Article Summary:
Yes, Nest Protect can be used in California. While California requires that some smoke alarms have 10-year sealed batteries, it allows smoke alarms that use low-power radio frequency for wireless interconnect, like Nest Protect.

Since smoke alarms help keep people safe, public safety officials want to make sure that every smoke alarm works the way it should. They also want to ensure that people don’t fail to replace the batteries if they remove them when the alarm starts chirping. To address this concern, California requires that battery-operated smoke alarms have a battery that lasts for 10 years and can’t be removed.

However, California also allows smoke alarms with other valuable safety features. For example, if a smoke alarm uses low-power radio frequency for wireless interconnect, it doesn’t have to have a 10 year sealed battery. Since Nest Protect uses low-power radio frequency for wireless interconnect, it’s allowed by the regulations.

Learn more about Wireless Interconnect

Nest Protect contains long life batteries that are intended to last multiple years under normal operation. Nest also uses on-device and mobile notifications to tell you when its battery is getting low, so you can change it before it starts to chirp.

Both Nest Protect (Battery) and (Wired 120V) are listed and certified by the California State Fire Marshal Office of Building Materials for use as a single or multiple station smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm. Of course, regulations vary from place to place, so check your local fire safety codes to be sure.