Nest Re-invents the Smoke Detector

The folks at Nest—the company that convinced geeks everywhere that a $250 thermostat was sexy and necessary—have done it again, this time reimagining the smoke alarm. The good news is that this new device will only set you back by about half of what you paid for the Nest thermostat. The bad news is that you’re going to want to buy a couple of them.

Nest’s new safety device brings its hallmark slick design approach and ease of use to a household item that most people despise. And that’s the problem, right? You should respect the alarm, but most of us hate the obnoxious noise, dread the battery chirp, and often disconnect the batteries after burning something on the griddle. Nest hopes to change all that.

The new Nest Protect, as it’s called, is a combination smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detector. It’s available in wired and battery options, and both feature long-life lithium batteries that are expected to last for years. Like the Nest thermostat, the Protect connects to your Wi-Fi network and can be controlled by your smart phone. You’ll need an iOS or Android phone or tablet to configure the Protect. If you have multiple Protect units, they’ll communicate over their own network, even if your power is out or your Wi-Fi is down.

When you set up the Nest Protect, you’ll identify its location so it knows where it is. If the device is located in a common area like a hallway or living room, it will automatically cast a dim white light if it detects motion in the darkness. (This is configurable, and it’s disabled, by default, for bedrooms.)

The Protect uses voice, light cues, and ultimately an alarm to alert you of danger or incidents.  If one device detects a problem, they’ll all announce the alert and advise you of the location. Before the alarm sounds, Protect will alert you of possible danger with a yellow glow and a “heads up” announcement that there’s smoke and where it’s detected. If there’s smoke in the kitchen because you just overcooked the bacon, you can just wave at the Nest Protect to silence the alert before the alarm sounds. If the alarm does ultimately go off, the Protect will blink red to indicate danger and again advise you of the nature and location of the problem. You can also receive notifications on your smartphone or mobile device whenever the Protect announces an alert—whether you’re home or away.

And forget the low battery chirp at 3:00 a.m. Nest Protect checks its battery status each day and confirms its status each night at bedtime. A brief, glowing green ring when the lights go out indicates everything’s fine—a yellow ring indicates that something needs attention. Want to know what needs attention? Just wave at it. But it’s more likely you’ll learn of the Protect’s battery status by an alert on your phone as far as six months in advance of when they need to be replaced.

Have a [amazon_link id=”B009GDHYPQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Nest thermostat[/amazon_link]? If the Protect detects CO, it will automatically turn off your fossil fuel-based furnace just in case that’s the source of the danger. And with the Protect’s activity sensors, the Nest can more accurately monitor occupancy to tune its energy-saving Auto-Away feature.

Not surprisingly, the Nest Protect is a beautiful example of industrial design. It looks stunningly like an iOS icon. The square unit with rounded corners comes in black or white and features one big button surrounded by a multi-color LED light ring that clearly indicates status and can even light a path for you in the dark.

Nest Protect is [amazon_link id=”B00FN4EWAM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]available for pre-order now[/amazon_link], and it’s expected to ship later this fall on a first-come first-served basis. If you have a home where your smoke alarms are tied into the security system, Nest expects to offer the Nest Protect for Security Systems in the first half of 2014.

If you need more information to help convince your spouse, partner, roommates, or self that you need to spend $129 on this wonderful, new life-saving device [you might as well start practicing your pitch now], Nest has a ton of information on its web site, including a number of videos.