Marketplace
The Nest smoke alarm has dropped back down to $128 at Bunnings. Looks like limited stock but the old price beat from Officeworks works a treat. Now I just need to figure out how to install it.
Google Nest Protect Wired - $128 + Delivery ($0 C&C/In-Store) @ Bunnings
250
bananafish05 on 01/07/2023 - 14:30 bunnings.com.au (942 clicks)
Last edited 03/07/2023 - 13:12 by 1 other user
Last edited 03/07/2023 - 13:12 by 1 other user
Related Stores
closed Comments
$128 - just updated the title.
No Stock IN WA. Also Says No Delivery Available To Your State
Can you just plug it in? Or it needs to be hard-wired into a circuit?
Needs to be wired in by a sparky..
Remember to check when they expire. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure smoke alarms technically have a 10year lifespan. If these are old stock you might be getting a lot less legit usage. I've heard some bad stories about this happening.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure smoke alarms technically have a 10year lifespan
You're almost completely correct. New legislation (at least in QLD) states you need to replace the alarm 10 years after the manufacturer date. Even though hard wired alarms can last pretty much forever, you still need to replace them.
Source: prior smoke alarm tech
Exactly and unfortunately most often, you end up buying old stock. The first wired ones I bought, a few years back, were between 2 - 3 years old when I purchased them. I ended up taking them back to The Good Guys and after a bit of discussion, they eventually agreed to take them back and give me newer stock (different box design). I also worked out a way you can tell how old they are by just looking at the box and not having to open them. I can share an example - Mid last year, one of my mine failed so Officeworks provided a warranty replacement (swapped with a new one in store). The serial number sticker on the box is xxxxxxxx4921xxxx (obviously the x is part of my device's serial number). 4921 is the 49th week of 2021 - verified as when I opened the box, it was manufactured on 9 December 2021 (on the bottom of the smoke detector).
Wish they were POE and didn’t need a NEST account…
Apparently these need to be replaced every 5 to 7 years since it has a CO detector
No they don't. The Nest Protect 2nd Generation (this model) has a 10 year life. The first generation had a 7 - you haven't been able to buy first generation models for ages now as the 2nd Generation came out in July 2015.
https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9249296?hl=en-A…
Click on Why Nest Protect has an expiry date
Lots of talk about how these are non-compliant with Aus regulations
Usually by people who don't know the regulations
Just a heads up too - I've had two different electricians install wired ones for me and both whinged about it not coming with a double-insulated power cable and one even said he couldn't install it as it wasn't compliant with Australian Standards. I told both electricians to simply install it with the wiring through either a surface mount box or a junction box (mounted in the ceiling/roof space) which they were both happy with as a solution.
This excerpt from a review article explains: https://i.imgur.com/NTvhTQD.png
Yep tried to explain this to @AuQld on the last deal but he argued it was fine. But it's especially dangerous because the home owner comes in to contact with the 240v single insulated cable (which has very thin insulation) when simply changing the batteries. One rodent chew and it won't be good.
So do you think one should not install them without an electrician even if it’s a replacement for an existing wired smoke alarm?
It needs to be installed by a qualified electrician by law. It's not hard to install, just 2 wires but only you can work out if it's worth the risk with insurance etc.
As mentioned above, out of the box it's not compliant it was built for the USA market and needs to be modified to make it safe for the AU regulations.
Does the qualified electrician provide some kind of evidence they installed it and/or certified it - to mitigate this insurance risk?
@bargainshooter: Yes. The REC you hire will usually issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) at the same time they generate their invoice.
VIC: https://www.esv.vic.gov.au/certificates-electrical-safety/ce…
NSW: https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/trades-and-businesses/con…
As mentioned above, out of the box it's not compliant it was built for the USA market and needs to be modified to make it safe for the AU regulations.
Other than the two power leads not being double insulated, what else is non-compliant under AU regulations?
The wiring can be hidden away into a junction box (tucked away into the ceiling space, assuming that is easy to do for the property involved).@DoctorCalculon: Yes you can tuck the wires in to a junction box, which would be ok if it was a light switch or gpo only an electrician will access. But with the Nest the homeowner still has to handle the single insulated 240v wires when changing the batteries.
So it's a tricky one, would of been nice if Google bothered to make a compliant wiring harness for the AU market.
@LowRange: What else is out there as feature rich as the Nest Protect fire alarms but meets all AU electrical regulations stringently?
You mention First Alert Z-Wave below. However, this one is also made for the US market first.
I have five of these thorough out the house. Good and bad things to say.
One of the five had this issue where the backup battery was not recognised. It would non-stop beep and complain, can’t be silenced or snoozed. Unplugging is for some reason very tough to do, just very stuck once plugged in. App is also basic, not very intuitive. Would like to deactivate a few of them when cooking steak, but doesn’t seem to have that option.
Sufficiently loud though and nightlight is handy. Bought these at Bunnings a few months back for a similar price, all the manufacture dates give us practically the full 10 years of life.
Is there a better or even compatible option in the market? Or is the Nest the current benchmark?
Depends on what you want from the detector. A lot of folks on the SmartThings groups are running the First Alert Z-Wave detectors. They will give you far better home automation options because Google destroyed "works with Nest" on these detectors.
If you only want a phone notification then Nest is OK. If you want to turn off aircons, turn on lights, turn off TV's, unlock smart door locks, flash your porch light red and do anything advanced with a smoke activation event you may want to look for something else.
Thanks for the advice LowRange! I’d be looking for something wired with quality sensors (smoke, CO2, air qual), as well as easy to react to notifications/events (i.e.: calm down sensor, I’m an idiot and burnt the toast, not the house!) and automation if the house is burning down, to turn flash lights on, etc etc. I’ll start looking at those, though if something specific comes to mind, feel free to point me in the right direction.
Hey Google, put out the fire
Price?