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The best basic smoke alarm
By Doug Mahoney This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After more than 65 hours researching fire safety, interviewing five experts, and reading well over a hundred pages of smoke-alarm data, we recommend the First Alert SA511CN2-3ST Smoke Alarm with Voice Location as the primary alarm in a comprehensive whole-home fire-protection system.
Honeywell recalls fire alarm gateway that can't detect fires
Tech-savvy fire alarm systems aren't without their share of problems, it seems. Honeywell is recalling its SWIFT wireless gateway after learning that the smoke detectors connected to the gateway (usually found in apartments, hotels and offices) won't always kick in -- in other words, they can't accomplish their one and only mission. The company hasn't received reports of real-world incidents and is offering a firmware update as a fix, but it clearly doesn't want to take any chances.
The best smart smoke alarm
By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. We can't overstate the importance of having functioning, reliable smoke detectors in your home. From 2007 through 2011, almost a quarter of all home fire-related deaths in the US occurred in homes with nonworking smoke alarms. Though any functioning smoke alarm will alert you to problems if you're at home, a smart alarm can alert you anywhere your smartphone has an Internet connection. After extensive testing by a former firefighter, we found that the second-generation Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is the best smart smoke alarm.
Netatmo adds a connected smoke alarm to its smart home range
Netatmo is known for connected home products like the Presence AI-assisted security camera that can tell crooks from coyotes, but for CES, it's expanding into a new niche: built-in products. On top of a new smoke alarm and siren, the company has teamed up with French companies Velux and Legrand on AI-equipped in-wall smart switches, power outlets, skylights and blinds.
Nest Protect can turn off GE's ovens when you burn dinner
It's hard to figure out how some connected home tech is actually useful, but GE and Nest have nailed it with their latest team-up. The Nest Protect smoke detector can now shut off GE Appliance's connected ovens if it detects smoke and then trigger the oven to send a notification to GE's Kitchen app. If Nest detects that you're away, it'll also tell the app to alert you via smartphone. The goal, of course, is to stop an embarrassment from becoming a disaster if you lose track of your roast.
Almond WiFi routers now control Nest gear in your home
Securifi's Almond routers just got much, much more useful if you use one of them as the center of your smart home. Both the base Almond and the Almond+ now talk directly to Nest's thermostat and Protect smoke detector, giving you network-savvy controls that Nest alone can't offer. Thanks to equally new WiFi triggers, you can have the thermostat adjust the temperature the moment your phone connects to your home network. The routers will even "broker" between two connected smartphones -- if you like it hot but your partner wants it cooler, you'll get a temperature in between the two.
Nest's mobile app gets a full makeover, Protect smoke detector support
Since Nest's hardware and app go together like birds of a feather, new mobile software was inevitable after it launched the Nest Protect smoke detector. However, the startup darling has also taken the opportunity to completely revamp its app, mostly to make it easier to see all the important goings-on in your house. At a glance, you'll now get the temperature you've set on your Nest Thermostat, whether it's heating or cooling, the outside temperature and weather, and a big button to switch between home and away mode -- in lieu of the former, slightly lame method of tilting your phone to landscape. You'll also see an icon for the new Nest Protect smoke alarm, which displays a green ring if everything's a-okay, and yellow or red one for a heads-up or emergency, respectively. Selecting that icon will bring up the full app, showing all the detectors by room name, a green, yellow or red status for both smoke and carbon monoxide and the status of each alarm's batteries and sensor. In addition, it'll show the last WiFi update and time of your last manual test. Finally, the new app will bring a firmware update for the Nest Thermostat itself, with new features like "Quiet Time," to prevent potentially noisy humidifier equipment from waking up kids, for instance, along with tweaks that make the system more efficient. Hang tight if you're anxious to get them, because Nest said the new app and thermostat update will happen in a few days and install automatically.
Nest introduces connected smoke and CO alarm
The makers of the highly-touted Nest Thermostat have just announced pre-orders for the next smartphone-connected product for the 21st-century home: the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarm (US$129). Like the Nest Thermostat, the Protect isn't the cheapest product in its category, but it's certainly the most intelligently designed. It comes in two colors -- black or white -- and two models, one that is wired into your home's AC circuitry and another that runs on batteries. Unlike the cheaper models that chirp incessantly when the battery runs down every few months, the Nest Protect battery version runs on 6 AA cells for several years. The wired version features backup batteries for protection even when the power is out. The outside design of the case has a "sunflower" pattern to move airflow through the device, and a glowing light ring shows you the level of fire danger. When an alarm goes off, a voice (English or Spanish) tells you what and where the danger is. If your cooking efforts set off the smoke alarm, a wave of your hand shuts it off without the need for climbing on a chair or waving a towel at it. And every alarm goes to your iPhone so you don't even need to be around to know that there's a problem. Nest Protect even provides notification that the batteries need to be replaced soon so that you can accomplish that maintenance task before it's too late. It's one more step towards a well-designed and very functional home automation and protection system.
Nest's Protect smoke detector warns you before it's about to go off; coming soon for $129
Gosh, we were really excited to tell you what Nest's latest product is (we really didn't think you were going to guess), but then someone had to go and spoil the surprise. At any rate, the news is now official: Nest is indeed coming out with a smoke / carbon monoxide detector and yes, the product is called "Protect." As you can see in the photo above, Nest is trying to do for smoke detectors what it's already done for thermostats. Which is to say, it's trying to take a mundane household object and make it sexy. Well, sexy and smart. It wouldn't be a Nest device if it didn't have WiFi built in, allowing you to control the settings and check the battery life using a mobile app (it's available for iOS, with Android versions in both Google Play and the Kindle App Store). Also, the WiFi connection allows one Protect to talk to another. In the event of an emergency, all of the Protects in the house will go off, using a female speaking voice to let you know there's a fire or CO. But wait a second, what if there's no emergency? What if you just slightly burned your artisinal grilled cheese? In low-threat situations like this, Protect will warn you that it senses smoke, and then give you a chance to wave away the alert with your hand -- yep, the same way you'd wave away smoke itself. As you'd expect, the grace period depends on the urgency of the situation: if you've just been cooking dinner, you might be able to wave away the alert before the alarm goes off, but if there really is fire, you understandably won't get the luxury of a warning. Meanwhile, on the back end, the Protect can work in tandem with a Nest thermostat, so that if the Protect detects carbon monoxide, Nest will shut your heat off (many CO leaks are related to heating).
Cellphone-packing smoke detector dials for danger
While most smoke detectors will handle the basic job of detecting smoke just fine (providing you check that batt regularly), there's plenty of options out there for those wanting a little something extra, be it added style or additional functionality. Joining those other over-achieving smoke detectors is this new unit from Japanese manufacturer Keisoku Giken, which will automatically phone you at the first whiff of smoke to inform you of its impending demise. Unfortunately, you'll have to supply your own cellphone and service for it (it doesn't appear to support landlines), which makes the device's already hefty 16,800 yen price tag (about $140) even less of a bargain.[Via Textually.org]
