I’m skeptical about the Nest Protect for several reasons. It just doesn’t seem like something that works very well. I’d have to see one in person and test it to determine for myself. It already has had one major problem with it: the wave to hush feature “false-silencing”. I’ve also heard it has random false alarm problems due to glitches with the wi-fi interconnect. This is what happens when gadget developers (the Nest thermostat is a gadget, really) try to make a life safety system.
Sure, it has lots of features that make it “smart” and “fancy” but at the same time it lacks several features that could be useful:
-
False alarm reduction algorithm – Compares readings from the smoke, heat, and CO sensors to quickly and accurately recognize actual fire conditions. System Sensor’s IntelliQuad and Acclimate detectors have this capability, and so does the Simplex TrueAlarm Photo/Heat detector when used with the CO sensor base.
-
Hardwired interconnect which works in a power failure – The wireless interconnect relies on an active Wi-Fi network and if that goes down, so does the interconnect. Therefore, have a hardwired option. I’ve heard that Gentex’s S1209, C1209 & GN-503 detectors’ interconnect somehow works in a power failure but never confirmed this. Other brands’ interconnects go down in a power failure.
-
Relay Output that works in a power failure – for turning on strobe lights or tripping a home security system. The accessory relay modules that BRK/First Alert, Kidde, and USI sell do not work in a power failure since they wire to the interconnect. Gentex’s approach to this problem is to put the relays right into the detector, so they do work from batteries.
-
Battery charger – Wouldn’t it be nice if it charged itself up after running on battery power for a while, and only notified you of a low battery if it isn’t holding a charge anymore?
-
520 Hz Low frequency sounder – There’s already a speaker circuit inside it, which is used for the voice, so why not?