Roost Smart Battery

If you’re looking for a reliable smart smoke and CO detector without shelling out close to over $100, then Roost’s Wi-Fi Smart Battery is the way to go. The Roost Smart Battery retrofits to your existing alarm and gives you smartphone notifications when there’s a problem. It’s as simple as replacing your old 9V battery with Roost’s long-lasting (5 years) lithium battery.

With an easy installation process and an intuitive companion app that connects your detectors to friends and family of your choosing, Roost is a step above the traditional disc smoke detector. With that being said, if you’re someone who’s building an arsenal of interconnected smart home devices that all speak to each other, then Nest Protect 2.0 is a more expensive, but way better choice for your home.

Capable of alerting other IFTTT devices, the Nest Protect 2.0 system has a multi-layer line of defense against smoke and carbon monoxide that Roost does not currently offer.

Although not as smart as Nest Protect, the Roost Smart Battery has one amazing feature that is sure to please all of its users: it eliminates the middle of the night low battery chirping that haunts us all. In case your thin crust pizza gets a bit too crispy in the oven, Roost has a “Snooze the False Alarm” app feature allowing users to tap a “silence” button – no more standing on a chair with the windows open waving a dish towel in front of your smoke detector.

Unfortunately, this feature does not work if your detectors happen to be hardwired and the 9v battery is acting as a backup to your main alarm system.

Designed as a cost effective solution for simple retrofitting, Roost is one-third the cost of Nest Protect 2.0 and provides you with basic connectivity without the hassle of connecting multiple smart devices. Capable of lasting approximately five years, Roost notifies you when it’s time to swap out the power source.

Simply snap off the bottom of the battery, pull out the power piece, snap in the $15 replacement and you’re set. With a built-in Wi-Fi antenna and a small port that acts as its microphone, Roost is not your typical 9v battery.

Roost is different in the fact that it seamlessly integrates with its user-friendly companion app. The initial setup process consists of creating an account, clicking a button to add a battery, indicating the location of the battery, placing your phone near the battery location, and waiting for your phone to make a sound indicating that Roost is connected.

As for the app itself, one feature in particular truly stands out. Once your smartphone and Roost have been connected, users are able to program an emergency contact list. Automatically defaulting to 911, you’re able to fully customize who receives your smoke detector alerts.

As previously mentioned, Roost smart battery is an inexpensive way to monitor your home’s detectors. From smartphone notifications to creating an emergency contact list, you’ll have an instant pulse on smoke or carbon monoxide levels inside your home.

If a connected home is in your future, you may want to purchase the Nest Protect instead because unfortunately, Roost does not offer integration with other smart devices. Make no mistake – Roost is an upgrade from the traditional detector that is notorious for 3 a.m. chirping and at one-third the price of Nest Protect, it’s a great way to work up towards a full throttle smart home.