In this follow up article to my recent post all about installing the NEST smart thermostat.
I want to provide you with some details on the ‘ins and out’s’ of getting a smart smoke and CO detector up and running…
SO WHAT ARE SMART SMOKE DETECTORS?
Did you know that nearly a billion smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed in homes and business across the United States?
The purpose of this army of smoke detectors is make an effort to be proactive in staving off disaster and emergency calls.
Half of the country is required by law to make carbon monoxide detectors a standard feature, a trend that will continue to spread.
Well over half of the fire-related deaths that occur in the nation can be blamed on faulty smoke detectors, indicating that there is a need for innovations from creative minds.
ENTER SMART SMOKE DETECTORS
And to be more specific; the NEST Protect…
Created by the same company that makes the Nest smart thermostat – the Nest Protect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm is a real game-changer when it comes to Family Fire Safety.
For a start, it has that same sleek ‘Applish’ design which we expect from Nest.
Next, the detector comes with WiFi support, so you can manage directly from an App. It talks, it detects carbon monoxide leaks and lots more.
BUYING & INSTALLING NEST PROTECT
To be honest, I purchased the NEST Protect nearly a month ago; and finally getting around installing etc….Here is what it looks like in its box..
And here is what it looks like when opened on the kitchen table…
So, in my case, the first bit of physical work I did was to remove our existing smoke detector upstairs..
By the way, it had an element of ‘Smartiness’ built-in because it included support for the Z-wave home automation protocol…
Anyway, once this was removed from the ceiling; grabbed my smartphone and launched the NEST app, which is used to control our existing smart thermostats..
The next step is to simply choose ‘Add Nest Protect’ and literally follow the steps.
The most sophisticated task that I had to do was scan the QR code and input the WiFi access code…
Anyway, once the app was set up, I pressed the NEST button and this initiated some self-tests…
At this stage our new NEST protect is app controllable, but now needs to be mounted to the ceiling upstairs.
Back upstairs, and screwed the base to the ceiling.
To be fair, it’s relatively easy to do, but probably would think about getting an installer or a DIY person when in my sixties!
The other, slight observation was that the screws felt a little bit long…no big deal but
Here are the remnants of our NEST Protect Installation!
LIVING WITH NEST PROTECT
So our new Nest Protect is working out perfectly fine. I did however experience a little bit of hassle in recent days. Olive noticed our upstairs unit was offline:
Checked out the App myself and noticed it was offline for the past 6 days! This coincided with a name change that I had made on the Home WiFi approximately a week ago!
Ended up resetting the Protect, deleting the unit from the app, and running through the setup procedure again!
No big deal, because I am comfortable with WiFi settings, troubleshooting etc…but got me thinking – what would a regular ‘Joe Soap’ do?
I suppose call the nearest Smart Home installation professional.
Anyway back online for the Christmas holidays!
OVER TO YOU
NEST provides smoke and carbon monoxide detection at a new level.
It’s an excellent addition for any residence or commercial property, well worth the investment.