Is your smoke alarm risking your life?

71% of structure fires deaths are caused because a smoke detector that has a missing or discharged battery. This means that the victims weren’t able to make it to safety in time. Something that was meant to save lives ends up being rendered useless because the batteries were useless.

We've all been there: You're fixing your morning breakfast when you accidentally burn the bacon, or the toast. A shrill, ear-splitting beep echoes through your house and everyone runs into the kitchen to see if there's cause for alarm. Or there's that annoying chirp, chirp, chirp in the middle of the night. You get out of bed and, in an effort to silence the chirp, you remove the battery or (even worse) take down your smoke alarm. Now you've taken a marginally effective early warning device and disabled it, making it completely ineffective.

This is where the problem starts. Pulling the batteries out of your smoke detector puts you at a huge risk of being caught in a home fire without enough time to escape.

Your smoke detector is so annoying that it is literally risking your life. 

How Halo Stops This Deadly Cycle
No Chirps!

Halo is equipped with the industry’s first, long lasting, lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which virtually removes that annoying nighttime chirp forever from our hardwired model. As for the battery operated version, Halo will notify you with a reminder to your cell phone, using words  rather than annoying beeps to inform you that your batteries are running low and need to be replaced.  Thank you Halo!

Smart Logic's 5 Sensors

False alarms are dangerous. They numb us to potentially dangerous situations and, up until now, the homeowner had to take the smoke alarm’s word for whether or not there was danger. Sadly and loudly, that alert came in the form of an annoying 85db beep.

Every Halo smoke alarm is equipped with 5 different sensors: photoelectric, ionization, CO, heat, and humidity. The constant intelligent monitoring of these 5 sensors helps Halo learn from its environment and helps to reduce false alarms while confirming actual dangerous concerns.

If you’re taking a shower, the steam has the ability to block out the ion and photoelectric sensors and trigger a false alarm. Since Halo is equipped with CO, heat, and humidity sensors, it can tell if there is a spike in the humidity with no increase of carbon monoxide and only a minor increase in heat. Because of those sensors, Halo recognizes that there is no fire, and even if the smoke detecting sensors are triggered, Halo will know not to sound a false alarm.

2. Burnt Toast

Every false alarm has a signature. If your halo smoke alarm goes into warning status and you are not at home, Halo will give you real-time updates and provide you with an interpretation of the data at hand. With our smart sensor logic, we will know if there is only a burned toast incident in your home, or a dangerous fire taking place.

Halo: The Only Smoke Detector Manufactured in the USA

Halo is determined to give you the best quality detector on the market; this means that each Halo device is crafted right here in the USA. From the start, Halo Smart Labs has been committed to creating jobs here in the USA. The performance of each detector is rigorously tested, and submitted to the strictest quality control standards before being shipped. You can rest assured that when you have a question or need help with your Halo device, you can speak to someone in the US who knows the product inside and out and can address your concerns.

A Trusted Device

Halo is being tested to comply with all of the following smoke and carbon monoxide alarm standards:

·  UL 2034 - “Single and Multi Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms”

·  UL 217 - “Single and Multi Station Smoke Alarms”

·  NFPA-72 - “National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code

Want to see for yourself if Halo really works? Watch it in a real burning house!

On Saturday, May 16, 2015. Halo Smart Labs teamed up with the St. Stephens Fire Department on a control burn in Catawba County, North Carolina. Several other fire departments joined in as the department set several Class I fires in an abandoned house.

It was the culmination of a partnership we had been working on with the department for several weeks. Fire departments often do controlled burns to teach the newer members of their teams how real fires work, as well as work on how to respond in live simulations. At Halo, we wanted to put our device in a real, controlled fire where we could monitor the data. The St. Stephens Fire Department was enthusiastic about joining forces, as the data Halo collected could be of use to the department as well.

Our engineers installed Halo and a camera to monitor it in the hallway of the house. Then the department began to light fires, and set up outside, where they could safely stream and monitor data from the Halo alarm.

The fire department began by starting a Class I fire with no accelerators (gasoline, etc).  Then they went in and put it out before starting another one. The controlled burn began around 9 AM and lasted until after 2 in the afternoon.

Halo only sent data back to our engineers during the first fire. Temperatures in the house reached 220 degrees Fahrenheit before Halo quit sending date when its enclosure liquefied and the hardware inside fell on the floor.

When the firefighters went in, the smoke from the fire went from two feet from the ground all the way up to the ceiling, and firefighters told Josh Cox, one of the engineers on the project, that it was so thick he were literally unable to see his hand in front of his face. When they broke open a window to let the smoke out, the firefighters noticed Halo flashing on the floor and brought what was left of the device out. Even though the enclosure melted, Halo was still functioning as an alarm and, when it cooled, resumed transmitting data to the engineers.

We could not be happier with the results from the controlled burn and look forward to sharing them with you! Determining how actual fires work helps us to continue improving Halo, particularly in how its monitoring system eliminates false alarm—because you only want your smoke alarm to go off when there’s truly a need for it.

Do you have a smart home? Want a smart home? Halo has the ability to connect with any smart system; including Apple, iControl, Lowes, and OpenHome. You can also receive updates via any Apple or Android device. Halo is equipped with WiFi connectivity and Zigbee connectivity to make sure you're smart home ready, and fully functional.

More than just your ordinary night light!

You can choose the color, duration, and lighting style you prefer right from your smartphone! Simply open up the Halo app, select the room you want lighted, and choose your preferences. Halo will gently light the room with a soft night light that fades out over your chosen period of time.

Consumers have raved about this feature: "I love it! I can control it from the couch while my kids feel safe from the dark.” says Melissa,and fire safety professionals agree, that any positive interaction between a child and their smoke alarm is always a good thing.

How Halo Will Alert You During a Fire

With auditory and visual warnings you're guaranteed to be aware of any danger in your home.

What happens if Smoke is detected?

With Halo's Smart Logic algorithms, you’ll worry less about the shrill beeping sound of a false alarm. If Halo senses a potential issue, it will start off by issuing a gentle verbal and visual warning. For example, "Elevated smoke in the kitchen" will be announced through all of your Halo smoke alarms, accompanied by a slowly pulsing red light at the device in the kitchen. As the smoke increases, the speed of the pulse increases, and as smoke dissipates, the pulse will slow. You can also silence your Halo by pushing the center button on the device, or by using the Halo app.  If the smoke exceeds the safe zone after you've silenced it, it will alert you by flashing red and white and saying, "Danger smoke in the kitchen!” If muted again, Halo will be silent for 15 minutes, giving you time to rectify the situation or get out.

What happens if smoke is detected and I’m away from home?

As soon as your Halo notices a potential threat, it will alert you via your cell phone.

In the News . . . Halo visits the White House

On July 29th, Halo Smart Labs was honored to participate in the White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Demo Day in Washington, D.C.  The day included several breakout sessions geared toward bringing together new ideas from various industry leaders, as well as demonstrations and talks from 20 companies and several local and Federal agencies.  It was an excellent opportunity for us to network with those who are using technology to improve disaster response, learn about their advances and hear first-hand about the challenges they face in the event of a catastrophe.

Our two biggest takeaway challenges from this event were:

1) There is a clear need for advanced warning systems capable of reaching targeted populations sooner and more accurately.

2) We need to develop a better way to communicate instructions and relief efforts to the public after a disaster occurs.

Read the entire blog and watch the video on the White House Innovation Demo Day from the Office of Science and Technology Policy for the White House here.