Keeping your family safe is a daunting task. There are dangers outside the home, and dangers that can occur inside the home, too. Fires, hazardous chemicals, carbon monoxide leaks, are just a few examples, but they can also be tough to monitor. When you leave your kids home alone, or furry little Fifi, you want to make absolutely sure they’re safe.
While it’s impossible to know everything that’s going on, smart home technology, or rather a smart detection system, can help you keep an eye on at least some of that, regardless of whether you’re at home or away. Kidde is introducing an excellent solution, called the Kidde Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Wi-Fi Alarm with Smart Features. More importantly, it’s internet-ready and connects to your local Wi-Fi, something your average smoke or CO alarm cannot do. Once installed, you can receive alerts through a mobile app on your smartphone if there is a smoke or CO event, but you can also interact with it remotely from anywhere within your home. When your kids burn the grilled cheese or macaroni, and the alarm goes off, you can check to make sure everything’s okay, and if it’s not, you can kick it into high gear and call in every emergency service known to humankind.
It’s useful outside of major events and emergencies too! For example, if the smoke alarm goes off and it’s a false alarm you can turn it off directly from your phone, when you’re at home on the same Wi-Fi. There’s no need to climb up to where the unit is installed and press a button — or get out the broom and start playing Quidditch to shut the darn thing up. More importantly, you can invite friends and family to receive notifications, so your support group will be notified in an emergency.
Like standard alarms, Kidde’s Wi-Fi alarm will sound when there’s a problem or elevated levels are detected, and that works even when there’s no wireless connection. So, if there’s a power or internet outage you don’t need to fret that the system isn’t going to work, it will send that hallmark loud sound if it senses something is wrong.
Not only can you deactivate false alarms from within the app, but also you can start app-controlled tests to make sure the device is working properly, when you’re at home. It gives you peace of mind, especially if you’re worried that the alarm won’t perform during an emergency. You can set off that test and check your family’s reaction, make sure everyone can hear it, and devise an action plan. If you have other Kidde interconnected hardwired alarms in your home, the Wi-Fi smart alarm will be interconnected with them. It effectively turns them into “connected” devices. Besides being hardwired, it also features a lithium-sealed 10-year battery so there’s no need to change batteries! At the end of those 10-years you just replace the unit. If you’ve ever had to change the battery in a smoke alarm, in a home with vaulted ceilings, at 3 a.m. with a bunch of cranky people yelling at you, then you know exactly how much of a nightmare that can be!
Because it connects to your home Wi-Fi network, it will also deliver real-time notifications to your mobile device. If you’re away from home, on vacation, you’ll still receive alerts about what’s happening. You could check in remotely using the app, or even call a neighbor, friend, or family member to go check on your home. If need be, you can also call the authorities or emergency services. Fifi, the kids, your husband, whoever is there is safer from potential fire or CO hazards. It even works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
But this is a smart home device we’re talking about, with Wi-Fi access, a mobile app, and lots of great features. You’d expect that to mean it’s expensive and there are costly subscription services to pay for, as well. That’s not the case at all here. In fact, the Kidde Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Wi-Fi Alarm with Smart Features is available for a fraction of the cost of its competitors. Comparing it to Google’s Nest Protect system, for example, the Kidde alarm is just $90 ($89.97) versus Nest Protect’s $119, for the hardware alone. That’s a great deal even at full price.
So, the Kidde Wi-Fi smart alarm has a long list of awesome features, and it costs less than the competition, surely there’s an inordinate fee or subscription to worry about? No, actually there’s not. Once installed, and the app is downloaded, you can access all features on the Kidde smart alarm at no extra cost, and, again, it’s much cheaper than similar devices. You’ll be primed for real-time notifications, from your smart alarm, with the option to check in from anywhere, and any location. You will need Wi-Fi network availability on the device, and an active Wi-Fi or cellular signal, as well.
Kidde’s new alarm is set to launch in December exclusively at The Home Depot in select stores and online.
