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Heat Detectors to meet new legislation

Theswallowspd
Community Member
Issue on the agenda for ever) but any advances with producing a heat detector to meet regulations?
I currently have 3 nest smoke alarms and was intending to purchase 5 more including a single heat detector but I've found that Nest not currently provide a Heat Only detector which links into the other detectors which means that their product does not meet the new legislation in Scotland. The following link explains the legislation in more detail.
 
 
Although it was expected this law would come into force earlier this year in February 2021, because of the Covid pandemic, it has been delayed to 2022. Yet current customers have had no contact from this company to say they will not be able to meet the new rules until they can produce a suitable product. 
 
I also note that their products are being sold through various outlets without any warning that they will not meet the delayed new safety law when it is implemented in a few months time. I hope this will not result in a terrible accident in future because of a lack of willingness on their part to advise people about this matter.
 
Does anyone know if and when Nest intends to provide a suitable heat detector which will satisfy the new safety law and if not, will they notify current and any future customers that they will not be able to use their product to satisfy the new legislation and are better looking for another supplier?
52 REPLIES 52

Smnc
Community Member

Whats even more confusing is their guidance below on the gov site they mention that open plan kitchens and living rooms only need a heat alarm. 

so by removing my nest and following that guidance it technically makes it a less safe system 😂

 

892D8515-63D7-4F65-929A-2E20FD38A194.png

CalJD
Community Member

Their stance doesn't need to change. It's not about placating Google, it's about protecting people's homes from burning down. The new Scottish legislation is right, well thought out, and in line with international best practice. The same regs apply in England but only to new or substantially renovated properties or rental properties. There are arguments for and against retrospectively in law but in terms of safety, every house should meet these regs. Similar requirements exist in many US states, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are two that have been spoke about in these forums quite a bit.

RT15
Community Member

Glad I read this. I was just looking to invest in some Nest alarms - guess I'll put my money elsewhere now given they won't conform with the upcoming legislation.

Madmax
Community Member

Any update on this @User123456 its been highlighted to you for at least 2 years.

 

Madmax
Community Member

Hello just bought 5 nest fire alarms and need to know if they will be compliant with Scottish law if not i need to put them back before the 14 day deadline

Spawned
Community Member

Send them back. I have ripped out my Google products and will be going elsewhere. 

ExtremeDIY
Community Member

I just spent the good part of a day talking to Google and our local fire department. I live just outside of Boston, MA, USA. We recently started building an extra bedroom in an older house. In order to get the building permit approved, we had to insure all living spaces comply to the new fire code, not the code that was there at the time of installation of existing units;  which appears to be similar to what is in Europe. This ended up adding an additional 6 detectors that we had to install in the house. The only missing link for us to continue using the Nest Protect system was the heat detector requirement for the garage. The only way we were able to solve it was to hard wire the heat detector to the nearest smoke/CO detector so that they are interconnected. No company makes a wireless connected heat detector (to my knowledge) that connects to Nest and Google, as you have read, do not produce a compliant product. Being its an older house and we had no options to run interconnected wires through the walls.  The best and only solution we found was as follows:

- AC hardwired smoke/CO detectors in all required spaces (for the power source with battery backup)

- Interconnected wireless throughout the house

- Heat detector hard wire connected to AC and the nearest smoke/CO detector from the garage to the nearest unit in the house (mudroom)

The only system out there, that I have found that can accomplish this is the Kidde P4010ACSCO-W (for the smoke/CO detector), the Kidde AC135F (heat detector), and you can also use P4010ACS-W (smoke detector only no CO detection). The third item which does not include the CO detection is typically used in bedrooms whereas the smoke/CO combos are used in open spaces, hallways etc...

 

It is really unfortunate. I just bought 12 Nest Protect units that I will returning tomorrow. I even asked the fire department if there is any other option to use the Nest product and a standalone heat detector, the answer was a resounding no. The heat detector must be hard wired and interconnected (through a wire) to at least one smoke or smoke/co detector that is interlinked with others. 

The final option I explored was just simply installing an additional Nest protect in the garage being that it has a heat sensor/detector built in. The problem here is that with the amount of dust, CO and other debris generally found in the garage, it will most likely keep being triggered. This happened when I had the mudroom door open where we have a current Nest detector installed and after cutting just 2 pieces of wood on my saw, the fire alarm went off. 

Hope this helps some people with older houses. It's taken me almost 2 months of diligent searching to try and find a solution here. I really love the Nest products but if they can't work, they just can't. It's that simple. Google is the key but if they do not want to solve it, we have no choice. The one feature I will definitely miss is the location of possible dangers which is broadcast through the speaker. With all retrofit units that run on a wireless interconnected network, you will lose that functionality. The only way to have that functionality in some of the newer apps from Kidde and others is if the entire house is hard wired with 14/3 wire at the time of construction. 

Campbell
Community Member

Please sign my petition to get this changed:

https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE1940

CalJD
Community Member

As I replied to you above, the law should not change. It's about safety and international best practice. Google Nest are the ones in the wrong here, cutting off all Scottish customers and many in England and certain US states.

neeb
Community Member

Signed!

StuartFoot
Community Member

Even if they managed to produce a compliant stand alone heat alarm,  if you've got a current system using batteries then it still fails the Scottish standard. I'm in this situation, waste of money. 

RandomWire
Community Member

This is getting me in massachusetts,  except for garage heat sensors.  Some quick searching and the same rules apply to NY, so I'm sure this will likely roll to the whole US.  

Failing to keep things up to code is a good enough reason for me to ditch the whole nest ecosystem.  

 

Google,  please don't kill the nest system just because you don't want to do some simple engineering. 

EdwardT
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi folks,

 

We hear you. Our team is working hard to deliver the best experience for our users — we'll take this as feedback. Keep your eye on the Google Nest Community page for any updates. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours if I won't hear back from you again. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.


Check out this link on how to file feedback.

 

Thanks,

Edward