Always watching. Never beeping.
$100 for a smoke alarm. For many of you, that’s the only thing you’ll see when you skim this post.
The thing is, we hate our smoke alarms. I don’t know if it’s bad wiring or maybe dust in the unit, but every six months or so, one of the many alarms in our house decides to go off in the middle of the night. Sometimes it’s just a random chirp in alternating locations, and sometimes it’s a glaring screech that wakes up the whole neighborhood. Want me to hate your product? Wake my children up in the dead of night… I will HUNT. YOU. DOWN.
The Nest Protect is an attractive smoke and carbon monoxide alarm (from the makers of the best smart thermostat) that aims to improve one of the most hated items in your home. Yes, it’s $100, but that added expense buys increased intelligence, enhanced safety, and a lot of peace-of-mind.
Unlike normal alarms, the Protect issues verbal and location-specific warnings as an issue arises. While other alarms go full strength no matter the issue, the Protect will respond differently with warnings like “Heads up – there’s smoke in the kitchen.” It’s a great early warning system, and according to Nest, children are more likely to awaken from sleep with a voice vs a beep.
The Protect also performs a variety of other functions. It detects carbon monoxide, can detect motion (to help your thermostat know when you’re away), and even includes a light-up ring to issue alerts and light the way at night. Of course, it pairs with a smart phone app to alert you of issues when you’re away and allow you to keep tabs on your home.
My favorite feature? You can see the power status straight from the app and receive alerts on your phone when it’s time to replace the batteries. No more beeping. No more battery hunts. That alone is worth the money in my mind.
The Nest Protect is available now for only $99. The way I see it, that’s a small investment for the safety (and sanity) of your family.
Replacing all smoke alarms in a single house with Protect seems costly, though cool. I wonder why Nest didn’t built in support on the wired model for the red trigger wire to set off traditional units in the event of an actual alarm (and respond to the signal from traditional units).