The 'Protect' smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is the first UK product from Nest, which is run by iPod-inventor Tony Fadell and launched a highly praised 'intelligent thermostat' in America. The company claims the device's batteries will last for up to seven years, will offer a spoken warning before it sounds a major alarm, and will use text messages and apps to alert users to low-level risks such as while they are cooking.
The features, which Nest describe as 'a friendly heads up' aim to do away with smoke alarms that constantly alert users to non-existent threats and ultimately lead to consumers removing their batteries altogether. It can also be silenced with a repeated wave of the hand.
"We've all experienced the smoke alarm going off while we're cooking or searched for the source of that incessant low-battery chirp in the middle of the night," said Fadell. "Every time a smoke alarm cries wolf, we trust it a little less, and then – in a moment of frustration – we rip the batteries out to stop the beeping. And that leaves us and our families at risk."
The smoke alarm also uses a light to indicate its battery strength with a brief glow as lights are turned off, and also illuminates as a night light when it senses motion. If multiple Protects are used, they can be set up in up to ten named 'zones' so that the audible warnings tell users where the risk has been detected.
"Safety shouldn't be annoying," said Matt Rogers, Nest founder and vice president of engineering. "It was unacceptable to us that one in eight houses in the UK have a non-functioning smoke alarm. These products are required by law and are supposed to keep us safe, yet people hate them. We wanted to change that."
Wired and battery-powered versions of Nest will go on sale in the UK in November.
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