18 ms·

Nest introduces their Smoke Detector

539 points by zdean 13y ago

yalogin 13y ago
Its probably just me but both of Nest's products are not necessities. I mean they are nice to look at but I don't care much about the problem they solve for me to go and switch. And they are usually twice the price of a regular one so there is that.
- berberous 13y ago
  This one is more like 4x the price, minimum. Looks great though.
  - ruswick 13y ago
    More like 6x to 7x the price. The precedent for detectors seems to be $20. Local fire departments also routinely hand them out for free.
- mikeash 13y ago
  When was the last time you saw a "necessity" on the front page of HN?
robmcm 13y ago
Looks great, although I did pick up a basic one for about £2 the other day. However I would love to get one, along with the thermostat, should they ever come to the UK.
- boristhespider 13y ago
  Looks like it is coming to the UK: http://nest.com/uk/ http://nest.com/uk/ (although not the thermostat yet)
  - robmcm 13y ago
    Yeah not sure what's holding them up a thermostat in the UK is much simpler as normally it's just heating you turn on or off.
    - twoodfin 13y ago
      I imagine they need time to build up the necessary experience to support the product well. Nest's support, the one time I had to call them, was outrageously good. Within about 10 minutes the engineer had figured out exactly what was wrong with my wiring setup, and, more or less blind, walked me through the discovery and installation of a common wire.
  - ZoFreX 13y ago
    £109? Bit steep when it's $129!
bluedevil2k 13y ago
I just tore one off my ceiling and threw it into the garage at 3am just last week. I was excited about this one until I saw the price. $129! Yikes! I got a few lithium battery detectors at Home Depot for $20 that are supposed to last for 10 years.
- thrownaway2424 13y ago
  I have a box full of shards of smoke detectors that I have ripped off the ceiling and hurled down the stairs because they went off while I was cooking, or making tea, or sneezing nearby. The nest thermostat is fucking stupid, but this smoke detector appears to be a genuine improvement. I would pay twice this price if it works.
  - dionidium 13y ago
    The nest thermostat is fucking stupid Why do you think this? It's been a huge win for me. I routinely forget to adjust my thermostat when I leave the house, even sometimes on out-of-town trips. You could argue that I'm just a dumb idiot -- OK, that's fine -- but this hasn't been a problem since I got a Nest. Add in the other (relatively minor) energy conservation features and the savings have been pretty big.
twoodfin 13y ago
I wonder what the split on Nest thermostat sales is between new construction/refurb builder/contractor installations vs. "end user". Whatever it is, I think the smoke detector will be more skewed towards the former. $129 is a lot for a consumer, especially without all the immediately tangible and potentially cost-saving benefits of the thermostat. But for a developer selling a condo, being able to advertise "Nest fixtures throughout" might be worth $1000. I love my pair of Nest thermostats, but don't feel motivated to buy this.
- mikeash 13y ago
  Having recently bought a newly built house, I'd say that it's more likely that they'd offer the option of Nest fixtures throughout for the low, low price of only $1,000 extra.
- acdha 13y ago
  > $129 is a lot for a consumer Is it, really? I mean couples routinely blow that on 1-2 dinners out without any thought at all, at least in the demographic they're targeting. You're paying something like a 2x purchase cost for a much smarter, well-connected device – that seems well within the range that upscale consumers will pay for almost any sort of better made appliance or furnishing.
  - wmeredith 13y ago
    It's way more than two times purchase cost. You can get a smoke detector and CO2 alarm for ~$20.
    - blinkingled 13y ago
      Wouldn't I need one for every room? In my modest house that'd be $129 x 7 = $903!
      - nikoftime 13y ago
        $903, right?
danpalmer 13y ago
By law my house requires 3 (that I can remember) smoke alarms. $390 to use Nest Protects instead is far too far above the price of convenience, even $130 is about $100 more than I think a good smoke detector should cost. Nest's marketing seems to target a wider range of people than that which I think would be interested in their products. I've worked in an Apple reseller, I've seen how much disposable income most people have, and Nest are massively over-targeting their products. These are for the guy who used to buy 2 iPods, in case one broke.
- LanceH 13y ago
  This is a home expenditure. It's not for a temporary product like the ipod. Lots of people have entirely different budgets for permanent objects in their home. Upgrading that beige blemish of a smoke detector purely for looks will be worth $130 to many.
- akgoel 13y ago
  My city requires a smoke alarm both outside and inside each bedroom. For my 5 bedroom house, that's over $1000. But the fact that I've had to wake up 3 times in 3 years in the middle of the night to disconnect all 5 "exterior" alarms to clear the "carbon monoxide" (low battery) noise makes it kind of worth it...
  - aestra 13y ago
    I don't get it. Your carbon dioxide alarm and low battery alarm are the same? Your smoke detectors eat one battery a year? Sounds like you have awful smoke detectors. They sell cheaper ones that have 10 year batteries.
sneak 13y ago
Why is this not a dual-band wifi repeater (and maybe even bluetooth audio device, as well)? I was really hoping that all the stuff on the ceiling would take advantage of the prime physical position there once it all became smarter. As it stands, I love what Nest is doing but I'm pretty underwhelmed by this. The motion sensor integration with the thermostat is a good start.
- ashergm 13y ago
  The wifi repeater feature would be cool but I think it'd probably be a battery drain on the non-wired versions.
  - r00fus 13y ago
    So they should only offer it on the wired ones. Would be quite a good sell, actually (probably best left as an unsupported "hack" so Nest doesn't have to provide support for failed wifi topologies).
    - ashergm 13y ago
      I agree it probably should be left as an unsupported hack since it would be a support nightmare. After thinking about it a bit I think that it'll never actually happen. It's a weird feature combination that would confuse non-geek consumers. Who knows maybe Nest would want to reserve that kind of thing for another shiny new product to hang on your wall and could price at 150+
- jcastro 13y ago
  BT audio would be nice, given the location of the smoke detectors I wouldn't mind having my phone ringers relay through the speakers. 2 way phone calls by yelling at the smoke detector is probably a bit of a reach though, heh.
  - sneak 13y ago
    I meant more for voice recognition stuff that is keyword activated. Presumably with better mic coverage we will eventually not have to hit the button to activate siri/now.
snoonan 13y ago
The more interesting thing here is how it interfaces with the thermostat and makes both better as a result. Turning off the furnace when the carbon monoxide alarm is triggered is worth it by itself. For those of us living in snowy climates with children, this is a big deal on its own. In addition, the improved awareness of when you're home, extra safety lighting, etc are all interesting as well. I don't see this as a smoke detector a step towards a smarter, safer, more energy efficient house. Perhaps the discussion should be about what else it is, not necessarily that takes on the main role of a extra fancy smoke/CO detector.
- computer 13y ago
  Note that a smoke detector should be on the ceiling, and a carbon monoxide alarm at ~1.5m high on a wall. Putting it on the ceiling as well could very well result in late alarms. (Source: a friend who nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning)
  - caw 13y ago
    Where are sources of carbon monoxide poisoning? The only two off the top of my head are near the garage and the fireplace. You could augment this system with 2 more plug-in type CO monitors that would put them lower on the wall. For any other room that doesn't have a CO monitor right now this is just a bonus.
    - Ygg2 13y ago
      Machines that use gasoline, tobacco, gas/gasoline/wood heaters. GP is right, Carbon Monoxide falls to the bottom, so detecting there is of great essence. Carbon Dioxide floats, so its detectors should be placed up. NOTE: I meant Smoke detectors.
      - deelowe 13y ago
        That's backwards isn't it? CO should be less dense than CO2.
chiph 13y ago
I don't have any iOS or Android devices - does it have a built-in web server so I can configure it?
- digitalengineer 13y ago
  Ha ha, only on HN will this be asked ;-)
- eyepulp 13y ago
  I'm guessing that like the Nest thermostat they have an external web site (nest.com) you can register the device with, and then perform config via that site. I wonder if anyone's sniffed their Nest's traffic to see if it's encrypted?
nathan_long 13y ago
Note for the paranoid: this is a multi-sensor, including motion, which has wifi and can control your heater. Now the spooks can watch you in your house! :)
- MartinCron 13y ago
  That's amateur hour paranoia. They can crank up the thermostat to roast you alive and then turn off the heater if a fire breaks out.
jqueryin 13y ago
While this is very cool, I'd like to hear more in regards to how multiple Nest thermostats can work together. Ideally there would be one expensive unit and several other attachable units, much like how you can extend Wifi range. The carbon monoxide detector would make for a great addon unit, a "plugin" of the master smoke detector unit.
zippergz 13y ago
I absolutely love my Nest thermostats, and I think they were worth every penny. I'd buy them again in a heart beat. So I have faith that this will also be a great product. But the problem is that my house needs two thermostats, but 12 smoke alarms. If I only needed 2 or 3 of these, I might be tempted. But I can't see spending over $1500 on replacing my smoke alarms. I suppose maybe they don't all need to be replaced, but if it doesn't interoperate with my other hard-wired smoke alarms, it could actually be a net decrease in safety (if the non-Nest alarms start going off and the Nests don't).
- dkasper 13y ago
  Sounds like a great idea for an add-on product would be cheap additional detectors for your other rooms
  - zippergz 13y ago
    Yes. Ever since I got the thermostats, I've wanted add-on sensors for other rooms. The placement of the thermostats in my house is not great for setting the temperature in the rooms I actually care about, so it would be great to have additional small sensors in the primary living areas. It seems like they could make it an all-in-one device -- a Nest extension that works with both the thermostats and the smoke alarms.
- zenocon 13y ago
  Same situation. I have two Nest thermostats and I love them, but there's no way I'm going to drop close to a thousand dollars on replacing all my current (functional) smoke alarms. The price point is just wrong -- I hope they adjust it down the road apiece. I'd rather spend them money replacing lightbulbs with LED.
lnanek2 13y ago
Pretty cute, waving at the alarm to shut it up, which is what people often do anyway to try to get smoke from cookie away from it. Would have been more fun to just be able to yell shut up at it, though. :) Although I guess you have a user training requirement for that.
deleted 13y ago
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ruswick 13y ago
Nest is very adept at charging large amounts of money for solutions to small problems. Dealing with the shortcomings of modern smoke detectors is a minor annoyance at best, and (at least for me) isn't worth anything even remotely approaching what Nest is charging. Keep in mind that this detector provides no increase in safety, and if anything is a regression because it postpones alerting the user to prevent the annoyance of false positives. You are paying only for convenience. Adequate smoke detectors can be purchased for $20. Is the minor increase in convenience really worth shelling out over 6 times that amount, possibly at the expense of safety? (EDIT: as others have pointed out, this also serves as a carbon monoxide detector. The implication from the product page is that this product is designed to be placed on the ceiling. What could possibly go wrong?)
- mynameisvlad 13y ago
  Have you ever had your smoke detector do the low battery chirp? Because I will easily pay 6 times more to never hear that godawful sound ever again. Especially when you have high ceilings, and the detector is the 120V AC kind and has no overly visible slot for a battery.
  - ruswick 13y ago
    I have. I identify the detector and the batteries. It's not particularly hard.
    - mynameisvlad 13y ago
      As I said, some of them have no overly obvious battery compartment. Either it's on the backside, or internally and you have to unscrew it open. Not all have an obvious battery compartment. And it's incredibly annoying when you have to climb onto a chair/table/whathaveyou because your ceilings are so high you can't naturally reach it. The one in my last apartment even had a big button in the middle. I thought I might be able to press it in order to turn off the alarm temporarily. That was not a good idea.
  - arethuza 13y ago
josefresco 13y ago
Would like to see a model more like Ninja Blocks (base device with inexpensive remote sensors) then the idea of buying several more expensive components. Would have been ground-breaking if the Nest smoke detector was a $20 or $40 networked addon to the original Nest thermostat.
- schappim 13y ago
  This smoke alarm is based on Ninja Blocks: http://bop.io http://bop.io
mwsherman 13y ago
The motion detector is a trojan horse for introducing other functionality. It could probably serve as a general alarm system as well, with a software update. What are some other apps that can come from an always-on wifi-enabled set of sensors?
Edvik 13y ago
This will find its biggest market (I think) in NYC apartments - you only need 1 usually, and tiny unventilated kitchens are a near guarantee to send off an alarm. I lived in an apartment where we essentially had a broom handle hanging next to the alarm because it was inevitable, and during Sandy blackout the thing constantly chirped because its landline was disconnected. Not a good experience.
neals 13y ago
I love these new takes on old devices, however, my five $15 smoke, heat and co2 detectors from different brands have been proven and tested over time... I wouldn't want to be the one that finds the first bugs in this new nest smoke detector.
- rplnt 13y ago
  Exactly. And even if it's tested well I really don't see why I would want to pay upwards of $100 for a smoke/co detector, when I can get them for about $10. It's a device you buy and don't want to use, ever. I'd rather spend the money on routine checks on possible CO sources (oven, heater, ...).
ubercore 13y ago
I like my Nest thermostat, but I'm more inclined to add smoke detectors from Simplisafe to my security system. They're cheaper, and offer more of an insurance discount because they report to a central monitoring station. I would've liked to see Nest go more towards home automation, or work with window AC manufacturers to integrate Nest controls on their boxes. I'm not too keen on Nest branded smoke detectors.
bernatfp 13y ago
Another impressive product. And a clear demonstration that they want to be something more than a thermostat manufacturer. They are indeed becoming the Apple of household devices.
lazyant 13y ago
I'd take a simpler version (no wifi/light/remote furnace control/voice, just no false positives like from shower's steam) for half the price
jdalgetty 13y ago
pre-ordered :)
ymmv53 13y ago
The thing that draws me to Nest is not the product value but the design. They are beautiful, well thought out products. I probably won't buy a Nest Protect, as my pain point isn't that high, but it's sexy as hell.
dimadima 13y ago
Just keep a canary nearby at all times
Fishrock123 13y ago
I found this line in The Verge's interview with Tony Fadell (Nest's CEO): "And if the Protect senses a carbon monoxide problem, it’ll instruct the thermostat to shut off your furnace." That is of utmost importance. That alone makes it by orders of magnitude the safest carbon monoxide detector made. The integration is going to make all the difference. I want my future home to be setup with this stuff. My only disappointment: It does not report back temperature to the Nest thermostat.
- ceejayoz 13y ago
  > My only disappointment: It does not report back temperature to the Nest thermostat. Yet. I'd suspect this'll come eventually.
digitalsushi 13y ago
I performed what is apparently called a 'shoryuken' by a colleague when I became incensed over the fire alarm screaming out over a fried egg I had allowed to smoke. Pulling little bits of beige plastic out of my knuckles gave me a moment of reflection to consider how technology can improve and disrupt our lives. For the 20 dollars a regular smoke detector costs, I believe they should already have a large button you can press on the side that indicates "I promise everything is fine, I am in the house, alert, and am about to cause an issue. Please unconditionally do not beep for the next 30 minutes." That would replace everything good about this wifi gizmo.
- Glyptodon 13y ago
  Agree. All I can ask for is a giant 'false alarm' button and maybe that the controls not be located on the damn ceiling. I think everyone hates smoke detectors because they're such a hassle.
- Spoom 13y ago
  Someone would inevitably sue the manufacturer after pressing that button and walking away with a fire still burning.
  - Pxtl 13y ago
    Really? Because mine does that... although it only goes off for like 2 minutes. It's quite handy since mine is poorly located and will activate when there's too much cooking smoke in the kitchen. I'm short so I keep a step-stool under the cupboard, and the alarm is next to the cupboard. Works for me.
    - tanzam75 13y ago
      You probably have an ionization smoke alarm. You should replace it with a photoelectric smoke alarm, which is less susceptible to nuisance alarms. In fact, manufacturers are now starting to label them right on the package: "Best for kitchens and baths."
- eli 13y ago
nfoz 13y ago
I loved the idea of caring about design and making expensive, excellent versions of simple household products. But I think they really jumped the shark with this. I reeeeally don't like my smoke detector having a million apps in it, and needing an app to connect to it. If it is at all connected to the Internet (and not just a closed-loop system), that's pretty scary to me unless the security model is absolutely sound.
- dykesa 13y ago
  Are you married? If so I'm surprised if you've never gotten the "OMG I THINK I LEFT MY HAIR STRAIGHTENER ON AND I'M SURE THE HOUSE IS BURNING DOWN. Can you go check?" phone call. (Which, incidentally, has resulted in several hours of lost time at work but no still no sighting of the wild forgotten-plugged-in-hair-straightener)
  - jaynos 13y ago
    Nest needs to get into the curling/straightening iron business.
brudgers 13y ago
Read about deaths in dwelling fires here: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v14i3.pdf http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v14i3.pdf There's more here: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/reports/residential_structures.shtm http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/reports/residential_stru... When owners of commercial buildings disable life safety features, it is not uncommon for the Fire Marshal to require a fire watch (trained personnel on site walking around 24 hours a day) until the system is operating correctly. A residential smoke alarm system without a battery as backup power source is not operating correctly[1]. A smoke alarm in or near the kitchen is incorrectly placed if it is producing frequent false alarms[2]. In the time it takes to download and install a smartphone app, one can probably replace all their smoke detector batteries - NFPA recommends changing them twice a year when clocks get reset for daylight savings time. These are first and foremost alarms not detectors because there is no other annunciator device. Using the device in the way the manufacturer is suggesting - i.e disabling portions of it's alarm system - is how people die in dwellings. Over-riding their fucking primary purpose for the fucking sake of fucking occupant convenience violates the fucking basic principles of fucking life safety. This isn't disruption, it's fucking stupidity. [1]Outside of retrofit applications, smoke alarms are required by the National Electrical Code [NFPA 70] to be hardwired and when located in a room used for sleeping on an arc-fault protected circuit. The battery is for backup. [2]Though the kitchen is the most common location for a fire in dwellings, kitchen fires are among the least likely to be fatal because cooking usually is attended and occurs during waking hours. Many building codes also require a fire extinguisher to be located in the kitchen for new construction.
- dionidium 13y ago
  I've never seen a residential smoke detector that wasn't primarily (and solely) powered by a 9-volt battery. Is hardwired power required for new construction?
  - tanzam75 13y ago
    Hardwired smoke alarms have been required on new construction in the US since the 1989 NEC. It usually takes a few years for cities and states to adopt the newest NEC revision. However, by now, all states have adopted at least 1989. Hardwired alarms are also required for major renovations. However, you basically have to take it down to the studs before this requirement is triggered.
joshdance 13y ago
The point of the Nest Protect is not that they are selling a fire alarm. It is that they are selling peace of mind. You trust it more, because you interact with it more. It talks to you, you can see it glow green, it lights up when you walk under it. Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? You never interact with it until your life depends on it. Nest increased your interactions with the device, thereby increasing your trust in it.
- dmix 13y ago
  aka Don Draper's home fire alarm.
  - ianstallings 13y ago
    Just like other fire alarms, except it's toasted.
- tanzam75 13y ago
  > Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? Sure. Push the button labeled "Test." (Cover your ears -- you should still be able to hear it.) Seeing the green glow on the Nest doesn't tell you that it'll wake you up when it goes off. So you have to test it anyway. Which makes it no better than a regular detector, from the assurance perspective.
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  I really hate the peace-of-mind marketing gambits. They almost all revolve around creating a fear you didn't have before, and then proffering to save you from your newfound fear.
  - dmix 13y ago
    Which part do you hate, that humans have the biological flaw of fear/ego being their greatest motivator or that we live in a market economy that feeds into it? "Predictably Irrational" is a brilliant book about this subject. Consumers do not buy things rationally. And the answer is not simply exploitation by marketing companies (although that is a big part of the narrative). http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-ebook/dp/B002C949KE/ http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expande...
davebobak 13y ago
I live alone. I stress out about something happening when I am not at home. Yes, I will be safe if there is a fire when I am gone, but I would love to know if my house is about to burn down. This will help alleviate some of that stress.
jcoleh 13y ago
I think (just like the thermostat). This is a trojan horse. Nest trying to get a sensors into your home. Specifically presence sensor in every single room of the house. This will be their foundation for a vastly improved home control UI. They will take the lessons they learned with the learning thermostat temperature control and use that for the rest of your home, with the input being location, number of people, etc... At least that is what I would do if I were Nest :-)
EvanL 13y ago
Damn physical product startups are getting REALLY good at landing pages these days.
dylandrop 13y ago
When I hear arguments like "I'd pay one hundred extra dollars just to not hear that chirp at 6AM", I think we all know who the target audience for this product is. The average joe doesn't have $120 per smoke detector to casually shell out. It would be nice if the Internet of Things movement started moving toward things that everyone can enjoy, rather than just making toys for rich startup guys. (Grand Street, I'm looking at you.)
DanBC 13y ago
I'm interested in the number of people in this thread who have little idea about how their smoke detectors work - where to put the batteries or what the flashing LED means, for example. Smoke detectors are a safety critical device which save many lives each year. It's fucking stupid to not know where these are, and how to keep them serviced. Recommendations are that you test smoke detectors each week. 9v batteries are, for this purpose, dirt cheap. Change all of them at the same time. Or buy a more expensive detector with a 10 year battery. (Or buy the Nest device.) http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms * Once a week test each alarm by pressing the test button till the alarm sounds. * Once a year change the battery (unless it’s a ten-year alarm). * Twice a year open the case and gently vacuum the inside using the soft-brush attachment to remove dust from the sensors. If it doesn’t open, vacuum through the holes. * After 10 years it’s best to get a whole new alarm. If you're living in an apartment building you can get fire alarms which tell you the zone an alarm is triggering in, which tells you what detector is having a problem with its battery. Some people are comparing the Nest device with regular smoke detectors. That's gently misleading because the Nest alarms can link. That's nothing new, plenty of alarms link, but they are all more expensive than just a regular alarm.
- Havoc 13y ago
  >Smoke detectors are a safety critical device which save many lives each year. From what I can tell only in places with wooden buildings though. e.g. I don't know of a single house that burned down. Not one in my entire life. Its just a non-issue here (South Africa). The closest I can think of is a house that was leveled by an exploding gas cylinder. (Attempting to melt gold on a gas flame in backyard shop...)
  - aestra 13y ago
    You have nothing that is flammable in your house? What about electric fires? What if your computer caught fire in the middle of the night? I grew up in a brick building. We had two house fires there when I was growing up, though neither in my apartment. Sure the house didn't burn down and they were pretty self contained, but those were still potentially deadly situations. Luckily all the tenants escaped. The most common way to die in a house fire anyway isn't by burning, its by smoke inhalation. If there is a fire in the next room billowing smoke, you aren't likely to wake up and you're going to inhale all that smoke.
kybernetyk 13y ago
Hmm, I don't know. I like my smoke detectors to be as simple as possible. Complex tech that might cause some kind of hang and failure in critical devices gives me a bad feeling.
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
  Normally I'd agree, but the current crop of devices demonstrably have exactly that problem - they get disabled because of chronic false-positives. So some improvement/complexity is called for.
  - bitdestroyer 13y ago
    I would also agree about limiting the complexity, but I do think there's something to be said for the benefits of having the additional technologies the Protect offers, coupled with the ability for the Nest team to update them ([1]) as improvements are found. It seems to me that as usage increases, the Nest team can use that data to come up with additional features that could incrementally increase the safety of your home over time, however small that increase might be. The obvious caveat being that the updates need to be safe as well, but I think the long tail of a product like this could be increased safety over time, which to me sounds attractive. Not to mention the benefits this adds if you already use a Nest. We have two in our home and the ability for it to know more about the temperature in different rooms is something I've wanted since we installed them. [1] http://support.nest.com/article/Do-I-need-Wi-Fi-to-install-and-use-my-Nest-Protect http://support.nest.com/article/Do-I-need-Wi-Fi-to-install-a...
dykesa 13y ago
I think it just needs one more feature: Stream and play music. Then it would be totally worth it.
jack-r-abbit 13y ago
I bought 2 Nest thermostats and have been happy with them. The $500 price for the pair was a bit steep but it was not insane. This looks nice too and at $130 for one it does not sound that bad... at first. But then as I count off all the units I need to replace in my house... I get to 12. I have 12 freakin' smoke alarms in my house. I don't think I'll be dropping $1600 to upgrade my house with Nest Protect. :/
mempko 13y ago
Right, because people who don't have smoke alarms in their house don't have them because they are annoying. I suspect most of these people can't afford them, or are low on their "buy" list for money reasons. Not sure how an expensive smoke alarm will solve that problem....
- fnimick 13y ago
  Actually we have 0 smoke alarms in our house exactly because they are so annoying. On the day we moved in, they went off 6 times while we were making dinner. They were all off the ceiling later that evening.
jaredstenquist 13y ago
The future of these is interesting to consider. After a software update... - Stream music across the house - House-wide doorbell tone (after they sell you a $99 doorbell kit) - Hook up to security system - Remotely audio monitor your home (babysitter, cheating wife/husband) - Siri type functionality. I can wake up and say "Weather" in my bedroom. - Alarm clock At this price point they won't be popular enough to really ignite further innovation of the devices though.
snicklepuff 13y ago
Jesus, $150!? For a smoke detector!? How hard is it to hit the little "mute" button on the cheap one you already have?
OhHeyItsE 13y ago
What problem does this solve? For the 5 times a year the smoke alarm goes off because I'm burning something in the kitchen, I have to get a chair to push the 'hush' button? "Wave to disable"??? Are you kidding me??? Sorry - anything could accidentally disable a life-saving device is pretty darn stupid. Someone, somewhere, will die because of this.
- jck 13y ago
  Notice how the light is a different color for different intensities of heat? I'm sure wave to disable won't work when there is a lot of smoke.
  - ajanuary 13y ago
    Correct http://support.nest.com/article/What-types-of-alarms-can-I-silence http://support.nest.com/article/What-types-of-alarms-can-I-s...
tomasien 13y ago
Looking over at my smoke detector that I took down 3 weeks ago and disabled because it was beeping, let's just say I agree with this video.
joosters 13y ago
Hmm, perhaps Nest should update their terms of service? This clause in particular should make someone think twice about buying a safety device from them: (c) Reliability of Notifications. You acknowledge that the Services, including remote access and mobile notifications, are not intended to be 100% reliable and 100% available. We cannot and do not guarantee that you will receive notifications in any given time or at all. YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT RELY ON THE SERVICES FOR ANY LIFE SAFETY OR CRITICAL PURPOSES. MOBILE NOTIFICATIONS REGARDING THE STATUS AND ALARMS ON YOUR NEST PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY – THEY ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A THIRD-PARTY MONITORED EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM. Worth repeating: "YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT RELY ON THE SERVICES FOR ANY LIFE SAFETY OR CRITICAL PURPOSES" Don't buy a safety device from a company that claims this!
- greedo 13y ago
  There is a big difference between relying on its wifi notification and relying on its auditory alarms.
- kyrra 13y ago
  Find a household safety device (smoke alarms and such) that doesn't have similar warning. If they did guarantee it worked 100% of the time and it malfunctioned for whatever reason, they would be opening themselves to a lawsuit.
  - joosters 13y ago
    I'm not aware of any other smoke / CO alarms that warn people not to rely on them for their safety, are you?
  - frenchy 13y ago
    I don't know what it's like in the US, but in Canada, if you try to sell a safety device and put in your TOS that the device should not be guaranteed to provide any safety (even when used properly), the courts will throw out your TOS. You can't sell a safety product and then pretend it doesn't do anything.
- arscan 13y ago
imissmyjuno 13y ago
> No more frantically swinging towels at the smoke alarm to quiet it down. If there’s a nuisance alarm, just stand under Nest Protect and wave your arm to hush the alert. As you wave, your hand should be 2-8 feet away from the alarm. What happens if one of my cats is sitting under it and scratching the floor or playing with a toy..
- svachalek 13y ago
  It says children and pets are too low to disable it.
voqk 13y ago
I've developed something called the smoke detector condom. It is essentially a zip-lock bag with a string tied to it. All you have to do is place the zip-lock over the detector and it prevents bacon in the morning from setting off the alarm. Then the emergency release string can be pulled on unannounced landlord visits.
jmharvey 13y ago
Poorly designed smoke detectors are a real problem. They can be overly sensitive to some kinds of fire and completely miss out on other kinds. Tests are extremely irritating and difficult to perform, so people don't perform the tests. Low battery warnings are just irritating enough to let you know there's a problem, but not consistent enough to let you know where the problem is. (I once replaced every battery in every smoke detector in the house, twice in a week, before I finally figured out that the low battery chirp was coming from a long-forgotten CO detector behind the refrigerator.) And nuisance alarms can be very difficult to dismiss, so people disable the alarm entirely, and then have even more difficulty getting it back in place. These are real problems. The Nest smoke detector ($129) seems to solve these problems. The thing is, if you've got these problems, you've probably spent less than $20 on smoke alarms in the last decade, either living with whatever came with your house/apartment, or buying the cheapest ($5-10) smoke detectors on the market. User-friendly smoke alarms are available for about $30, and they solve most of the same problems the Nest solves. They're not as slick, or network connected, but they'll do the job.
jacal 13y ago
That wasn't the price point you were supposed to hit.
evan_ 13y ago
They should license that scene from "Friends" where Phoebe's fire alarm goes off and she can't get it to stop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tkY08MhfoU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tkY08MhfoU
swinglock 13y ago
Who has that much trouble with the smoke detector?
- svachalek 13y ago
  I confess that in my last house they were always going off, not just because I burnt the toast but just because I made some toast. Or because I took a shower. Or lit a candle. I moved them several times but could never find a spot that was simultaneously far enough away from the toaster, stove, shower, microwave, dinner table, grill, and fireplace. Silencing them required getting a ladder and only lasted a few minutes, never enough to prevent a second activation. Because they were going off all the time the batteries went out in months, and they would start chirping loudly at random intervals around 3 a.m. It would wake you up then you couldn't figure out which one it was and once you decided it was a fluke and went back to sleep it would do it again. I did bad things to those smoke alarms. In retrospect maybe they were just a bad batch and needed to be replaced but historically I hadn't experienced much better. I've moved since then and haven't had trouble with the new ones yet, knock on wood.
schappim 13y ago
It seems pretty similar to the Bop smoke alarm I made for a hackathon. See: http://bop.io http://bop.io Cheers, Marcus
mrbill 13y ago
Love my Nest, have had it since they were first available. Took a smoke detector off the wall with a crowbar a few months ago because it was 3am, I couldn't sleep because of the damned beeping, and I didn't have any spare batteries nor the desire to find a chair or ladder to stand on. Replaced it the next day, but at least I got back to sleep.
yitchelle 13y ago
This smoke alarm looks very complex, and the amount of risk increases with the level complexity. For such a complex product, I would want to know some insights to the following. What safety standards have been applied to the software development and product development? Does it need wifi to work correctly? Can you connect it to the mains power? How secure is the wifi connection? ie Can it be hacked for malicious purposes? etc..... For something so critical to a life and death situation, I want something to function as simple as possible.
- codereflection 13y ago
  Security of the wifi device and it's connection to the internet.. not enough people are talking about this. So many "internet enabled" devices out there are poor on security. I would love to hear from the people behind Nest on how they plan to take on internet attacks.
  - macleanjr 13y ago
    Some of Google's security team has helped to stiffen the safeguards[1] [1] http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/nest-smoke-detector/all/ http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/nest-smoke-detector/al...
    - blibble 13y ago
      the fact that's even possible worries me. 1 billion transistors and 40 million lines of code in my smoke detector. hurrah, the smoke detector crashed again!
    - codereflection 13y ago
      Thanks for that link. I suppose it's good that some effort from experienced people has been made, but this really concerns me that the security stiffening was a "side project" of some Google folks. "Board member and investor Bill Maris of Google Ventures says that some of Google’s security team helped stiffen Nest’s safeguards as a side project."
SilasX 13y ago
Show of hands: who else (this being HN and all) thought this was going to be a software package related to deployment smoke tests?
sgustard 13y ago
"CO detectors can be placed near the ceiling or near the floor because CO is very close to the same density as air" per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_detector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_detector
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
rsync 13y ago
Here's a blurb from the blog-post announcement: "It senses carbon monoxide and connects to your Nest Thermostat through your Nest Account. So it can automatically shut down the furnace, a possible source of CO poisoning, when the carbon monoxide alarm goes off." so ... what if your Internet connection is down ? Further, even if it isn't, why[1] would you ever want your thermostats and/or fire alarms talking to some third-party, for-profit company and existing on public IP space ? Do I misunderstand how this works ? I hate typical smoke alarms with a passion, but I'm not replacing them with something that can be DoS'd or requires Internet to function properly... [1] Other than blind, stupid pursuit of new and shiny
- ebtalley 13y ago
  I'm unsure that it requires the internet, just a router and AP to direct connect the two devices together. Furthermore, if the the furnace is the root of the CO emission it would be a boon to have the nest thermometer ask for forgiveness vs ask for permission to save you from death.
- harpastum 13y ago
  I don't see why it would require Internet access to function as a normal smoke alarm. I'm sure it still goes off just like a normal alarm if there is no Internet connection — you just lose the convenience of multi-room notices and the furnace changes.
- ZoFreX 13y ago
  It doesn't require internet to function properly - it still works as a smoke and CO alarm without internet. It can't shut down your boiler for you without internet - like most other CO detectors.
  - rsync 13y ago
    There is no reason that (insert device X here) cannot shut down your (insert other device Y here) while disconnected from the Internet. They lost me at "... with your nest login ..."
- jtokoph 13y ago
stigt 13y ago
Wow, after my experience with Nest thermostat, there's no way I'd risk having a Nest Smoke Detector. I had Nest Thermostat for 3 months. Initially I loved it, but then it kept "think" I was gone when sleeping on the 3rd floor wake to a freezing house. Ok, minor annoyance, disable that feature. Then after a long business trip I came home late to again find a freezing cool house, but this time the Nest had bricked itself. Rest didn't help, support didn't help. So since there is no manual override, I had to uninstall it and reinstall the 20 year old "programmable" thermostat that actually worked. Since I had to uninstall it I told Nest they could have their brick back and refund me. Now they want me to take that risk with a smoke alarm bricking itself??? Crazy.
brandon272 13y ago
I love my Nest thermostat but don't feel the need to buy this product. Speaking for myself, my smoke detector and I already have a great relationship. It stays out of the way and blares its siren when it thinks my house is in danger. Those of us in newer homes often have hardwired detectors that rarely require battery replacement. And I don't want or need yet another app that simply tells me that my house isn't on fire. I think the disappointing part about this product is that I feel like on a priority list of classic household items that Nest would be wise to reinvent, the home smoke detector isn't high on my list. One thing I'd love for them to create and sell to me is a build-your-own home alarm system that uses my home internet connection as a means to connect to a monitoring center and provides a good mobile app experience. I've been shopping for an alarm for a while and all of the current products out there are terrible and archaic compared to what a company like Nest could provide.
dhughes 13y ago
There are fire alarms and smoke alarms also there are photoelectric and ionization types. Both are used for different purposes.
jaynate 13y ago
This web site is crashing safari on iOS.
cookingrobot 13y ago
I love this. My one question is why they chose white and black as the colors. This is obviously a premium product, and if you look in interior design magazines it's clear that people prefer metal fixtures for their lights / switches / fans. Stainless steel, bronze and brass seem by far the most popular choice for high end lighting, and it seems like this should match that theme. White could "disappear" better into the ceiling, but with their product design of having a light flash whenever the room lights are turned off, it seems like they want to be a noticed/appreciated part of the room design.
DigitalSea 13y ago
I don't care what anyone else says, this is a genius idea. I cannot believe that nobody has ever thought of creating a smart smoke alarm like this before. I think many of us have been guilty of taking out our smoke alarm batteries when it goes off because you like your steaks well-done or burnt your toast because you had to pee. And I know a few people guilty of removing the batteries from smoke detectors because they're chirping that the battery needs to be replaced and can't be bothered to replace it, which is plain stupid and dangerous. The one issue with smoke detectors that Nest solves is not the annoyance of it going off during dinner, it's the annoyance of when you have multiple smoke detectors in close proximity and you can hear one of them chirping randomly that its battery needs replacing, but you don't know which one it is. You stand around like an idiot waiting for it to chirp again, but it's so random you get frustrated waiting and give up. The colour coding aspect of this product alone is something even generic cheap smoke detectors should integrate to better show when batteries need replacing. I think it would save lives.
kondro 13y ago
Anyone complaining about the price of a $120 smoke detector aren't the target market. I would buy these in a heartbeat if I could (I'm in AU). The pricing is irrelevant for even the small amount of extra life quality this product affords.
marincounty 13y ago
Good invention, but too pricey. His thermostat is great, but I need three for my house. No I don't have a huge house, but I designed the hydronic system well. Each part of the house can have it's own temperature.
scrrr 13y ago
I don't want to connect to my appliances using a phone. I also don't need a high-tech smoke detector. I have them in all rooms, they work, no false alarms. If I need light, I turn on the light. A device for gadget nerds. Unnecessary for the rest of the world.
nodata 13y ago
Love my smoke alarm? Always know? From everywhere? See what's invisible? I'm beginning to have enough of this sickly sweet language, it turns me off looking at the product.

539 points by zdean 13y ago

Its probably just me but both of Nest's products are not necessities. I mean they are nice to look at but I don't care much about the problem they solve for me to go and switch. And they are usually twice the price of a regular one so there is that.

berberous 13y ago
This one is more like 4x the price, minimum. Looks great though.
- ruswick 13y ago
  More like 6x to 7x the price. The precedent for detectors seems to be $20. Local fire departments also routinely hand them out for free.
mikeash 13y ago
When was the last time you saw a "necessity" on the front page of HN?

robmcm 13y ago

Looks great, although I did pick up a basic one for about £2 the other day. However I would love to get one, along with the thermostat, should they ever come to the UK.

boristhespider 13y ago
Looks like it is coming to the UK: http://nest.com/uk/ http://nest.com/uk/ (although not the thermostat yet)
- robmcm 13y ago
  Yeah not sure what's holding them up a thermostat in the UK is much simpler as normally it's just heating you turn on or off.
  - twoodfin 13y ago
    I imagine they need time to build up the necessary experience to support the product well. Nest's support, the one time I had to call them, was outrageously good. Within about 10 minutes the engineer had figured out exactly what was wrong with my wiring setup, and, more or less blind, walked me through the discovery and installation of a common wire.
- ZoFreX 13y ago
  £109? Bit steep when it's $129!

bluedevil2k 13y ago

I just tore one off my ceiling and threw it into the garage at 3am just last week. I was excited about this one until I saw the price. $129! Yikes! I got a few lithium battery detectors at Home Depot for $20 that are supposed to last for 10 years.

thrownaway2424 13y ago
I have a box full of shards of smoke detectors that I have ripped off the ceiling and hurled down the stairs because they went off while I was cooking, or making tea, or sneezing nearby. The nest thermostat is fucking stupid, but this smoke detector appears to be a genuine improvement. I would pay twice this price if it works.
- dionidium 13y ago
  The nest thermostat is fucking stupid Why do you think this? It's been a huge win for me. I routinely forget to adjust my thermostat when I leave the house, even sometimes on out-of-town trips. You could argue that I'm just a dumb idiot -- OK, that's fine -- but this hasn't been a problem since I got a Nest. Add in the other (relatively minor) energy conservation features and the savings have been pretty big.

twoodfin 13y ago

I wonder what the split on Nest thermostat sales is between new construction/refurb builder/contractor installations vs. "end user". Whatever it is, I think the smoke detector will be more skewed towards the former. $129 is a lot for a consumer, especially without all the immediately tangible and potentially cost-saving benefits of the thermostat. But for a developer selling a condo, being able to advertise "Nest fixtures throughout" might be worth $1000. I love my pair of Nest thermostats, but don't feel motivated to buy this.

mikeash 13y ago
Having recently bought a newly built house, I'd say that it's more likely that they'd offer the option of Nest fixtures throughout for the low, low price of only $1,000 extra.
acdha 13y ago
> $129 is a lot for a consumer Is it, really? I mean couples routinely blow that on 1-2 dinners out without any thought at all, at least in the demographic they're targeting. You're paying something like a 2x purchase cost for a much smarter, well-connected device – that seems well within the range that upscale consumers will pay for almost any sort of better made appliance or furnishing.
- wmeredith 13y ago
  It's way more than two times purchase cost. You can get a smoke detector and CO2 alarm for ~$20.
  - blinkingled 13y ago
    Wouldn't I need one for every room? In my modest house that'd be $129 x 7 = $903!
    - nikoftime 13y ago
      $903, right?

danpalmer 13y ago

By law my house requires 3 (that I can remember) smoke alarms. $390 to use Nest Protects instead is far too far above the price of convenience, even $130 is about $100 more than I think a good smoke detector should cost. Nest's marketing seems to target a wider range of people than that which I think would be interested in their products. I've worked in an Apple reseller, I've seen how much disposable income most people have, and Nest are massively over-targeting their products. These are for the guy who used to buy 2 iPods, in case one broke.

LanceH 13y ago
This is a home expenditure. It's not for a temporary product like the ipod. Lots of people have entirely different budgets for permanent objects in their home. Upgrading that beige blemish of a smoke detector purely for looks will be worth $130 to many.
akgoel 13y ago
My city requires a smoke alarm both outside and inside each bedroom. For my 5 bedroom house, that's over $1000. But the fact that I've had to wake up 3 times in 3 years in the middle of the night to disconnect all 5 "exterior" alarms to clear the "carbon monoxide" (low battery) noise makes it kind of worth it...
- aestra 13y ago
  I don't get it. Your carbon dioxide alarm and low battery alarm are the same? Your smoke detectors eat one battery a year? Sounds like you have awful smoke detectors. They sell cheaper ones that have 10 year batteries.

sneak 13y ago

Why is this not a dual-band wifi repeater (and maybe even bluetooth audio device, as well)? I was really hoping that all the stuff on the ceiling would take advantage of the prime physical position there once it all became smarter. As it stands, I love what Nest is doing but I'm pretty underwhelmed by this. The motion sensor integration with the thermostat is a good start.

ashergm 13y ago
The wifi repeater feature would be cool but I think it'd probably be a battery drain on the non-wired versions.
- r00fus 13y ago
  So they should only offer it on the wired ones. Would be quite a good sell, actually (probably best left as an unsupported "hack" so Nest doesn't have to provide support for failed wifi topologies).
  - ashergm 13y ago
    I agree it probably should be left as an unsupported hack since it would be a support nightmare. After thinking about it a bit I think that it'll never actually happen. It's a weird feature combination that would confuse non-geek consumers. Who knows maybe Nest would want to reserve that kind of thing for another shiny new product to hang on your wall and could price at 150+
jcastro 13y ago
BT audio would be nice, given the location of the smoke detectors I wouldn't mind having my phone ringers relay through the speakers. 2 way phone calls by yelling at the smoke detector is probably a bit of a reach though, heh.
- sneak 13y ago
  I meant more for voice recognition stuff that is keyword activated. Presumably with better mic coverage we will eventually not have to hit the button to activate siri/now.

snoonan 13y ago

The more interesting thing here is how it interfaces with the thermostat and makes both better as a result. Turning off the furnace when the carbon monoxide alarm is triggered is worth it by itself. For those of us living in snowy climates with children, this is a big deal on its own. In addition, the improved awareness of when you're home, extra safety lighting, etc are all interesting as well. I don't see this as a smoke detector a step towards a smarter, safer, more energy efficient house. Perhaps the discussion should be about what else it is, not necessarily that takes on the main role of a extra fancy smoke/CO detector.

computer 13y ago
Note that a smoke detector should be on the ceiling, and a carbon monoxide alarm at ~1.5m high on a wall. Putting it on the ceiling as well could very well result in late alarms. (Source: a friend who nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning)
- caw 13y ago
  Where are sources of carbon monoxide poisoning? The only two off the top of my head are near the garage and the fireplace. You could augment this system with 2 more plug-in type CO monitors that would put them lower on the wall. For any other room that doesn't have a CO monitor right now this is just a bonus.
  - Ygg2 13y ago
    Machines that use gasoline, tobacco, gas/gasoline/wood heaters. GP is right, Carbon Monoxide falls to the bottom, so detecting there is of great essence. Carbon Dioxide floats, so its detectors should be placed up. NOTE: I meant Smoke detectors.
    - deelowe 13y ago
      That's backwards isn't it? CO should be less dense than CO2.

chiph 13y ago

I don't have any iOS or Android devices - does it have a built-in web server so I can configure it?

digitalengineer 13y ago
Ha ha, only on HN will this be asked ;-)
eyepulp 13y ago
I'm guessing that like the Nest thermostat they have an external web site (nest.com) you can register the device with, and then perform config via that site. I wonder if anyone's sniffed their Nest's traffic to see if it's encrypted?

nathan_long 13y ago

Note for the paranoid: this is a multi-sensor, including motion, which has wifi and can control your heater. Now the spooks can watch you in your house! :)

MartinCron 13y ago
That's amateur hour paranoia. They can crank up the thermostat to roast you alive and then turn off the heater if a fire breaks out.

jqueryin 13y ago

While this is very cool, I'd like to hear more in regards to how multiple Nest thermostats can work together. Ideally there would be one expensive unit and several other attachable units, much like how you can extend Wifi range. The carbon monoxide detector would make for a great addon unit, a "plugin" of the master smoke detector unit.

zippergz 13y ago

I absolutely love my Nest thermostats, and I think they were worth every penny. I'd buy them again in a heart beat. So I have faith that this will also be a great product. But the problem is that my house needs two thermostats, but 12 smoke alarms. If I only needed 2 or 3 of these, I might be tempted. But I can't see spending over $1500 on replacing my smoke alarms. I suppose maybe they don't all need to be replaced, but if it doesn't interoperate with my other hard-wired smoke alarms, it could actually be a net decrease in safety (if the non-Nest alarms start going off and the Nests don't).

dkasper 13y ago
Sounds like a great idea for an add-on product would be cheap additional detectors for your other rooms
- zippergz 13y ago
  Yes. Ever since I got the thermostats, I've wanted add-on sensors for other rooms. The placement of the thermostats in my house is not great for setting the temperature in the rooms I actually care about, so it would be great to have additional small sensors in the primary living areas. It seems like they could make it an all-in-one device -- a Nest extension that works with both the thermostats and the smoke alarms.
zenocon 13y ago
Same situation. I have two Nest thermostats and I love them, but there's no way I'm going to drop close to a thousand dollars on replacing all my current (functional) smoke alarms. The price point is just wrong -- I hope they adjust it down the road apiece. I'd rather spend them money replacing lightbulbs with LED.

lnanek2 13y ago

Pretty cute, waving at the alarm to shut it up, which is what people often do anyway to try to get smoke from cookie away from it. Would have been more fun to just be able to yell shut up at it, though. :) Although I guess you have a user training requirement for that.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

ruswick 13y ago

Nest is very adept at charging large amounts of money for solutions to small problems. Dealing with the shortcomings of modern smoke detectors is a minor annoyance at best, and (at least for me) isn't worth anything even remotely approaching what Nest is charging. Keep in mind that this detector provides no increase in safety, and if anything is a regression because it postpones alerting the user to prevent the annoyance of false positives. You are paying only for convenience. Adequate smoke detectors can be purchased for $20. Is the minor increase in convenience really worth shelling out over 6 times that amount, possibly at the expense of safety? (EDIT: as others have pointed out, this also serves as a carbon monoxide detector. The implication from the product page is that this product is designed to be placed on the ceiling. What could possibly go wrong?)

mynameisvlad 13y ago
Have you ever had your smoke detector do the low battery chirp? Because I will easily pay 6 times more to never hear that godawful sound ever again. Especially when you have high ceilings, and the detector is the 120V AC kind and has no overly visible slot for a battery.
- ruswick 13y ago
  I have. I identify the detector and the batteries. It's not particularly hard.
  - mynameisvlad 13y ago
    As I said, some of them have no overly obvious battery compartment. Either it's on the backside, or internally and you have to unscrew it open. Not all have an obvious battery compartment. And it's incredibly annoying when you have to climb onto a chair/table/whathaveyou because your ceilings are so high you can't naturally reach it. The one in my last apartment even had a big button in the middle. I thought I might be able to press it in order to turn off the alarm temporarily. That was not a good idea.
- arethuza 13y ago

josefresco 13y ago

Would like to see a model more like Ninja Blocks (base device with inexpensive remote sensors) then the idea of buying several more expensive components. Would have been ground-breaking if the Nest smoke detector was a $20 or $40 networked addon to the original Nest thermostat.

schappim 13y ago
This smoke alarm is based on Ninja Blocks: http://bop.io http://bop.io

mwsherman 13y ago

The motion detector is a trojan horse for introducing other functionality. It could probably serve as a general alarm system as well, with a software update. What are some other apps that can come from an always-on wifi-enabled set of sensors?

Edvik 13y ago

This will find its biggest market (I think) in NYC apartments - you only need 1 usually, and tiny unventilated kitchens are a near guarantee to send off an alarm. I lived in an apartment where we essentially had a broom handle hanging next to the alarm because it was inevitable, and during Sandy blackout the thing constantly chirped because its landline was disconnected. Not a good experience.

neals 13y ago

I love these new takes on old devices, however, my five $15 smoke, heat and co2 detectors from different brands have been proven and tested over time... I wouldn't want to be the one that finds the first bugs in this new nest smoke detector.

rplnt 13y ago
Exactly. And even if it's tested well I really don't see why I would want to pay upwards of $100 for a smoke/co detector, when I can get them for about $10. It's a device you buy and don't want to use, ever. I'd rather spend the money on routine checks on possible CO sources (oven, heater, ...).

ubercore 13y ago

I like my Nest thermostat, but I'm more inclined to add smoke detectors from Simplisafe to my security system. They're cheaper, and offer more of an insurance discount because they report to a central monitoring station. I would've liked to see Nest go more towards home automation, or work with window AC manufacturers to integrate Nest controls on their boxes. I'm not too keen on Nest branded smoke detectors.

bernatfp 13y ago

Another impressive product. And a clear demonstration that they want to be something more than a thermostat manufacturer. They are indeed becoming the Apple of household devices.

lazyant 13y ago

I'd take a simpler version (no wifi/light/remote furnace control/voice, just no false positives like from shower's steam) for half the price

jdalgetty 13y ago

pre-ordered :)

ymmv53 13y ago

The thing that draws me to Nest is not the product value but the design. They are beautiful, well thought out products. I probably won't buy a Nest Protect, as my pain point isn't that high, but it's sexy as hell.

dimadima 13y ago

Just keep a canary nearby at all times

Fishrock123 13y ago

I found this line in The Verge's interview with Tony Fadell (Nest's CEO): "And if the Protect senses a carbon monoxide problem, it’ll instruct the thermostat to shut off your furnace." That is of utmost importance. That alone makes it by orders of magnitude the safest carbon monoxide detector made. The integration is going to make all the difference. I want my future home to be setup with this stuff. My only disappointment: It does not report back temperature to the Nest thermostat.

ceejayoz 13y ago
> My only disappointment: It does not report back temperature to the Nest thermostat. Yet. I'd suspect this'll come eventually.

digitalsushi 13y ago

I performed what is apparently called a 'shoryuken' by a colleague when I became incensed over the fire alarm screaming out over a fried egg I had allowed to smoke. Pulling little bits of beige plastic out of my knuckles gave me a moment of reflection to consider how technology can improve and disrupt our lives. For the 20 dollars a regular smoke detector costs, I believe they should already have a large button you can press on the side that indicates "I promise everything is fine, I am in the house, alert, and am about to cause an issue. Please unconditionally do not beep for the next 30 minutes." That would replace everything good about this wifi gizmo.

Glyptodon 13y ago
Agree. All I can ask for is a giant 'false alarm' button and maybe that the controls not be located on the damn ceiling. I think everyone hates smoke detectors because they're such a hassle.
Spoom 13y ago
Someone would inevitably sue the manufacturer after pressing that button and walking away with a fire still burning.
- Pxtl 13y ago
  Really? Because mine does that... although it only goes off for like 2 minutes. It's quite handy since mine is poorly located and will activate when there's too much cooking smoke in the kitchen. I'm short so I keep a step-stool under the cupboard, and the alarm is next to the cupboard. Works for me.
  - tanzam75 13y ago
    You probably have an ionization smoke alarm. You should replace it with a photoelectric smoke alarm, which is less susceptible to nuisance alarms. In fact, manufacturers are now starting to label them right on the package: "Best for kitchens and baths."
eli 13y ago

nfoz 13y ago

I loved the idea of caring about design and making expensive, excellent versions of simple household products. But I think they really jumped the shark with this. I reeeeally don't like my smoke detector having a million apps in it, and needing an app to connect to it. If it is at all connected to the Internet (and not just a closed-loop system), that's pretty scary to me unless the security model is absolutely sound.

dykesa 13y ago
Are you married? If so I'm surprised if you've never gotten the "OMG I THINK I LEFT MY HAIR STRAIGHTENER ON AND I'M SURE THE HOUSE IS BURNING DOWN. Can you go check?" phone call. (Which, incidentally, has resulted in several hours of lost time at work but no still no sighting of the wild forgotten-plugged-in-hair-straightener)
- jaynos 13y ago
  Nest needs to get into the curling/straightening iron business.

brudgers 13y ago

Read about deaths in dwelling fires here: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v14i3.pdf http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v14i3.pdf There's more here: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/reports/residential_structures.shtm http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/reports/residential_stru... When owners of commercial buildings disable life safety features, it is not uncommon for the Fire Marshal to require a fire watch (trained personnel on site walking around 24 hours a day) until the system is operating correctly. A residential smoke alarm system without a battery as backup power source is not operating correctly[1]. A smoke alarm in or near the kitchen is incorrectly placed if it is producing frequent false alarms[2]. In the time it takes to download and install a smartphone app, one can probably replace all their smoke detector batteries - NFPA recommends changing them twice a year when clocks get reset for daylight savings time. These are first and foremost alarms not detectors because there is no other annunciator device. Using the device in the way the manufacturer is suggesting - i.e disabling portions of it's alarm system - is how people die in dwellings. Over-riding their fucking primary purpose for the fucking sake of fucking occupant convenience violates the fucking basic principles of fucking life safety. This isn't disruption, it's fucking stupidity. [1]Outside of retrofit applications, smoke alarms are required by the National Electrical Code [NFPA 70] to be hardwired and when located in a room used for sleeping on an arc-fault protected circuit. The battery is for backup. [2]Though the kitchen is the most common location for a fire in dwellings, kitchen fires are among the least likely to be fatal because cooking usually is attended and occurs during waking hours. Many building codes also require a fire extinguisher to be located in the kitchen for new construction.

dionidium 13y ago
I've never seen a residential smoke detector that wasn't primarily (and solely) powered by a 9-volt battery. Is hardwired power required for new construction?
- tanzam75 13y ago
  Hardwired smoke alarms have been required on new construction in the US since the 1989 NEC. It usually takes a few years for cities and states to adopt the newest NEC revision. However, by now, all states have adopted at least 1989. Hardwired alarms are also required for major renovations. However, you basically have to take it down to the studs before this requirement is triggered.

joshdance 13y ago

The point of the Nest Protect is not that they are selling a fire alarm. It is that they are selling peace of mind. You trust it more, because you interact with it more. It talks to you, you can see it glow green, it lights up when you walk under it. Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? You never interact with it until your life depends on it. Nest increased your interactions with the device, thereby increasing your trust in it.

dmix 13y ago
aka Don Draper's home fire alarm.
- ianstallings 13y ago
  Just like other fire alarms, except it's toasted.
tanzam75 13y ago
> Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? Sure. Push the button labeled "Test." (Cover your ears -- you should still be able to hear it.) Seeing the green glow on the Nest doesn't tell you that it'll wake you up when it goes off. So you have to test it anyway. Which makes it no better than a regular detector, from the assurance perspective.
sliverstorm 13y ago
I really hate the peace-of-mind marketing gambits. They almost all revolve around creating a fear you didn't have before, and then proffering to save you from your newfound fear.
- dmix 13y ago
  Which part do you hate, that humans have the biological flaw of fear/ego being their greatest motivator or that we live in a market economy that feeds into it? "Predictably Irrational" is a brilliant book about this subject. Consumers do not buy things rationally. And the answer is not simply exploitation by marketing companies (although that is a big part of the narrative). http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-ebook/dp/B002C949KE/ http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expande...

davebobak 13y ago

I live alone. I stress out about something happening when I am not at home. Yes, I will be safe if there is a fire when I am gone, but I would love to know if my house is about to burn down. This will help alleviate some of that stress.

jcoleh 13y ago

I think (just like the thermostat). This is a trojan horse. Nest trying to get a sensors into your home. Specifically presence sensor in every single room of the house. This will be their foundation for a vastly improved home control UI. They will take the lessons they learned with the learning thermostat temperature control and use that for the rest of your home, with the input being location, number of people, etc... At least that is what I would do if I were Nest :-)

EvanL 13y ago

Damn physical product startups are getting REALLY good at landing pages these days.

dylandrop 13y ago

When I hear arguments like "I'd pay one hundred extra dollars just to not hear that chirp at 6AM", I think we all know who the target audience for this product is. The average joe doesn't have $120 per smoke detector to casually shell out. It would be nice if the Internet of Things movement started moving toward things that everyone can enjoy, rather than just making toys for rich startup guys. (Grand Street, I'm looking at you.)

DanBC 13y ago

I'm interested in the number of people in this thread who have little idea about how their smoke detectors work - where to put the batteries or what the flashing LED means, for example. Smoke detectors are a safety critical device which save many lives each year. It's fucking stupid to not know where these are, and how to keep them serviced. Recommendations are that you test smoke detectors each week. 9v batteries are, for this purpose, dirt cheap. Change all of them at the same time. Or buy a more expensive detector with a 10 year battery. (Or buy the Nest device.) http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms * Once a week test each alarm by pressing the test button till the alarm sounds. * Once a year change the battery (unless it’s a ten-year alarm). * Twice a year open the case and gently vacuum the inside using the soft-brush attachment to remove dust from the sensors. If it doesn’t open, vacuum through the holes. * After 10 years it’s best to get a whole new alarm. If you're living in an apartment building you can get fire alarms which tell you the zone an alarm is triggering in, which tells you what detector is having a problem with its battery. Some people are comparing the Nest device with regular smoke detectors. That's gently misleading because the Nest alarms can link. That's nothing new, plenty of alarms link, but they are all more expensive than just a regular alarm.

Havoc 13y ago
>Smoke detectors are a safety critical device which save many lives each year. From what I can tell only in places with wooden buildings though. e.g. I don't know of a single house that burned down. Not one in my entire life. Its just a non-issue here (South Africa). The closest I can think of is a house that was leveled by an exploding gas cylinder. (Attempting to melt gold on a gas flame in backyard shop...)
- aestra 13y ago
  You have nothing that is flammable in your house? What about electric fires? What if your computer caught fire in the middle of the night? I grew up in a brick building. We had two house fires there when I was growing up, though neither in my apartment. Sure the house didn't burn down and they were pretty self contained, but those were still potentially deadly situations. Luckily all the tenants escaped. The most common way to die in a house fire anyway isn't by burning, its by smoke inhalation. If there is a fire in the next room billowing smoke, you aren't likely to wake up and you're going to inhale all that smoke.

kybernetyk 13y ago

Hmm, I don't know. I like my smoke detectors to be as simple as possible. Complex tech that might cause some kind of hang and failure in critical devices gives me a bad feeling.

JoeAltmaier 13y ago
Normally I'd agree, but the current crop of devices demonstrably have exactly that problem - they get disabled because of chronic false-positives. So some improvement/complexity is called for.
- bitdestroyer 13y ago
  I would also agree about limiting the complexity, but I do think there's something to be said for the benefits of having the additional technologies the Protect offers, coupled with the ability for the Nest team to update them ([1]) as improvements are found. It seems to me that as usage increases, the Nest team can use that data to come up with additional features that could incrementally increase the safety of your home over time, however small that increase might be. The obvious caveat being that the updates need to be safe as well, but I think the long tail of a product like this could be increased safety over time, which to me sounds attractive. Not to mention the benefits this adds if you already use a Nest. We have two in our home and the ability for it to know more about the temperature in different rooms is something I've wanted since we installed them. [1] http://support.nest.com/article/Do-I-need-Wi-Fi-to-install-and-use-my-Nest-Protect http://support.nest.com/article/Do-I-need-Wi-Fi-to-install-a...

dykesa 13y ago

I think it just needs one more feature: Stream and play music. Then it would be totally worth it.

jack-r-abbit 13y ago

I bought 2 Nest thermostats and have been happy with them. The $500 price for the pair was a bit steep but it was not insane. This looks nice too and at $130 for one it does not sound that bad... at first. But then as I count off all the units I need to replace in my house... I get to 12. I have 12 freakin' smoke alarms in my house. I don't think I'll be dropping $1600 to upgrade my house with Nest Protect. :/

mempko 13y ago

Right, because people who don't have smoke alarms in their house don't have them because they are annoying. I suspect most of these people can't afford them, or are low on their "buy" list for money reasons. Not sure how an expensive smoke alarm will solve that problem....

fnimick 13y ago
Actually we have 0 smoke alarms in our house exactly because they are so annoying. On the day we moved in, they went off 6 times while we were making dinner. They were all off the ceiling later that evening.

jaredstenquist 13y ago

The future of these is interesting to consider. After a software update... - Stream music across the house - House-wide doorbell tone (after they sell you a $99 doorbell kit) - Hook up to security system - Remotely audio monitor your home (babysitter, cheating wife/husband) - Siri type functionality. I can wake up and say "Weather" in my bedroom. - Alarm clock At this price point they won't be popular enough to really ignite further innovation of the devices though.

snicklepuff 13y ago

Jesus, $150!? For a smoke detector!? How hard is it to hit the little "mute" button on the cheap one you already have?

OhHeyItsE 13y ago

What problem does this solve? For the 5 times a year the smoke alarm goes off because I'm burning something in the kitchen, I have to get a chair to push the 'hush' button? "Wave to disable"??? Are you kidding me??? Sorry - anything could accidentally disable a life-saving device is pretty darn stupid. Someone, somewhere, will die because of this.

jck 13y ago
Notice how the light is a different color for different intensities of heat? I'm sure wave to disable won't work when there is a lot of smoke.
- ajanuary 13y ago
  Correct http://support.nest.com/article/What-types-of-alarms-can-I-silence http://support.nest.com/article/What-types-of-alarms-can-I-s...

tomasien 13y ago

Looking over at my smoke detector that I took down 3 weeks ago and disabled because it was beeping, let's just say I agree with this video.

joosters 13y ago

Hmm, perhaps Nest should update their terms of service? This clause in particular should make someone think twice about buying a safety device from them: (c) Reliability of Notifications. You acknowledge that the Services, including remote access and mobile notifications, are not intended to be 100% reliable and 100% available. We cannot and do not guarantee that you will receive notifications in any given time or at all. YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT RELY ON THE SERVICES FOR ANY LIFE SAFETY OR CRITICAL PURPOSES. MOBILE NOTIFICATIONS REGARDING THE STATUS AND ALARMS ON YOUR NEST PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY – THEY ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A THIRD-PARTY MONITORED EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM. Worth repeating: "YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT RELY ON THE SERVICES FOR ANY LIFE SAFETY OR CRITICAL PURPOSES" Don't buy a safety device from a company that claims this!

greedo 13y ago
There is a big difference between relying on its wifi notification and relying on its auditory alarms.
kyrra 13y ago
Find a household safety device (smoke alarms and such) that doesn't have similar warning. If they did guarantee it worked 100% of the time and it malfunctioned for whatever reason, they would be opening themselves to a lawsuit.
- joosters 13y ago
  I'm not aware of any other smoke / CO alarms that warn people not to rely on them for their safety, are you?
- frenchy 13y ago
  I don't know what it's like in the US, but in Canada, if you try to sell a safety device and put in your TOS that the device should not be guaranteed to provide any safety (even when used properly), the courts will throw out your TOS. You can't sell a safety product and then pretend it doesn't do anything.
arscan 13y ago

imissmyjuno 13y ago

> No more frantically swinging towels at the smoke alarm to quiet it down. If there’s a nuisance alarm, just stand under Nest Protect and wave your arm to hush the alert. As you wave, your hand should be 2-8 feet away from the alarm. What happens if one of my cats is sitting under it and scratching the floor or playing with a toy..

svachalek 13y ago
It says children and pets are too low to disable it.

voqk 13y ago

I've developed something called the smoke detector condom. It is essentially a zip-lock bag with a string tied to it. All you have to do is place the zip-lock over the detector and it prevents bacon in the morning from setting off the alarm. Then the emergency release string can be pulled on unannounced landlord visits.

jmharvey 13y ago

Poorly designed smoke detectors are a real problem. They can be overly sensitive to some kinds of fire and completely miss out on other kinds. Tests are extremely irritating and difficult to perform, so people don't perform the tests. Low battery warnings are just irritating enough to let you know there's a problem, but not consistent enough to let you know where the problem is. (I once replaced every battery in every smoke detector in the house, twice in a week, before I finally figured out that the low battery chirp was coming from a long-forgotten CO detector behind the refrigerator.) And nuisance alarms can be very difficult to dismiss, so people disable the alarm entirely, and then have even more difficulty getting it back in place. These are real problems. The Nest smoke detector ($129) seems to solve these problems. The thing is, if you've got these problems, you've probably spent less than $20 on smoke alarms in the last decade, either living with whatever came with your house/apartment, or buying the cheapest ($5-10) smoke detectors on the market. User-friendly smoke alarms are available for about $30, and they solve most of the same problems the Nest solves. They're not as slick, or network connected, but they'll do the job.

jacal 13y ago

That wasn't the price point you were supposed to hit.

evan_ 13y ago

They should license that scene from "Friends" where Phoebe's fire alarm goes off and she can't get it to stop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tkY08MhfoU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tkY08MhfoU

swinglock 13y ago

Who has that much trouble with the smoke detector?

svachalek 13y ago
I confess that in my last house they were always going off, not just because I burnt the toast but just because I made some toast. Or because I took a shower. Or lit a candle. I moved them several times but could never find a spot that was simultaneously far enough away from the toaster, stove, shower, microwave, dinner table, grill, and fireplace. Silencing them required getting a ladder and only lasted a few minutes, never enough to prevent a second activation. Because they were going off all the time the batteries went out in months, and they would start chirping loudly at random intervals around 3 a.m. It would wake you up then you couldn't figure out which one it was and once you decided it was a fluke and went back to sleep it would do it again. I did bad things to those smoke alarms. In retrospect maybe they were just a bad batch and needed to be replaced but historically I hadn't experienced much better. I've moved since then and haven't had trouble with the new ones yet, knock on wood.

schappim 13y ago

It seems pretty similar to the Bop smoke alarm I made for a hackathon. See: http://bop.io http://bop.io Cheers, Marcus

mrbill 13y ago

Love my Nest, have had it since they were first available. Took a smoke detector off the wall with a crowbar a few months ago because it was 3am, I couldn't sleep because of the damned beeping, and I didn't have any spare batteries nor the desire to find a chair or ladder to stand on. Replaced it the next day, but at least I got back to sleep.

yitchelle 13y ago

This smoke alarm looks very complex, and the amount of risk increases with the level complexity. For such a complex product, I would want to know some insights to the following. What safety standards have been applied to the software development and product development? Does it need wifi to work correctly? Can you connect it to the mains power? How secure is the wifi connection? ie Can it be hacked for malicious purposes? etc..... For something so critical to a life and death situation, I want something to function as simple as possible.

codereflection 13y ago
Security of the wifi device and it's connection to the internet.. not enough people are talking about this. So many "internet enabled" devices out there are poor on security. I would love to hear from the people behind Nest on how they plan to take on internet attacks.
- macleanjr 13y ago
  Some of Google's security team has helped to stiffen the safeguards[1] [1] http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/nest-smoke-detector/all/ http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/nest-smoke-detector/al...
  - blibble 13y ago
    the fact that's even possible worries me. 1 billion transistors and 40 million lines of code in my smoke detector. hurrah, the smoke detector crashed again!
  - codereflection 13y ago
    Thanks for that link. I suppose it's good that some effort from experienced people has been made, but this really concerns me that the security stiffening was a "side project" of some Google folks. "Board member and investor Bill Maris of Google Ventures says that some of Google’s security team helped stiffen Nest’s safeguards as a side project."

SilasX 13y ago

Show of hands: who else (this being HN and all) thought this was going to be a software package related to deployment smoke tests?

sgustard 13y ago

"CO detectors can be placed near the ceiling or near the floor because CO is very close to the same density as air" per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_detector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_detector

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

rsync 13y ago

Here's a blurb from the blog-post announcement: "It senses carbon monoxide and connects to your Nest Thermostat through your Nest Account. So it can automatically shut down the furnace, a possible source of CO poisoning, when the carbon monoxide alarm goes off." so ... what if your Internet connection is down ? Further, even if it isn't, why[1] would you ever want your thermostats and/or fire alarms talking to some third-party, for-profit company and existing on public IP space ? Do I misunderstand how this works ? I hate typical smoke alarms with a passion, but I'm not replacing them with something that can be DoS'd or requires Internet to function properly... [1] Other than blind, stupid pursuit of new and shiny

ebtalley 13y ago
I'm unsure that it requires the internet, just a router and AP to direct connect the two devices together. Furthermore, if the the furnace is the root of the CO emission it would be a boon to have the nest thermometer ask for forgiveness vs ask for permission to save you from death.
harpastum 13y ago
I don't see why it would require Internet access to function as a normal smoke alarm. I'm sure it still goes off just like a normal alarm if there is no Internet connection — you just lose the convenience of multi-room notices and the furnace changes.
ZoFreX 13y ago
It doesn't require internet to function properly - it still works as a smoke and CO alarm without internet. It can't shut down your boiler for you without internet - like most other CO detectors.
- rsync 13y ago
  There is no reason that (insert device X here) cannot shut down your (insert other device Y here) while disconnected from the Internet. They lost me at "... with your nest login ..."
jtokoph 13y ago

stigt 13y ago

Wow, after my experience with Nest thermostat, there's no way I'd risk having a Nest Smoke Detector. I had Nest Thermostat for 3 months. Initially I loved it, but then it kept "think" I was gone when sleeping on the 3rd floor wake to a freezing house. Ok, minor annoyance, disable that feature. Then after a long business trip I came home late to again find a freezing cool house, but this time the Nest had bricked itself. Rest didn't help, support didn't help. So since there is no manual override, I had to uninstall it and reinstall the 20 year old "programmable" thermostat that actually worked. Since I had to uninstall it I told Nest they could have their brick back and refund me. Now they want me to take that risk with a smoke alarm bricking itself??? Crazy.

brandon272 13y ago

I love my Nest thermostat but don't feel the need to buy this product. Speaking for myself, my smoke detector and I already have a great relationship. It stays out of the way and blares its siren when it thinks my house is in danger. Those of us in newer homes often have hardwired detectors that rarely require battery replacement. And I don't want or need yet another app that simply tells me that my house isn't on fire. I think the disappointing part about this product is that I feel like on a priority list of classic household items that Nest would be wise to reinvent, the home smoke detector isn't high on my list. One thing I'd love for them to create and sell to me is a build-your-own home alarm system that uses my home internet connection as a means to connect to a monitoring center and provides a good mobile app experience. I've been shopping for an alarm for a while and all of the current products out there are terrible and archaic compared to what a company like Nest could provide.

dhughes 13y ago

There are fire alarms and smoke alarms also there are photoelectric and ionization types. Both are used for different purposes.

jaynate 13y ago

This web site is crashing safari on iOS.

cookingrobot 13y ago

I love this. My one question is why they chose white and black as the colors. This is obviously a premium product, and if you look in interior design magazines it's clear that people prefer metal fixtures for their lights / switches / fans. Stainless steel, bronze and brass seem by far the most popular choice for high end lighting, and it seems like this should match that theme. White could "disappear" better into the ceiling, but with their product design of having a light flash whenever the room lights are turned off, it seems like they want to be a noticed/appreciated part of the room design.

DigitalSea 13y ago

I don't care what anyone else says, this is a genius idea. I cannot believe that nobody has ever thought of creating a smart smoke alarm like this before. I think many of us have been guilty of taking out our smoke alarm batteries when it goes off because you like your steaks well-done or burnt your toast because you had to pee. And I know a few people guilty of removing the batteries from smoke detectors because they're chirping that the battery needs to be replaced and can't be bothered to replace it, which is plain stupid and dangerous. The one issue with smoke detectors that Nest solves is not the annoyance of it going off during dinner, it's the annoyance of when you have multiple smoke detectors in close proximity and you can hear one of them chirping randomly that its battery needs replacing, but you don't know which one it is. You stand around like an idiot waiting for it to chirp again, but it's so random you get frustrated waiting and give up. The colour coding aspect of this product alone is something even generic cheap smoke detectors should integrate to better show when batteries need replacing. I think it would save lives.

kondro 13y ago

Anyone complaining about the price of a $120 smoke detector aren't the target market. I would buy these in a heartbeat if I could (I'm in AU). The pricing is irrelevant for even the small amount of extra life quality this product affords.

marincounty 13y ago

Good invention, but too pricey. His thermostat is great, but I need three for my house. No I don't have a huge house, but I designed the hydronic system well. Each part of the house can have it's own temperature.

scrrr 13y ago

I don't want to connect to my appliances using a phone. I also don't need a high-tech smoke detector. I have them in all rooms, they work, no false alarms. If I need light, I turn on the light. A device for gadget nerds. Unnecessary for the rest of the world.

nodata 13y ago

Love my smoke alarm? Always know? From everywhere? See what's invisible? I'm beginning to have enough of this sickly sweet language, it turns me off looking at the product.