Nest
As an extremely neurotic homeowner, I am always looking for new ways to keep my home safe and spy on my dog, to make sure he's not getting into mischief.
So I was extremely excited to try out the Nest Secure, the smart-home company's new $499 security system. Nest, one of Google's corporate siblings, designed the Secure to be slicker and smarter than other security systems, inside a package you won't mind having in your home.
I've been using the Secure for the last month now, including while I was away on vacation, and I was very happy with it. For a reasonable price, you get a smart solution that makes your home feel a little bit more like a castle.
Here's how the Nest Secure works, and why I liked it:
The Nest Secure consists of three major components, all of which are sold together.Matt Weinberger/Business InsiderFirst, there's the Nest Guard, a hamburger-sized hub for the system.Matt Weinberger/Business Insider
A lightweight device that's about the size of two hockey pucks stacked on top of each other, the Guard is the primary way to arm and disarm the Secure. It has a number pad on top where you enter a PIN to activate the system.
You can assign each person in your home his or her own security code. If you do, the Nest app can use them to tell you who came and left your home and when, a feature that could come in handy if you have kids.
Google intended the Guard to be attractive, because it designed the device to be placed in an entryway or vestibule. You can either set it on a flat surface or hang it on a wall with a screw.
The most clever bit about the Guard is that it doubles as a motion sensor. Once the Secure system is armed, the Guard will trigger an alert if somebody walks past it.
The Guard includes a battery backup that's designed to last 12 hours, so the system can keep running even in a power outage.
Next are the Nest Detect devices, the most important parts of the system.Matt Weinberger/Business Insider
The Detect devices can sense when a door or window is opened. They also serve as motion detectors.
The Secure system comes with two Detects. If you need more, Nest sells them for $59 a pop.
The devices are way easier to install than I thought they would be. Assuming you to use one to monitor a window or door, you just place it in the upper corner of the window frame or door frame using an attached adhesive strip or an included screw, depending on how secure you want it to be. The Nest app walks you through the process and helps you test the Detects to make sure you installed them correctly.
I was able to install the ones that came with my kit on my front and back doors in less than half an hour. They were so easy to install, I thought about grabbing more to monitor the windows in my house, too.
But you don't have to use them to guard the openings to your house. You can instead attach them to your walls and use them as room-sized motion detectors.
A side-benefit to the Detects: They turn into nightlights when it's dark.Matt Weinberger/Business Insider
You can just push the glowing button you see here to temporarily disarm a Detect so you can open a door, say, without waking anybody up. Once the door closes again, the Detect will reactivate.
Finally, there are the Nest Tags, which let you arm or disarm the system with a touch.Nest
You can can arm or disarm the Secure in several ways. You can enter a code, as you would with a traditional security system. Or you can use Nest's smartphone app.
But the quickest way is with a Tag, a fob you can attach to a key ring. To activate or deactivate the system, you just touch a Tag to the Guard.
The Secure system comes with two Tags. You can buy additional ones for $25 a piece.
If you use multiple ones, you can assign a name to each. Just like it can with personal PINs, the Nest app can keep track of which Tags are used to arm and disarm the system, allowing you to see who entered your house and when.
No matter how you activate the Secure, you have some time before the system arms. By default, you have a minute, but you can adjust that to as little as 30 seconds or to as long as five minutes.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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