On the subject of smoke alarms, anyone got one of these: https://nest.com/uk/smoke-co-alarm/life-with-nest-protect/ ?

Been thinking about swapping out the currents ones for them at some point in time and going mains powered rather than PP3s…

Don’t they switch off if you walk past them wrong?

In for a penny, in for a pound:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oDGF5d]A trio of Nest smoke alarms[/url] by brf, on Flickr

there’s something not right about Nest – all feels a bit stealth populace control type thing (keeps tinfoil hat on).. Good kit, but my god it’s expensive..

Have they fixed the issues then?

Have they fixed the issues then?

AIUI the wave to suppress feature has been disabled in a firmware update.

Details here: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/Nest-Labs-Recalls-to-Repair-Nest-Protect-Smoke-CO-Alarms/

Have you got the thermostat too?

I called the fire brigade and got free smoke alarms installed.
What makes these different? If there’s fire or smoke they make a noise no?

Have you got the thermostat too?

No, I’ve got a different intelligent one, Heatmiser:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ix8PFw]Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat iPhone App[/url] by brf, on Flickr

I called the fire brigade and got free smoke alarms installed.
What makes these different? If there’s fire or smoke they make a noise no?

They alert your phone if they go off (eg when I’m at work) and they detect movement, so I can see if someone is home when I’m at work. They also glow nicely when you walk underneath them at night. They also detect Carbon Monoxide as well, so one goes in the Kitchen with the boiler and the other next to the wood burner…

have you read up on them? I think they are an excellent idea as they can help guide people out of a building safely amongst other things. Maybe not much use for everyone but it definitely has uses.

They alert your phone if they go off (eg when I’m at work) and they detect movement, so I can see if someone is home when I’m at work. They also glow nicely when you walk underneath them at night. They also detect Carbon Monoxide as well, so one goes in the Kitchen with the boiler and the other next to the wood burner…

Will you know if it’s a confirmed fire or not? Or just an indication of alarm activation? All I can see is another increase in false alarm calls.

You’re at work phone tells you it’s gone off, then what? Do you call FS or do you rush home?

Seeing more and more of these types of call outs, “aye at ma work canna get away, but ma phone says the smoke alarm going off, mine and pop round with yer lads and see if there is a fire”

Just a matter of time before fire authorities start to charge for this…….

£90 for one? 😯

Just add a webcam and you’re sorted then 🙂

I was gonna say the same. £90 each against the 6 I got supplied and installed for free. I’m glad I called.
Sometimes you can get a bit too much technology.

£90 for one?

Google have to recoup their $3.2 billion somehow 8)

£90 each against the 6 I got supplied and installed for free.

You are aware in this world there are ‘things’. Sometimes you get ‘things’ which have a similar core function. Yet one ‘thing’ may also do extra things than a standard ‘thing’. For this ‘thing’ to do these extra things, the ‘thing’s’ manufacturer will charge a higher price. You should know, that you do not have to pay this extra price, as ‘things’ with the core functionality exist for you to purchase….or in your case, to be provided FOC.

The bottom line is, Footflaps is going to get a text when his missus burns the toast.

So even more google spyware.
They will know what time you go to work, come home,how many people in the house, whatever other big brother shit they can think of.
And you pay £90 each for their spyware that also detects smoke and CO.
Nice work Google.
On this occasion I’m out.

So even more google spyware.

Apparently not: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/13/nest-says-customer-data-from-devices-will-only-be-used-for-nest-products-and-services/

Not that I really care about whether Google have access to it or not…

If you have a cell phone then your location can be tracked all the time.

If you drive your car then ANPR cameras will pick up your reg.

If you walk through a city your face can be tracked by CCTV

I pity the fools tracking my face 😛

If you walk through a city your face can be tracked by CCTV

So they say, but every article on the subject basically says it still doesn’t work in a non lab environment……

or is that what they want you to think? 😀

That’s what they want you to think…

SNAP!

says it still doesn’t work in a non lab environment……

I don’t believe that, and I’m an AI researcher who’s implemented his fair share of tracking algorithms…

Is that what they want you to think ,that they want you to think that?

andyl – Member
or is that what they want you to think?

Posted 5 minutes

POSTED 5 MINUTES AGO # EDIT
Jamie – Freeloader!
That’s what they want you to think…

Posted 4 minutes

Ha! Jamie.

fasthaggis – Member
Is that what they want you to think ,that they want you to think that?

hmmm

or do they they want you to think that you want them to think that is what they want they want you to think?

(did I get that right?)

*adds andyl to the nest coordinated killmageddon rise of the machines list*

OK, 1st one up an running:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oDWfYj]Nest up and running[/url] by brf, on Flickr

Slight pain to install, I went for mains powered and expected flush connections, so had pre-drilled a small hole for the power lead:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oDVyS8]Crimped mains lead[/url] by brf, on Flickr

Only NEST had a stupid bulky proud connector:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oDWgoh]Power connector sticks out[/url] by brf, on Flickr

So I had to make the hole larger, which with lathe and plaster ceilings is a very messy job…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oDVyNR]Needs a bigger hole[/url] by brf, on Flickr

Then the iPhone App kept telling me it hadn’t got mains power, so I had it on and off loads of time checking. It wasn’t until I gave it a real smoke test that the iPhone App seemed to sync up properly and decide it was powered after all…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oUoDX7]Nest iPhone App[/url] by brf, on Flickr

In conclusion though, just having that funky blue ring glowing at you is worth £90, let alone whether it actually works…..

Only NEST had a stupid bulky proud connector:

Good to see little design touches like that. That’s where they justify their expense 😀

One thing I didn’t realise was that the old CO alarm was out of date, they only last 5 years apparently then you need to replace the whole unit (not just batteries). Only in taking it down did I see the DO NOT USE AFTER date on it…..

🙂

Smoke alarm in Kitchen? 😕

Smoke alarm in Kitchen?

Most likely place to have a fire….

Most likely place for false alarms (fumes from cooking) Heat detector would’ve been my choice of detection, but hey what do I know.

Always had a smoke alarm in the kitchen and never had any problems with it. Plus the nice thing about NEST is it doesn’t just go off, it talks to you e.g. she will say “Smoke detected in Kitchen” and then only goes into Alarm mode if it gets really bad and you haven’t silenced it in the mean time. All the NESTs in the house sync up so you hear the voice in every room…

Tear down of the unit here: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/nest-protect-teardown

An ex-collegaue just emailed me about this company, which basically turns a normal dumb smoke alarm into a smart one by just changing the battery. Their battery contains a Wifi chip and a Li-ion battery, so it can contact your smart phone when the Alarm goes off / battery gets low.

Roost

Seems better than the Nest which self-destructs seven years after manufacture (get one that’s been sat in a warehouse for two years? Tough luck).