Designing & Installing Devicebook Air Safety

Introduction

This section is about designing Devicebook Air Safety for a smart home, and subsequently installing devices. 

To learn about using Devicebook Air Safety, see Using Devicebook Air Safety

Designing Air Safety

States and municipalities have local requirements for the distribution and quantity of smoke/co detectors that must be installed in a home. First and foremost, your design for an air safety solution in a home should meet those restrictions.

Optional Feature Choices

Air Safety uses Smoke Detectors, CO Detectors, and Audible Alarm Detectors. In practice, Devices that are Smoke Detectors are also CO Detectors, and most regulations will require both in a home. Learn more about these device choices below.

When to use Smoke Detection & Co Detection

These features should be used together, as devices that are smoke detectors are usually CO detectors as well, and most state regulations will require both throughout a home. 

These features use smart Smoke Detector and CO Detector devices to detect smoke and carbon monoxide, respectively. These are smart devices that communicate with the Devicebook Hub directly, to report when danger is detected.

Using this option will generally require replacing all of the home's previously installed smoke and CO detectors with smart devices.

When to use Audible Alarm Detectors

This feature uses Audible Alarm Detectors. Audible Alarm Detectors are smart devices that listen for the distinctive sound of a smoke or CO alarm from typical smoke/co detectors. They communicate with the Devicebook Hub to report that the sound of a smoke/co alarm can be heard. This will trigger an alert from the Air Safety solution in the Devicebook App, just like a Smoke or CO alert.

This option is a cheaper alternative to replacing the smoke and CO detectors in a home. You can keep the existing devices in the home, and instead install these in the rooms that have Smoke/CO detectors.

Device Choices

The difference in usage between Smoke/CO Detectors and Audible Alarm Detectors is already explained above.

See the Device Selection Guide for more information about the different communication protocols and recommendations on specific device models. 

Installing Devicebook Air Safety

Install smart all devices following the manufacturer's instructions. Such devices are generally wireless, so take care to reduce the number of obstacles between the devices and the Devicebook Hub (or the nearest repeater, in the case of Z-Wave). Metal enclosures and objects in particular can significantly reduce wireless communication quality.

Setting Up & Testing Air Safety

Use House Check to set up all the devices in the home.

To verify that the Air Safety Solution has been installed properly, use the built-in test feature on each smoke/co detector in the home, whether it is a smart device or not. Each one should trigger a brief alert in the Devicebook App. If it did not:

1) Smart Smoke/CO Detectors: The devices are likely having trouble communicating with the Devicebook Hub. Verify that the device is properly connected to it's wireless network, and that there are not objects interfering with the signal.

2) Audible alarm detectors: It is possible that the audible alarm detector is not positioned in a way where it can properly hear the alarm. Audible alarm detectors should be placed such that there is no obstruction between the audible alarm detector and the smoke/CO detector. Verify that you are following the manufacturer's installation guidelines for the device. If this does not fix the issue, the devices are likely having trouble communicating with the Devicebook Hub. Verify that the device is properly connected to it's wireless network, and that there are not objects interfering with the signal.