If you're familiar with the brand name Nest Labs, then you already know that this company basically changed the way the common household thermostat works with its Nest Thermostat. Now it wants to do the same thing for another household necessity: the smoke/carbon monoxide detector. This new offering, dubbed Nest Protect, is a sleek, sexy looking box that replaces the tired old white disk currently attached to your ceiling.

Like the Nest Thermostat, Protect is a smart product – instead of just sounding its alarm at full blast when the slightest hint of smoke arises (like, you know, when burning cooking food), it will give a subtle "heads-up" and you need only wave your hands around it to let it know that everything is OK. Of course, if there's an actual fire, it'll yell out at full steam so you know there's a real problem.

It also has the ability to connect to your Wi-Fi network, and thus to other Nest Protects. In the case of a fire, it can let you know where exactly in the house the fire is so you can better protect your family and assets. That's smart.

According to Nest, a recent study shows that children can easily sleep through alarms and beeping (apparently I am a child), so Protect also features a female voice for alerts – that should help wake everyone in the house.

Aside from its smoke/carbon monoxide-detection features, the Protect also has a "pathlight" feature that will illuminate the glowing ring in the center as you walk beneath it – perfect for those late night trips to the fridge to grab a drink.

The Nest Protect is available for pre-order now for $129, and comes in either white or black and wired or battery-powered options. Head here to secure yours.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nest Labs, Inc. (www.nest.com) announced today breakthrough innovation that redefines what people should expect from their smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. These products should keep us safe, not annoy us. Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide™ does much more than just sound a shrill alarm when there’s danger in your home. It speaks to you, telling you where the danger is and what the problem is. And before it sounds a piercing alarm, Nest Protect gives you a friendly Heads-Up warning that you can silence with a wave of your hand – no more swinging towels or brooms to try to quiet a false alarm. It integrates with your mobile devices and even messages you if the batteries run low, avoiding that all-too-familiar midnight low-battery chirp.

“With our first product, the Nest Learning Thermostat, we set out to help people reduce home energy use,” said Tony Fadell, Nest founder and chief executive officer. “Now, we’re turning our attention to something that’s also important: keeping families safe in their homes. 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. 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.”

According to a study by the National Fire Protection Agency of smoke alarms that failed to activate during home fires, 73 percent of them had dead, missing or disconnected batteries. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected smoke alarms.

“Safety shouldn’t be annoying,” said Matt Rogers, Nest founder and vice president of engineering. “It was unacceptable to us that almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. These products are required by law and are supposed to keep us safe, yet people hate them. We wanted to change that, so we created Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide.”

Product Features

• High-quality smoke and carbon monoxide alarm. Nest Protect is a multi-criteria detector with heat, CO, and smoke sensors that work together to detect danger.
• Heads-Up. If Nest Protect sees that smoke or CO levels are rising but have not yet reached emergency alarm levels, it will give you an early warning so it can avoid crying wolf.
• Nest Wave. No need to wave towels or climb on chairs. Nest Protect lets you silence nuisance alarms with a wave of your hand.
• Mobile notifications. Connect Nest Protect to your free Nest account using Wi-Fi and you can receive low-battery alerts, Heads Up and emergency alarm notifications on your smartphone or tablet. In an emergency, the What to Do feature will remind you of recommended actions and give you one-button access to an emergency phone number.
• Nightly Promise. Sleep safe and sound. Before you doze off, Nest Protect shows you its sensors and batteries are working with a quick green glow after you turn off the lights so low-battery chirps don’t rattle your dreams.
• Pathlight. Nest Protect offers more than just smoke and CO warnings. Its LED lights can be a night light in your home. When it’s dark, Nest Protect will light your way as you walk underneath it.
• Vocal alarms. According to a study by Victoria University, children can sleep through beeping smoke alarms. So in addition to alarm sounds, Nest Protect uses female Voice Alarms to help wake sleeping children in case of emergency.
• More sensors, more features. Nest Protect’s sensors include a photoelectric smoke sensor, CO sensor, heat sensor, light sensor, ultrasonic sensors and activity sensor. Together, they analyze smoke and CO levels, see when you wave, and light your way at night.
• Wireless interconnect. If you have more than one Nest Protect, they connect so you’ll hear alarms from all Nest Protects in your home, even if the danger is in only one room.
• Design. Nest Protect introduces a distinctive square shape with a white sunflower pattern. A black version will be available only atwww.nest.com.
• Multiple languages. In the U.S., Nest Protect offers voice alerts in both English and Spanish. Simply select your preferred language during setup.

Better Together

For families that have both the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Protect, a free Nest user account allows the products to work together. If Nest Protect’s carbon monoxide alarm goes off, your Nest thermostat automatically turns off your gas furnace, a possible source of poisonous carbon monoxide leaks. In addition, the Nest Protect activity sensors improve the Auto-Away feature of your Nest thermostat.

New Nest App

The Nest app on iOS, Android and the Web can be used to set up, control, and get alerts for both Nest Protect and the Nest Learning Thermostat. Available in English, Spanish and French, the Nest app will be updated with a new design and new features when Nest Protect ships.

Pricing and Availability

Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide is expected to be on sale in November at Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and The Home Depot for a suggested retail price of $129.00 (U.S.). It will be available in two versions – wired (120V) and battery-powered – and in two colors: white and black. To be first to experience the benefits of Nest Protect, go to www.nest.com to reserve yours today. Independent testing to demonstrate compliance with U.S., Canadian, and European smoke and CO standards is underway at leading test agencies. A version of Nest Protect that will be compatible with wired security systems is expected to be available in early 2014. Nest Protect will also be available in Canada and theU.K.