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Apr 12, 2001
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In line with a report from last month, iPod creator Tony Fadell's company Nest today announced the launch of Nest Protect, a $129 connected smoke and carbon monoxide detector for the home. The detector wirelessly connects with other units and with the Nest Learning Thermostat to enhance the functionality of each product while also offering a more informative and flexible experience for users.
These products should keep us safe, not annoy us. Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide does much more than just sound a shrill alarm when there's danger in your home. It speaks to you, telling you where the danger is and what the problem is. And before it sounds a piercing alarm, Nest Protect gives you a friendly Heads-Up warning that you can silence with a wave of your hand - no more swinging towels or brooms to try to quiet a false alarm. It integrates with your mobile devices and even messages you if the batteries run low, avoiding that all-too-familiar midnight low-battery chirp.
nest_protect_black.jpg
Nest Protect contains six different types of sensors (photoelectric smoke sensor, CO sensor, heat sensor, light sensor, ultrasonic sensors, activity sensor) to help the device interpret its environment, and includes a green glowing light that can serve both as a quick indicator that the device is functioning properly after lights are turned off and as a nightlight, automatically lighting a person's path when it senses their movements.

The connected nature of Protect allows multiple units to alert users to rising smoke or CO levels anywhere in the house while also specifying where in the house the issue is occurring. Integration with the Nest Learning Thermostat improves the thermostat's Auto-Away feature, which automatically adjusts heating and cooling based on whether anyone is in the home, allowing Protect units to serve as remote sensors for detecting any occupants in the home.

Nest Protect is available for pre-order now and will launch next month. It is priced at $129 and be available in both black and white versions, with each color being available in wired and battery-powered versions. Users will be able to control Protect and receive alerts through the Nest Mobile app for iOS, which will updated with Protect support when the device launches.

Article Link: Nest Introduces $129 'Protect' Connected Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector
 

PlainviewX

macrumors 6502a
Oct 4, 2013
907
1,860
Great product. While I don't really have the use for the thermostat, I will be lining the house with a few of these bad boys.
 

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
Anything that can prevent the real life Phoebe in "Friends" night I had last week - blip blip blip at 4AM - is a great product.
 

DaveWonders

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2006
102
0
So it's still going to take batteries? What a stupid design.

Right near the end of the article - "available in both black and white versions, with each color being available in wired and battery-powered versions"

Seems cool but a little expensive considering you will most likely have to buy a few.
 

Sodner

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2011
2,112
78
Pittsburgh, PA
Nice. They sure seem to be coming out with some nice smart products. Might have to give the smoke detector a try. Waiting on a new furnace to get their thermostat.
 

Crzyrio

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2010
1,586
1,110
This is awesome!

Not for me yet but they are definitely heading in the right direction.

If in the future they are able to offer more products that integrate into a whole home security/automation system, Ill be going all in.
 

trilla12

macrumors newbie
Jun 21, 2008
19
0
Pssh $129! I'll be a buyer at the correct price point of about $40. Until then, stick with the Kidde alarms.
 

markdj

macrumors newbie
Jul 28, 2010
15
0
There are some disadvantages to this

If you have a typical house with three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room, then you need five smoke detectors. At $129 each, you would need to spend $600+. If you have a basement, then you may need more and may spend more. And you'll spend even more if you have them professionally installed.

If you have that many new devices that are on your wifi, how will your bandwidth fare? Will you need to pay for even more expensive wifi speed?

If you have cathedral cielings as I do, then you won't be able to wave your hands in front of it to shut it up as it will be more than the 2-8 feet from you.

This will be a cash cow for Nest as most homes only have one or two thermostats, but most have three to ten smoke detectors. Mine has seven - and I'm in a condo.
 

ThunderSkunk

macrumors 68040
Dec 31, 2007
3,782
3,990
Milwaukee Area
Pretty neat. I wonder if they'll add sensors to this thing as time goes on. Radon, CO2, etc. Maybe add some scrubbers and tanks of desirable gasses to regulate an ideal air mixture in your home. An air quality control system. Cleaner, healthier air.


Meanwhile, half the worlds population is drinking turgid water out of busted off lead pipes in the mud...
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,101
19,603
How many detectors does the average house have? I'm pretty sure my house has about 7 and it's a rather average size. That's quite the chunk of change for something that produces little benefit. I think the most useful part is that it tells you which room the smoke is coming from, but unless you have one in each room this feature isn't very useful. The fact that it lights up as you're walking at night is cool, but the flashlight in iOS 7 is pretty easy to get to as well which mitigates that benefit for me. I suppose this is more useful for people who burn things all the time? I've never set off a smoke alarm. I think my wife set one off once in the years we've been married. If our children turn out to be pyros this could prove beneficial.

What would be nice is if these smoke detectors—which seem to have decent speakers in them—could be used over AirPlay as a house-wide speaker system for music. This would work especially well on the wired models where battery life isn't a concern. It would also be great if you could use it like an intercom by speaking into the app and making announcements over the system, such as telling the kids upstairs that dinner is ready (or having some preset buttons to make announcements using the built-in voice actor). Another great feature they could add: Ability to put the house in lockdown mode while away on a vacation or during the day when at work. If it detects any motion, it sends you an alert.

Does anyone know if this will work with the Nest thermostat? I love my thermostat, but sometimes it goes into auto-away when I'm in my office for a few hours working on client projects on the weekend. If the motion detectors worked in-tandem with the thermostat, then that would allow better detection for auto-away. Having temperature sensors in each smoke detector would also be handy for having the thermostat even out the temperature throughout the house. My thermostat is downstairs and sometimes Nest doesn't get the temperature correct upstairs.
 

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2010
2,921
740
So does the wired one plug into the spot where your current smoke alarm is?
 

Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
5,559
1,245
Cascadia
Right near the end of the article - "available in both black and white versions, with each color being available in wired and battery-powered versions"

Seems cool but a little expensive considering you will most likely have to buy a few.

They should make the "expensive" one to act as the master, and some simpler slave units that are only slightly more expensive than a current high-end smoke/CO detector, but add a radio transmitter that just chirps its status to the master unit on a regular basis.
 

markdj

macrumors newbie
Jul 28, 2010
15
0
Batteries are used for backup

So it's still going to take batteries? What a stupid design.

The wired version has batteries to detect a fire when your power is out. Modern fire codes require this so you will still have protection during a power outage.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Sodner

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2011
2,112
78
Pittsburgh, PA
How many detectors does the average house have? I'm pretty sure my house has about 7 and it's a rather average size. That's quite the chunk of change for something that produces little benefit. I think the most useful part is that it tells you which room the smoke is coming from, but unless you have one in each room this feature isn't very useful. The fact that it lights up as you're walking at night is cool, but the flashlight in iOS 7 is pretty easy to get to as well which mitigates that benefit for me. I suppose this is more useful for people who burn things all the time? I've never set off a smoke alarm. I think my wife set one off once in the years we've been married. If our children turn out to be pyros this could prove beneficial.

What would be nice is if these smoke detectors—which seem to have decent speakers in them—could be used over AirPlay as a house-wide speaker system for music. This would work especially well on the wired models where battery life isn't a concern. It would also be great if you could use it like an intercom by speaking into the app and making announcements over the system, such as telling the kids upstairs that dinner is ready (or having some preset buttons to make announcements using the built-in voice actor). Another great feature they could add: Ability to put the house in lockdown mode while away on a vacation or during the day when at work. If it detects any motion, it sends you an alert.

Does anyone know if this will work with the Nest thermostat? I love my thermostat, but sometimes it goes into auto-away when I'm in my office for a few hours working on client projects on the weekend. If the motion detectors worked in-tandem with the thermostat, then that would allow better detection for auto-away. Having temperature sensors in each smoke detector would also be handy for having the thermostat even out the temperature throughout the house. My thermostat is downstairs and sometimes Nest doesn't get the temperature correct upstairs.

It says in the details online that it does help with the thermostat auto-away feature so that would be a plus. Ya they are not cheap but what is your home, family, belongings worth to you?
 

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
Very interesting. I'm actually in the market for a smoke and carbon monoxide detector. Hopefully these will work in the UK. I also wish Nest would hurry up and release a high voltage Nest thermostat so that people outside of the US can get them hooked up.
 

LFMNX

macrumors regular
Feb 14, 2011
150
2
Auto Away

Some reference that it will work with auto away for the nest thermostat. I suppose it means if it detects movement under it that nest thermostat assumes there are people in the house. Also in a fire event it shuts off the furnace.
 

PsychoSid

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2005
23
0
Very interesting. I'm actually in the market for a smoke and carbon monoxide detector. Hopefully these will work in the UK. I also wish Nest would hurry up and release a high voltage Nest thermostat so that people outside of the US can get them hooked up.

They do have these in the UK but not the thermostat yet. Ordered a couple for my house.
 
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