The Smart Smoke Alarm That Other Alarms Want to Be When They Grow Up

What if there was a smart smoke alarm that could alert you before any kind of disaster strikes? Meet Halo.

Every homeowner’s worst nightmare: a disaster that destroys the one place that should always be a refuge. Devastating environmental disasters like fires, tornados and hurricanes can strike with very little warning, but what if there was one product that could alert you before disaster strikes? Lindsay Listanski, Senior Media Manager for Coldwell Banker sat down with Ben Stagg, CEO of Halo Smart Labs to discuss how the Halo Smart Smoke Alarm does just that.

After a massive F5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri and left a wake of devastation, entrepreneur Stagg, was inspired to develop a smart smoke alarm that would change the game for home safety. Stagg’s father lived 30 miles from where the tornado touched down and he only nearly escaped, with winds so strong they could barely close the storm door for protection.
What stood out to Stagg following this nightmare was that better communication could have saved many lives during this environmental disaster. It was then that Stagg set out to develop a product that would address the primary hurdles in the home safety category.

That’s where the Halo Smart Smoke Alarm came to life. Halo positions itself as “the smoke alarm that other alarms want to be when they grow up.” A dual-sensor smoke alarm that can detect both fast-burning and slow-burning fires (unlike most traditional options which can only detect one or the other), the Halo Smart Smoke Alarm can better identify a real threat in the home vs. a false alarm. Learn more about the product, below or catch the live interview where Lindsay sits down with Ben at CES 2016.

But, the upgrade doesn’t stop there. Halo is also the first device of its kind that can also warn you of impending natural disasters like hurricanes, tornados, and wild fires using audio and visual messages.

You can set your location & preferences and should a threat become apparent, Halo broadcasts an audio message with a color coded light to differentiate the message. This is also great for homeowners who might not be able to hear the smoke alarm. What’s more, unlike traditional smoke alarms that only emit a single tone regardless of whether there’s an actual fire or simply a dying battery, Halo is able to deliver far more information than ever before. The device that is detecting smoke will blink red and white fastest so you can see where the threat is actually coming from.

The device is hardwired with battery backup with a 10 year lifespan, so the midnight chirp is a thing of the past. With 7 days of battery backup, you’re protected even if the power goes out.

The product won the coveted “Parent-tested, Parent-approved” award (one of the most exclusive awards at CES), in addition to the CES Innovation Award for their category in 2016.

Halo has proved that in life safety products, there are no more compromises; they are committed to genuinely save lives through both consumer products and global efforts. We’re proud to have them included in the Coldwell Banker Smart Home Showcase.

The Halo Smart Smoke Alarm costs $99 and the Halo Plus runs $129 with weather alerts. The products are available on Halo’s website and at other various retailers like Lowes.com.

Victoria Keichinger

Victoria Keichinger is the Vice President, Brand Marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate. When she's not managing national media and advertising for the Coldwell Banker brand at work, she finds herself most at home in Jersey City, NJ with her pre-school crush turned spouse and son. A true Francophile, she loves to travel and will go anywhere there are ski slopes.