In a previous post I was writing on how integrations can make incredible things happen when the devices we use are open and use great integration points. The post described how I use Nest and Rachio to help protect my neighbors if my house were to ever catch on fire.

Having great integrations is one of the main reasons I like Nest products. While they are not the only player on the smart devices playing field they have many, many integration options with other technologies.

Things used in this project

Another app (or mashup) that I am a huge fan of is IFTTT.com (If This Then That). This is essentially an action > trigger based framework that can help you control and use your devices to the fullest. It uses simple logic constructs, called recipes, to execute single tasks.

For example, let's say your cooking skill is like a 1 or 2 with no modifiers. Basically, you fumble cooking and you are know to risk poisoning those in your party every time you "cook." < yeah that's me.

You have something in the oven and it burns, like it always does and the smoke alarms go off, and continue to go off until the smoke is cleared. You do the normal fire drill of opening windows and flapping a towel in front of the detector as if you're sending smoke signals to silence it.

What if when your Nest Protect detected smoke it could tell the Nest Thermostat to turn on your central air fan for 15 minutes to clear the smoke in your house?!

With this great recipe by lockheart14 you can!

Setup is super easy:

  1. Create an IFTTT account
  2. Add your integrations by connecting to channels
  3. Then Add the recipe

Now you can cook without being shamed for 30 minutes by your smoke detector!