Nest Protect Battery Vs Wired: Which One Is Better
The two models have a couple of distinctions. The primary distinction is in how Auto-Away interacts well with the Nest thermostat as well as the Pathlight.
For Auto-Away, the wired Nest Protects call home anytime they sense motion, allowing your home to access and exit Auto-Away mode more quickly.
Battery models phone home once a day and exchange all motion history information with the Nest thermostat to help it understand your habits.
Pathlight can work on wired Protect always to be on, but not on battery Protects.
If youre considering purchasing the same device and are unsure whether to go with Nest Protect battery vs wired, we will help you to compare the differences between the two.
Despite the minor variance, there is a tiny distinction between the two models, as seen below:
Things You Should Know About Nest Protect
The 21st century didn’t bring robot butlers and flying cars but our homes can be filled with smarter products. Take, for example, the Nest Protect.
While products like or the are fun to use and can make some things more convenient, a smoke alarm can make the difference between life and death. It’s a product that should be as smart as possible without introducing any new safety concerns. The Nest Protect had a bit of a rough patch when the first generation was recalled, but looking back I think everyone will agree that having a smoke alarm that does everything it can to let you know when there’s a problem and have information for you when there isn’t a problem is better than a dumb thing that knows nothing more than to beep when the battery is low.
If you’re thinking about making the switch to a smarter smoke alarm, it’s important you know as much as you can before you install it in the hallway. We’ve all heard the product pitches and read reviews both good and bad, but here are five things you might not know about the Nest Protect that you should know about it.
Nest Protect Has Different Backplates For Wired And Battery Versions
Pictured above are the two backplates for the Nest Protect smoke detector. The backplate to the left comes with the wired version and is designed to fit any electrical box. The backplate to the right belongs to the battery-powered Nest Protect. It comes with wood screws and really only fits into wood or dry-wall.
Posting this because I originally purchased the battery version. I figured 5 years of battery-life was reasonablethe life of the smoke detector is only 10 years. Plus, I didnt want to fiddle with wires unless I had to.
Unfortunately the battery version is fairly limited. I found the screws in the backplate were too small for the electrical box in my ceiling. After reaching out to Nest about it they informed me that I should exchange the battery version for the wired version.
After watching Youtube videos of people installing wired Nest Protects, I decided it wouldnt be that hard. Whats the worst that could happen? I electrocute myself?
Well Im proud to report that didnt happen. The Nest Protect was successfully installed.
It is odd to me that nest would manufacture different smoke detector backplates. Surely the multi-hole one isnt so much more expensive that its cheaper to design a different one for the battery model?
Yeah, it seems silly to me. Figured Id post for anyone else wondering what Nest Protect model to buy.
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It Will Alert Up To 20 Different People If There’s An Alarm Condition
We all know that Nest will beep in on our phone if it thinks there’s a problem, but you can also set it to alert up to 19 others if you want it to.
You can invite 9 other people to your Nest Account. These folks will have full access to the settings of any Nest equipment and can do everything except change the billing information for any Nest subscriptions . Additionally, you can assign 10 others with “Home Entry Only” access. This gives them the code to silence any security alarms and lets them get alerts if you like.
If you’re on vacation or out of town for work, having a trusted neighbor or family member who is close get any alarms is great. You can also make sure you would be notified if your parents or grandparents were to have their Nest Protect go off.
Nest Protect Battery Vs Wired
The Nest Protect battery and wired versions are the two models of Nest that are available worldwide with similar functions. Most people prefer the battery one to prevent frequent charging. However, the wired has additional features like a backup battery and more, making it a bit more expensive than the battery version.
Below is the comparison of the features of Nest protect battery vs. wired versions:
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Interaction With The Auto
The first big distinction is seen between wired and battery versions of Nest Protect is how they function in auto-away mode.
The wired Nest Protect calls home anytime it detects motion, allowing your home to transition in and out of auto-away mode.
The battery-powered version, on the other hand, only calls home one per day. In addition, all motion history information is exchanged with the Nest Thermostat at a certain moment because it can understand your routines more effectively.
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Best Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Detectors Of 2022
Consumer Reports’ lab tests reveal the best detectors for protecting you and your loved ones
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Most smoke and carbon monoxide detectors look the same, so you might think that they basically are the same. As long as theyve been certified by a testing organization, such as UL or Intertek Electrical Testing Labs , they should work just fine, right? Not exactly.
We need to test detectors because some fail at CO detection, and there are differences in how quickly different models respond to CO, says Bernie Deitrick, Consumer Reports test engineer for smoke and CO detectors. I have never tested a model that failed our fire and smoke tests, and it is reassuring to know that such critical devices actually work.
A detectors ability to sense carbon monoxide can mean the difference between life and death. According to the CDC, every year more than 400 Americans die from accidental CO poisoning, and about 50,000 Americans end up in the emergency department.
To determine the type you need, remove the detectors in your home from their mounts. If there are wires connected to them that run into the wall or ceiling, you need hardwired detectors. If there are no wires, you need battery-powered detectors.
They Only Last 10 Years
“Only” and 10 years may or may not belong together here, depending on what your expectations were. The hard-wired 120-volt smoke detectors in my house were installed when it was built in 1986 and still work great, but they don’t have any of the Protect’s extra features and better methods of detecting CO2 and false-alarm preventions.
Regardless, the Protect can be a relatively sizable investment so you need to know up front how long it should last.
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There Are Differences Between Wired Power And Battery Power
Ideally, you’ll hard-wire a Protect and provide battery backup for the times when the power goes out. That can be expensive, though, and isn’t for everyone, so the Nest also offers a fully battery-powered version. Using 6 AA batteries should give “multiple years” of battery life and the Nest app will let you know about 6 months before it’s time to change them so you’ll have plenty of notice.
The feature differences are significant, but thankfully have nothing to do with the detection and alarm capabilities â both versions are equal, and both test every 200 seconds. The differences:
- The wired version’s Home/Away Assist feature can override other Nest equipment if it sees you and your thermostat or camera doesn’t. The battery version can’t do this.
- Battery-powered versions update your Home/Away status less frequently, too.
- There is no LED power indicator on battery-powered versions.
These differences may be minor to you or they may not. The important thing is that you know about them before you buy anything.
Our Pick: Google Nest Protect
*At the time of publishing, the price was $120.
The second-generation Google Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is the best smart smoke alarm for everyone because it reliably and calmly alerts you to potential dangerwhether youre home or awayusing a combination of voice, siren, and smartphone alerts. If you have more than one Protect, they interconnect wirelessly, and the Protect also self-tests and informs you of device malfunctions or low batteries via smartphone alertswithout those annoying chirps. You can silence nuisance alarms through the Protects app, so youll be less likely to disable it in a fit of annoyance . The Protect is also the simplest smart alarm to install and control. Note that Nest is releasing an updated version of this model that will be compliant with newer UL standards . To confirm you are buying the newest version, look for a UL217v8 label on the box, or consult the product description for the phrase Helps reduce cooking nuisance alarms.
Nest Protect uses a photoelectric Split-Spectrum Sensor, which the company claims detects fast-burning fires more quickly than traditional photoelectric sensorsmore in line with the performance of ionization sensors. The Protect accomplishes this with a second LED that can pick up the finer particles of fast-burning fires but is less likely to suffer from nuisance alarms. This was confirmed in our testingwe havent experienced any nuisance or false alarms in six years.
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Less Expensive Per Unit
Hard-wired smoke detectors, on a per-unit basis, cost less than battery-powered detectors.
Hard-wired smoke detectors cost as little as $9 per unit, as opposed to $15 per unit for battery-powered smoke detectors.
This lower per-unit cost can help mitigate the high overall installation cost. Moveover, as units need to be replaced over time, hard-wired smoke detectors will be less expensive than battery-powered unitsespecially when an entire network of units needs replacing at the same time.
Who This Is For
We believe a smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is a crucial safety device for your home, one that even smart-home skeptics should consider. A traditional smoke and CO alarm alerts you to potential danger, but a smart alarm does this even when youre not home, or when the alarm is at a rental property or maybe a family members home.
Crucially, smart alarms address one of the biggest problems with regular alarmsthat an alarm can stop working, either because you knocked it off the ceiling with a broom or because you never replaced the batteries. According to a 2021 report, almost three of every five home-fire deaths in the US resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or with nonfunctioning ones. Nearly half of the alarms that failed had missing or disconnected batteries, and a quarter had dead batteries. Most smart alarms alert you to their battery level in their apps and let you silence nuisance alarms on your phone or via a button on the device , so you wont end up with a nonworking alarm in your home.
Because a smart alarm can be silenced from your phone, instead of requiring you to climb a ladder or wave around a broom, it reduces the chance youll disable it in a fit of annoyance when youve burnt the popcorn. Plus, most smart smoke alarms wirelessly interconnect with one anotherif one triggers, they all dowhich is an excellent safety feature if your home doesnt have an existing hardwired interconnection.
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Why You Should Trust Us
To compile this guide, we read multiple research papers and spoke with three experts at UL , which literally writes the book on testing smoke alarms: John Drengenberg, Consumer Safety director Dwayne Sloan, technical director of Building and Life Safety Technologies and David Mills, principal engineer Initiating/Indicating Devices. We also scoured hundreds of customer reviews from sites like Amazon, Home Depot, and Lowes. Since we first started testing smart smoke alarms, in 2016, weve lived with our top picks as part of our long-term testing process.
Ive been a journalist for more than two decades and have spent countless hours testing smart-home devices for Wirecutter, including smart thermostats, smart garage-door controllers, smart sensors, and smart sprinkler controllers. I also cover smart-home technology for Dwell and The Ambient, among others. In addition, I spent six years working as a volunteer firefighter and live with a professional firefighter who has over two decades of experience in the field.
Best Smart Combination Detectors
CRs take: For a smart smoke and CO detector that connects directly to WiFi, check out the First Alert Onelink Smart 1042135. This model receives strong scores in all our tests, with the exception of flaming fires because it lacks an ionization sensor. If you go with this detector, you may want to also consider purchasing a battery-powered ionization smoke detector, such as the Kidde RF-SM-DC. This First Alert comes in both battery-powered and hardwired versions, can interconnect with other compatible detectors, and works with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit/Siri for voice and app control.
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Nest Protect Wired Vs Battery
Nest Protect is an amazing home automation device designed by Google. Basically, it is a smoke and carbon monoxide detector.
Once it detects such a substance, a friendly voice speaks up to give you an early warning about smoke or CO being in your house.
It is one of the must-have devices that you need in your smart system to complete the setup.
The pricing might not be that suitable for every owner, but you will thank yourself for this purchase in due time.
So, be sure to set aside the cash to include this unit in your smart system.
What To Look Forward To
We are in the process of testing two new Kidde models and will update this guide with results in fall 2022.
The Kidde Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm has voice alertssaying Fire! when smoke is detected, or Replace Alarm when the battery is near the end of its lifeand a Smart Hush feature in the app lets you temporarily silence false alarms. It also has an option to notify friends or family when smoke or carbon monoxide is detected, and is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. A similar model, the Kidde Smoke + Carbon Monoxide with Indoor Air Quality, adds sensors for humidity, temperature and volatile organic compounds.
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Best Hardwired Smoke Detectors
CRs take: The First Alert 3120B is a dual-sensor smoke detector, meaning it has both a photoelectric sensor for detecting smoky fires and an ionization sensor for detecting flames. Thanks to its use of both types of sensors, this First Alert receives top scores in our flaming fire and smoldering fire tests. Its hardwired with a battery backup, which makes it a good candidate for newer or remodeled homes that have wiring for detectors, and it features a hush button to silence nuisance alarms. It can be interconnected with additional detectors so that if one goes off, they all go off and alert you to danger even if youre in a different room or on a different floor from the fire.
CRs take: Another top performer in our tests is the Kidde PI2010, which receives high scores in our flaming fire and smoldering fire tests. This hardwired, dual-sensor alarm features a battery backup, a hush button, and the ability to interconnect with other compatible detectors. To determine which other models are compatible with this one, check with Kidde.
Best Hardwired Carbon Monoxide Detector
CRs take: The hardwired Kidde Silhouette CO detector performs very well. It receives great scores in our high- and low-CO-level tests and a Very Good rating for the accuracy of its CO-level display. This model features the ability to log the highest CO levels it detects , which is good for checking to determine whether there has been a problem when youve been away from home for a long period of time. That lets you know if you need to have things checked out. It also has a battery backup and the ability to interconnect with other compatible alarms.
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