector that works like smoke detectors and notifies monitoring immediately. The temp sensors only report every hour and do not notify monitoring. 

@christopher_ribeiro_tp​ NO. The temperature sensor is not NFPA approved. We need an NFPA approved heat detector that will notify immediately of a rate of rise or set temp. Not a device that reports once every hour. 

I don't know why SS is waiting to do either or both of these.  I've been pushing them for quite some time and am glad to see a professional fire safety instructor asking them for the same.  I once was a firefighter, but that would have little impact on SS speeding up the process.  I've had false alarms with the smoke detector in both my garage and my woodworking shop.  Local fire department has advised me to remove them as they are a nuisance, but for some reason SS doesn't take it seriously.  Let me say this.  If another company would offer a similar system as SS has and the same cost to monitor it with offers both smoke and heat detectors, I would replace my SS system in a heartbeat.  They're ignoring requests for these types of detectors at their own business peril as other SS customers have also asked them for these types of devices

. 

@Wayne2131​ We have submitted this product request to our dev team for their consideration, but we do not have any updates from them. Once we hear more, we'll provide an update in this thread. 

@emily_s​

+1 vote on my part

This is prompted by a fire in the equipment bay of a Fire Station in Huntington Park early Wednesday morning. There were no smoke detectors.

from a design standpoint, it is the same configuration as a door contact.

I don't know what you will want to do as far as a Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certification. That does tend to be expensive.

thank you for your consideration!

@kevdanc​ You are correct, these will not provide fire detection. The reasoning for the 127 degree upper limit is the ratings of the electronic components.

The freeze/heat sensor is for local alerts only, and won't trigger a dispatch. They are not treated in the software like a smoke detector.

You should not have been given that advice, IMHO.

But thank you for posting, that is a good data point!

Bad advice from SS.  Their heat detectors are only advising you that their settings have been exceeded.  They don't trigger a fire alarm and no contact is made with the local fire department to let them know you have a problem.  I've been trying to get SS to provide a real heat alarm, but it's like talking to a stone wall.  All of us should be putting continual pressure on them to manufacture one.  It's not rocket science either since they have the technology already.  All they have to do is substitute a heat sensor for the smoke sensor in their current fire units that will trigger an alarm once the heat senor either exceeds it's temperature limit or the sensor melts and opens.  

@kevdanc​ I'm sorry to hear this, that is not the advice that I would have given. The Temperature Sensor is not designed to work as a heat sensor for fire alarms, it's supposed to watch out for temperatures that are uncomfortable for humans, which is why its maximum temperature is 127° F. 

We have submitted this request for a heat sensor that detects fires to our devs for their consideration, but we do not have any updates from them at this time. If/when this product is brought into development, we will post an update in this thread. 

The Temperature Sensor does report readings hourly. If the temperature of a room goes above your maximum threshold or below your minimum threshold, an alarm will not sound until the next time the Temperature Sensor checks in.

We would recommend consulting with your local fire marshal about what to place in your attic for fire protection.

@emily_s​ 

a heat sensor

I concur 

It has been years not months that the requests for a real heat detector has been made.

That's just my experience.  Glad to see there was an effort years ago.  Really makes one think that SS just doesn't care about it's customers.  Believe me when I say that if another company offers a similar product you'll see them leave in droves.  I just don't understand the reticence of SS to offer a real heat detector. 

@aswierz​ we do care deeply about our customers. It's the core of everything that we do.

SimpliSafe is constantly evolving to meet our customers' needs, but we're still a fairly small team, and we want to focus on efforts that make the biggest impact for the most customers.

Right now, this particular request isn't seeing as much interest as a lot of other initiatives we've got in the works. But the more customers like yourself chime in here, as well as our other platforms, the more we can show to our product team that it's in demand. 

Every single person that has a hybrid or electric vehicle would be interested in this and it would be a massive differentiating factor from the competition. This is a no brainer and the first home security system that has it is going to win a ton of business including mine. If SimpliSafe is beaten to this by someone else that is easy to use I’ll be switching. Who is running this product team and what exactly are they working on that people care so much about? A home security system needs to do about 5 things well and detecting fires, including in the garage feels like one of those basics. Honestly find this reply shocking. 

It's the typical SS BS.  They don't see much interest so what do you call this list of people requesting a heat detector fantasy island?  What kind of fire alarm system really worth it's weight is one without a heat detector?  Why SS's of course.  Every other manufacturer has one except SS.  What could more in demand then a heat detector for locations that can't use smoke detectors?  In addition, if they only have a small development team then maybe they sure hire a co-op student in electrical engineering.  He/she could probably have such a device ready for testing in about two weeks using the technology already being used by SS.   As I said the answer they're giving us is SS BS. 

Smoke detectors are not designed to be used in garages or unconditioned spaces.  They will give off false alarms with any fumes and be damaged by the increased dust and dirt often found in a garage. I am purchasing a heat detector that will provide an audible alarm. However, I would find much more piece of mind if it could tie into the monitoring system.

@jcrawford360​ 
Use of a smoke detector in the garage can easily be a cause of a false alarm.  Smoke detector alarms in some jurisdictions connected to a 24 hr monitoring service are non-cancellable events unless you are physically present at the location.  This means the fire department ends up showing up at your location.  If it repeats then the owner can be charged for false alarm responses.
There is no reason to believe that a heat detector for use in attic or garage is coming from SS anytime soon.  This has been a request for at least 5 years.
A side note: most residential smoke detectors do not meet the temperature ranges experienced in a garage/attic spaces depending on you geographic location.  You need to very carefully look at the specified operational temperature range for your smoke detector location if it can be outside the standard 40F-100F temperature range for smoke detectors.

@Lb1​  which brand did you purchase?

We can't use SimpliSafe without a fire heat detector. Our insurance (Chubb) requires one that will trigger a fire alarm if you have a gas/oil furnace/boiler. We're going to have to go with ADT because of this.

@Lb1​ the garage doesn’t get over 100°F. And if you maintain your smoke detector, you shouldn’t get false alarms. I have 2 in my garage and have never had a false alarm. I open the door before I start my truck and I clean all of my smoke detectors every other month. Just have to maintain them. 

@jcrawford360​ Not a bad idea, but emergency control functions like this are beyond the scope of SimpliSafe. It’s a Household Warning System. It’s not a typical Fire Alarm System like you would install in a commercial building.

Once we start interacting with other systems, things get way more complicated and expensive. If you need that function, you should reach out to a professional system installer.