In this brave new world of modern technology, nothing is out of reach with a smartphone and a halfway decent internet connection. Forget to lock your car? There’s an app for that. Need to know where your kids are? There’s an app for that. Want to destroy flimsy structures protecting green pigs, using only the power of applied force physics and irate flying creatures? There is absolutely an app for that. So the question remains, why do the two most irritating fixtures in our houses, thermostats and smoke detectors, look like holdovers from the 80’s and are about as intuitive as computers from that era?

Fortunately, those beige plastic eyesores will no longer be a must for every house. Nest is a company that is creating a generation of smoke detectors and thermostats for the modern computer age. Not only do they look clean and modern, they are intuitive to use and easy to integrate. The thermostat learns your habits and schedule, and adjusts itself accordingly. It can also be managed from your smartphone when you’re away from the house, and will show if your energy expenditure is environmentally friendly.

The Nest Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector keeps you safe without all the annoyances of regular smoke alarms. The color of the detector changes to warn of potential problems and you can silence alarms by waving your hand if everything is under control. Rather than just beeping, it speaks with a human voice and can sync with the Nest Thermostat to turn off the furnace if there is a Carbon Monoxide leak. All in all, it is an incredible improvement over the fixtures we are used to.

What Sparks Our Fire: The integration of these house necessities into the interface that we use every day, in a visually appealing way.

Will you integrate this new tech into your home?