Alarm options? [advice]

I’m looking for some advice on an alarm device.

What I would like to do is to have the alarm chirp (low volume) when a door opens and then serve as the audible alarm when the system is armed. Has anyone done this?

Additionally, could I do this with a smoke alarm (for efficiency sake, why have two devices that create an audible alarm) such as a Nest, or other?

I recommend the Aeon Labs Siren, but if you use the default device handler, all you’ll be able to do is turn it on and off.

The device handler below provides additional functionality like chirping/beeping.

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The Smoke/Co2 detector I have is just a sensor, you can’t make it do anything.

If you’re looking for something not as loud, I recommend the Aeon Labs Doorbell.

It comes with a button you could use as a panic button or something other than a doorbell and it allows you to store and play up to 100, 20 second mp3s so you can also make your house talk. The only downsides are that the doorbell has issues working as an actual doorbell, it’s not as loud as a siren, and if you’re using it as a siren it will only sound for 20 seconds.

I recommend using this device handler with it:

Most certified smoke alarms in the US and EU will not allow you to do anything that interferes with the base function of the alarm. This is why, for example, hardwired smoke alarms do not act as repeaters even though pretty much every other hardwire device does. They don’t want it to miss a smoke detection event because it was busy passing along a message for a lightbulb. So it’s unlikely that you will be able to repurpose a certified smoke detection device and use its signal for anything else.

However, as @krlaframboise mentioned, security sirens do not have this limitation. The Aeon siren or the Aeon doorbell would probably fit your requirement. Granted, it’s an extra device, but better to leave your smoke detection system dedicated to its own purpose.

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Another benefit of the doorbell is that you can make it say Fire a bunch of times if any of the smoke detectors go off.

Another benefit to having a smoke detector and an alarm is that the siren and the doorbell both act as repeaters.

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