EU-made Zigbee
frient
Zigbee
Danish-engineered Zigbee sensors for security and safety, built to a high standard.
Overview
frient is the consumer brand of Develco Products, a Danish company that has made professional Zigbee sensors for security and energy firms for years. That heritage shows: frient devices are engineered and manufactured in Europe to a standard above the typical budget sensor, with a focus on the things you really want to be dependable - motion, entry, smoke, water and sirens.
For a SmartBee build, frient is the choice when reliability matters more than rock-bottom price. It is not the cheapest brand, but its sensors are standards-compliant, well-built and designed to keep working for years, which is exactly what you want from the devices guarding your home against a break-in, a fire or a flood.
How frient works
Everything frient makes is standard Zigbee, with no proprietary lock-in, so its sensors pair with essentially any open Zigbee hub - Home Assistant's ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT, Hubitat, deCONZ and others. There is no frient cloud you must use and no app you are tied to; the devices simply behave as well-made Zigbee sensors on whatever hub you choose.
That openness is a deliberate strength. Because frient follows the Zigbee standard closely, its devices tend to 'just work' across hubs and to keep working as those hubs evolve, avoiding the compatibility surprises that sometimes affect cheaper, quirkier hardware. For a local, offline-capable system, that predictability is valuable.
The sensors are also built for their jobs. Long battery life, solid radio range and sensible design mean a frient motion or entry sensor can be fitted and then largely forgotten, reporting reliably for years - the opposite of a device you have to keep re-pairing or replacing.
Popular frient devices
Motion Sensor
Zigbee PIR with long battery life.
Entry Sensor
Door and window contact sensor.
Smart Plug Mini
Zigbee plug with metering and repeater function.
Intelligent Smoke Alarm
Zigbee smoke detector with local siren.
Water Leak Detector
Early warning for leaks under sinks and boilers.
Siren
Indoor Zigbee siren for alarms.
frient in a real home
Security is the core use. frient motion and entry sensors form the backbone of a self-built alarm: doors and windows that report when opened, motion sensors that detect an intruder, and a frient siren that sounds locally while your hub sends a phone alert. Because it is all local Zigbee, the alarm keeps working even if the internet is cut.
Safety is where frient is arguably most valuable. An intelligent smoke alarm and a water-leak detector are devices you hope never to hear from, but when a pan catches or a pipe weeps under the boiler, an early local siren and an instant notification can be the difference between a scare and serious damage.
Everyday automation benefits too. The same motion and entry sensors that guard the home can drive lighting and heating - hallway lights that come on at night, heating that pauses when a balcony door opens - so the safety hardware earns its keep every day, not just in emergencies.
What to know before you buy
The main trade-off to accept is price. frient costs more than budget Tuya or Sonoff sensors, and that is the point: you are paying for European engineering, build quality and long-term reliability. For safety-critical devices like smoke and leak detectors, that premium is usually worth it; for less critical automations you might mix in cheaper brands.
Practically, plan your Zigbee hub first, since frient has no hub of its own by design. Any good open Zigbee coordinator will do, placed centrally for coverage. Because frient is standards-based, you are unlikely to hit compatibility issues, but as always it is wise to confirm your chosen hub lists the specific model before buying in quantity.
Works with
These are the hubs, apps and ecosystems the range connects with. Zigbee models in particular can run on an open hub for fully local control, which is the approach we recommend for a reliable SmartBee build.
Getting started
Choose a Zigbee hub
frient is standards-based, so any open Zigbee hub works.
Place safety sensors
Add smoke, water and entry sensors where risk is highest.
Build alerts
Trigger sirens, lights and phone notifications on events.
Frequently asked questions
Does frient work with Home Assistant?
Yes. Because frient is standard Zigbee with no proprietary lock-in, it pairs cleanly with Home Assistant via ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT, as well as other open hubs like Hubitat and deCONZ.
Where is frient made?
frient devices are engineered and manufactured in Europe by Develco Products, a Danish company with a long history of building professional Zigbee sensors.
Is frient worth the higher price?
For safety- and security-critical sensors, generally yes. You are paying for European build quality, standards compliance and long-term reliability, which matter most in the devices guarding against fire, flood and intrusion.
Does frient need its own hub or app?
No. frient deliberately has no proprietary hub or cloud - its sensors run on any open Zigbee hub of your choice, which keeps your system local and avoids lock-in.
Can frient sensors build a DIY alarm?
Yes. Motion, entry and siren devices on a local hub form a capable self-built alarm that keeps working offline, sending phone alerts and sounding a local siren when triggered.
Not sure where to start?
Start with one Wi-Fi device for under 10 EUR, then grow. We help you pick what fits your home.
Try the demo