The Nest Protect

From the Makers of Nest Protect:

We all know why smoke alarms are torn off the ceiling or missing batteries – because every time you make stir-fry, the smoke alarm cries wolf. Or just as you’re falling asleep, you hear a low-battery chirp. They’ve become annoying.

But smoke and CO alarms are too important to be annoying. They keep us safe.  That’s why we made Nest Protect. We wanted to make a smoke alarm you’ll love. Because hating it is dangerous.

Nest introduces the first smoke and carbon monoxide alarm that is interactive with the homeowner and provides helpful information.  The Protect comes equipped with 8 sensors--photoelectric, carbon monoxide, heat, ambient light, humidity sensor, and 3 activity sensors. These sensors allow it to know what is happening in a room and to help determine the levels of smoke and carbon monoxide that are present.  (Click here to learn more about the sensors.)

When there is a problem, the Protect speaks to you in a human voice and tells you what kind of emergency it is and how dangerous the situation is.  If the problem intensifies, alarms will sound and the Protect will tell you what you need to know--whether you need to exit a room or if there are high levels of carbon monoxide present.

The Protect also has an LED light ring whose various colors give you information as well.  Green shows that everything is fully operational while red signals a serious emergency.  Yellow shows a potential problem--anything from detecting smoke to low batteries.  It even functions as a night light when its white to light your path.

The Nest Protect's colored ring glows to signal warnings (yellow), emergencies (red), a clean daily scan (green), or readiness (blue). A white light serves as a nightlight.Lindsey Turrentine/CNET

What really sets the Protect apart is what is built into each unit--a wireless radio that allows it to communicate to other alarms throughout your house and more importantly to a mobile device.  If the alarm goes off, or the batteries are running low, the unit sends a message to your phone.  Using the Nest app or the internet, you can check the status of each alarm in your home, make changes to the features or check battery levels, whether you are in the house or miles away.  

Nest 4.0 App                                                                                                     Screenshot by Lindsey Turrentine/CNET

Of course, multiple alarms can be connected together so they speak at the same time, throughout your home.  The Nest Protect is available in black or white and can be wired (with a battery back up) or operate on batteries.  The long life batteries ensure that your alarm is operational for multiple years.  

Protect Works with your Nest Thermostat.

If Nest Protect’s carbon monoxide alarm goes off, your Nest Thermostat automatically turns off your gas furnace – a possible source of poisonous carbon monoxide leaks.  In addition, the Nest Protect activity sensors improve the Auto-Away feature of your Nest Thermostat.                                                                                                                                            ~Nest website

Still not sure what to think?  Check out these multiple reviews from reliable sources like ABC News, GigaOm, International Business Times and Mashable.                                                

**Important note:  Most of these reviews were conducted in October 2013 when the product first came out and there are two important differences to note.  First, the retail price is now $99, not $129 as many articles state.  Also, Nest voluntarily disabled the Nest Wave feature that allowed you to turn off the alarm with a wave because they found that it could be accidentally triggered and could cause a delay in reporting a fire.  Nest resumed selling the Nest Protect in June 2014 with the gesture controls shut off as the default setting.