Select Page

protect-front-white

Yes, I’m positively giddy about this, excuse me if I ramble a little.

protect-app-ipad-miniI’ve had the Nest Thermostat since early this year.   I had it installed before the Internet was even turned on when I moved into the new house.  I love it!
The Nest Thermostat is a different way of looking at the typical home heating and cooling thermostat – throw a bunch of technology into it and hook it up to a wireless network and you get a thermostat that actually learns and is actually useful.

Now, the Nest Protect – a Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector. It’s absolute genius!
Nest took a device that sits, unnoticed on your ceiling, or is deemed more an inconvenience than it is a life saver. The poor, oft-forgotten Smoke Detector.
Working in Emergency Services, I deal with Smoke and carbon Monoxide detectors on a regular basis. There’s a lot of uncertainty that goes into the common detector. It beeps. It wails. There’s not much more to it than that.
Your pet probably has a better chance of telling you what is wrong with it than a detector does.  Could it be a battery? Is there actually smoke? Is there carbon monoxide? Does it need to be replaced?  Does it need to be fed?

The Nest Protect, through verbal alerts, colored lights, and the attached iPhone app tells you exactly what is going on, often before it actually happens.

The Protect can be either hard-wired or battery operated.   Of course, it installs simply on your ceiling – that is where similarities between the Protect and other detectors end.

 

First, and I think this is kick-yourself genius, the Protect works with the Nest Thermostat so that, when it detects Carbon Monoxide, it turns off the furnace.  Why didn’t someone think of this before?!  Brilliant!

Pre-warnings let you know “there is smoke in the kitchen” before the detector goes into full on alarm mode. (i.e be a little more careful with your cooking)

Tones, along with (Siri-like) audible warnings tell you about conditions when they occur (Children can sleep through tones, it is less likely with an actual voice).

Push alerts are sent to your mobile device to tell you when the detector is going to alarm or is about to alarm.
The mobile app also tells you the detector battery status.

A different color glowing light on the detector tells you that the battery is running low, before it audibly warns you.

The protect acts as a night light – when you walk under it, it lights your way.  Also, at night a light on the detector tells you that it is still alive and is still protecting you.

You don’t need to take it down to “hush” it. (or take it down, remove the batteries, break the device and hide it, as some do) – just wave your hand at it – it has a motion detector Smile

There’s so much more to it than it just being a wi-fi connected smoke detector.   It really is generally brilliant!

How much does it cost though?  well, you can get it in either Black or White – it’ll cost you about $129, which is kind of expensive for a Smoke/Co detector, but for a Wi-Fi connected, life-saving device? it’s priceless!

Of course though, consider how many detectors you have, or should have in your home – at $130 per device, it can soon get quite expensive.

However, I will be getting at least one when they’re released in November.

 

Take a look at the Nest Protect Press Release

Take a look at the Nest Protect Web Site

Enhanced by Zemanta