First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & CO Alarm vs Google Nest Protect (Wired)

The Google Nest Protect (Wired) is better overall, winning on price, owner rating, a deeper sensor suite, self-testing and a pathlight. The First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & CO Alarm counters with a longer 10-year warranty and a battery-only design that needs no wiring.

Power and feature depth separate them. The Google Nest Protect (Wired) runs on house wiring with a battery backup and adds many extra sensors, self-test and a pathlight, while the First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & CO Alarm is fully battery-powered and focuses on core smoke-and-CO sensing with a long warranty.

No. The First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & CO Alarm is fully battery-powered and needs no wiring, making it easy to place anywhere. The Google Nest Protect (Wired) connects to 120V house wiring with a 3 AA battery backup, so it suits homes with existing alarm wiring.

The First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & CO Alarm has the longer warranty at 10 years, versus 2 years for the Google Nest Protect (Wired). Both, like all CO alarms, have a fixed sensor life of around a decade, but the First Alert offers longer formal coverage.

Buy the Google Nest Protect (Wired) if your home has hardwired alarm wiring, you want the better-rated smoke-and-CO alarm with spoken early warnings, self-testing, a pathlight and extra sensors, and you would rather avoid routine battery changes in a Google or Nest home.

Buy the First Alert SC5 Battery Smart Smoke & CO Alarm if you want a battery-only combined smoke-and-CO alarm with no wiring required, a long 10-year warranty, voice alerts naming the danger and its location, and Google Home compatibility.