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If you have any doubt that is a desperately-needed product right now, go read the Amazon reviews for literally any other smoke detector on the market. Frustrat

by raldi 13y ago

If you have any doubt that is a desperately-needed product right now, go read the Amazon reviews for literally any other smoke detector on the market. Frustratingly, this news arrives just weeks too late for us.

jeanjq 13y ago
What is wrong with the $7.50 Kidde? http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionization-Compact/dp/B00002N865 http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionizati... Reviews seem good.
- uptown 13y ago
  The Nest is a photoelectric smoke sensor. The Kidde is an ionization sensor. "Kidde strongly recommends that both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms be installed to help insure maximum detection of the various types of fires that can occur within the home." More info: http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alarms-are-useless-endanger-users/ http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alar...
  - jeanjq 13y ago
    Interesting. It's sad, then, that Nest does not emphasise that fact.
- raldi 13y ago
  We have this exact brand in our apartment. They (like almost all ionization-based smoke detectors) go off at the drop of a hat. And they're ear-splittingly loud. The kill switch is hard to press, and needs to be pressed every few minutes if you're, say, burning incense. And one day, when the battery gets low, they'll start chirping in the middle of the night, leading to a game of "Which one is it?!" as they somehow manage to make noise frequently enough to prevent sleep but infrequently enough to thwart identification of the dying one. (Smoke detectors' low battery alerts always go off at night because battery output sags when the temperature goes down.)
  - danparsonson 13y ago
    A smoke alarm being very loud and very sensitive is a feature to me, not a bug - I'd rather be annoyed from time to time than die of smoke inhalation in my sleep. As for 'hunt the low battery' - how many smoke alarms do you need in one area?
    - raldi 13y ago
      False dichotomy. With an extra ten cents' worth of technology, the smoke detector could do its initial chirping quietly and during daylight hours. If you ignore them, then later it can escalate to around-the-clock 85-decibel alerts. Ditto sensitivity. At the first wisps of a problem, give a gentle sound. If it gets worse, or 60 seconds pass, then get shrill. Re: "how many do you need in one area?" the last three words do not apply. The low-battery chirp is loud enough that a dying battery anywhere in the house can wake you up. For the record, though, we were required to put one in every bedroom and two in our small hallway -- and that's just on our upper level.
      - danparsonson 13y ago
        Have you seen how quickly an actual house fire takes hold? There are videos of fire department demonstrations on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA for example). In sixty (or even ten) seconds of gentle sounds, you'd probably be dead. Not to mention that smoke can take time to rise up to smoke detector level - crucial seconds that you could be using to escape rather than comfortably waking up. As for the low battery chirp, it should be annoying - that way you attend to it rather than leaving it until later. And chirping only during the daylight hours - how is that helpful if you're out at work? The battery will be dead before you even know about it. Smoke alarms should be intrusive when they need your attention. That's how they save lives. P.S. as for the last point - I was actually referring to how difficult it is to work out which smoke detector is chirping. Thus my question - I can't see how it's difficult unless you have lots of smoke alarms. Badly explained on my part, sorry.
        13y ago
- berberous 13y ago
  From a safety only perspective: 1) This doesn't detect carbon monoxide 2) One of the 1-star reviews states that Ionization alarms are old technology and unsafe compared to newer piezoelectric alarms.
  - raldi 13y ago
    Photoelectric.
Udo 13y ago
> Sadly, this news arrives just weeks too late for us. What happened?
- raldi 13y ago
  I just bought ten ordinary smoke alarms.
  - supercoder 13y ago
    My thoughts are with you and your family.
    - raldi 13y ago
      :) "Thoughts and prayers" would have been even more biting.
  - corresation 13y ago
    So instead you would buy ten Nest alarms for $130 each?
    - Udo 13y ago
      It's steep but then again, just the option of being notified about a fire when you're not at home makes me consider doing just that. When I'm away, I sometimes get a bad feeling and I check the surveillance cams remotely, but that's neither practical nor helpful. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't be so paranoid if there had never been a fire.
    - raldi 13y ago
      It's a drop in the bucket compared to the enormously expensive fire sprinkler system we were forced to install by 2010 national building code.
      - corresation 13y ago
        Okay if on the other end of the spectrum why wouldn't you have gone with a security/automation integrated system? As others have mentioned, Nest is clearly moving towards the home security space, where there are already many, many options for whole-home intelligence products that tell you remotely exactly what is going on, which fire alarm went off, allows you to control them from a touch panel (or a PC, smart phone or tablet), etc. Ultimately that is what surprises me about Nest the most -- their products aren't doing anything new, but people who only ever made themselves aware of the ultra-low end compare Nest to a $9 smoke alarm and laud Nest for raising the bar...but the bar was raised years ago for those who are in that market.
kayoone 13y ago
The Nest Thermostat isnt flawless either so i doubt the first version of this will be: http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Learning-Thermostat-Generation-T200577/product-reviews/B009GDHYPQ/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Learning-Thermostat-Generation-T2...

by raldi 13y ago

jeanjq 13y ago

What is wrong with the $7.50 Kidde? http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionization-Compact/dp/B00002N865 http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionizati... Reviews seem good.

uptown 13y ago
The Nest is a photoelectric smoke sensor. The Kidde is an ionization sensor. "Kidde strongly recommends that both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms be installed to help insure maximum detection of the various types of fires that can occur within the home." More info: http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alarms-are-useless-endanger-users/ http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alar...
- jeanjq 13y ago
  Interesting. It's sad, then, that Nest does not emphasise that fact.
raldi 13y ago
We have this exact brand in our apartment. They (like almost all ionization-based smoke detectors) go off at the drop of a hat. And they're ear-splittingly loud. The kill switch is hard to press, and needs to be pressed every few minutes if you're, say, burning incense. And one day, when the battery gets low, they'll start chirping in the middle of the night, leading to a game of "Which one is it?!" as they somehow manage to make noise frequently enough to prevent sleep but infrequently enough to thwart identification of the dying one. (Smoke detectors' low battery alerts always go off at night because battery output sags when the temperature goes down.)
- danparsonson 13y ago
  A smoke alarm being very loud and very sensitive is a feature to me, not a bug - I'd rather be annoyed from time to time than die of smoke inhalation in my sleep. As for 'hunt the low battery' - how many smoke alarms do you need in one area?
  - raldi 13y ago
    False dichotomy. With an extra ten cents' worth of technology, the smoke detector could do its initial chirping quietly and during daylight hours. If you ignore them, then later it can escalate to around-the-clock 85-decibel alerts. Ditto sensitivity. At the first wisps of a problem, give a gentle sound. If it gets worse, or 60 seconds pass, then get shrill. Re: "how many do you need in one area?" the last three words do not apply. The low-battery chirp is loud enough that a dying battery anywhere in the house can wake you up. For the record, though, we were required to put one in every bedroom and two in our small hallway -- and that's just on our upper level.
    - danparsonson 13y ago
      Have you seen how quickly an actual house fire takes hold? There are videos of fire department demonstrations on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA for example). In sixty (or even ten) seconds of gentle sounds, you'd probably be dead. Not to mention that smoke can take time to rise up to smoke detector level - crucial seconds that you could be using to escape rather than comfortably waking up. As for the low battery chirp, it should be annoying - that way you attend to it rather than leaving it until later. And chirping only during the daylight hours - how is that helpful if you're out at work? The battery will be dead before you even know about it. Smoke alarms should be intrusive when they need your attention. That's how they save lives. P.S. as for the last point - I was actually referring to how difficult it is to work out which smoke detector is chirping. Thus my question - I can't see how it's difficult unless you have lots of smoke alarms. Badly explained on my part, sorry.
      - 13y ago
berberous 13y ago
From a safety only perspective: 1) This doesn't detect carbon monoxide 2) One of the 1-star reviews states that Ionization alarms are old technology and unsafe compared to newer piezoelectric alarms.
- raldi 13y ago
  Photoelectric.

Udo 13y ago

> Sadly, this news arrives just weeks too late for us. What happened?

raldi 13y ago
I just bought ten ordinary smoke alarms.
- supercoder 13y ago
  My thoughts are with you and your family.
  - raldi 13y ago
    :) "Thoughts and prayers" would have been even more biting.
- corresation 13y ago
  So instead you would buy ten Nest alarms for $130 each?
  - Udo 13y ago
    It's steep but then again, just the option of being notified about a fire when you're not at home makes me consider doing just that. When I'm away, I sometimes get a bad feeling and I check the surveillance cams remotely, but that's neither practical nor helpful. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't be so paranoid if there had never been a fire.
  - raldi 13y ago
    It's a drop in the bucket compared to the enormously expensive fire sprinkler system we were forced to install by 2010 national building code.
    - corresation 13y ago
      Okay if on the other end of the spectrum why wouldn't you have gone with a security/automation integrated system? As others have mentioned, Nest is clearly moving towards the home security space, where there are already many, many options for whole-home intelligence products that tell you remotely exactly what is going on, which fire alarm went off, allows you to control them from a touch panel (or a PC, smart phone or tablet), etc. Ultimately that is what surprises me about Nest the most -- their products aren't doing anything new, but people who only ever made themselves aware of the ultra-low end compare Nest to a $9 smoke alarm and laud Nest for raising the bar...but the bar was raised years ago for those who are in that market.

kayoone 13y ago

The Nest Thermostat isnt flawless either so i doubt the first version of this will be: http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Learning-Thermostat-Generation-T200577/product-reviews/B009GDHYPQ/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Learning-Thermostat-Generation-T2...