This week’s Smart Living roundup features a connected battery, a smart doghouse and patents for connected home devices.

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Roost – the smart battery

Joining the smart home bandwagon can be a technically complex and expensive decision, often resulting in the need to hire an outside contractor to install a home automation system. But as the smart home market expands in product offerings, more affordable options emerge for retrofitting existing homes.

Roost is a smart battery that turns old smoke or CO₂ detectors into smart gadgets, without purchasing entirely new devices or rewiring. Just swap your old 9v battery with Roost, download the accompanying iOS or Android app and start receiving notifications from your now smart smoke detector. It alerts you if your smoke alarm was triggered, when it needs you to replace the battery and you can even assign emergency contacts which will be immediately informed when the alarm is triggered.

No hubs required as the battery connects to your home’s Wi-Fi network. The best part is, Roost only costs $40, half the price of this popular smart smoke detector, and has a battery life of more than five years.

You can now pre-order Roost and expect it to ship by June 2015.

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Samsung Dream Doghouse

If you have $30,000 to spend on your dog, what would you buy? I’d personally consider the Samsung Dream Doghouse – a state-of-the-art doghouse that features an automatic food dispenser, grass-turf covered treadmill, a hydrotherapy pool and a tablet that plays content that your dog will be interested in or use it to communicate with your furry pal.

The Samsung Dream Doghouse was unveiled at a British dog show and was designed and created by a team of 12 designers and fabricators in a span of six weeks.

“With the Samsung Dream Doghouse, we wanted to reflect the nation’s growing trend for using technology. From dogs who have social media profiles to owners who use video calling to check on their pet while away, technology is fast becoming an integral part of everyday life,” said Andy Griffiths, president of Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland. “The Samsung Dream Doghouse looks sleek and modern, featuring the kind of tech the discerning dog of the future will need.”

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Google’s patents for smart home devices

Google’s efforts in the smart home market doesn’t end with its acquisition of Nest and Dropcam, as its newest patent for smart home devices was recently made public.

The patent, “Security Scoring in a Smart-Sensored Home,” was filed back in September 2014 and describes devices that are able to communicate with one another, or a central server or cloud computing system to provide home security objectives. The devices mentioned in the patent include smart plugs, wall switches, nightlights, connected doorbells and door knobs, and even a smart alarm that wakes people early to avoid icy roads.

Google has yet to make or reveal the said smart devices, but there’s a good chance it’s working on these devices already and we can expect these smart home gadgets to be added to the Nest-compatible line up in the future.