As technology improves, it becomes increasingly easy to make your home more secure. These days you no longer have to pay a security company hundreds of dollars to monitor your home or rely on your neighbours to keep an eye on your place while you’re away on vacation. Instead, you can simply install a few of these items and check in from anywhere, even if you’re halfway around the world.
Security Cameras
There are a wide variety of security cameras on the market, and you’ll have to search carefully to see which one is right for you. Many come with multiple cameras which you can place in different areas around your home. Most can be used inside or outside, and they’ll transmit data to a receiver that you keep at home. You can even sync your cameras with your smartphone to check things out whenever you want.
As you compare options, remember to look at whether or not the system stores the videos, how long it will store videos, and how much it can store.
Alarms
An alarm system like the iSmartAlarm system can give you and your family a sense of security without the high monthly costs associated with traditional monitoring companies. The iSmartAlarm is motion activated, and you can receive alerts whenever there’s unexpected activity at home.
Some models send out a piercing alarm whenever the area is breached, so you have to consider whether that’s right for you. On one hand, it will wake you up when your teen tries to sneak in late. On the other, it might annoy the neighbours if you always forget to shut off the alarm before you enter the house.
Smart Locks
Who would have thought that we’d need advanced locks on the door? As well as security, smart locks like the Nest X Yale offer an unparalleled level of convenience. You can have a keyless entry system so that you don’t need to fumble around trying to unlock the door when you’re carrying groceries, or you can unlock the door remotely if your kid forgets the key.
The Nest smart lock also allows you to set up multiple codes that different people can use to get into your home. The great part about this is that you can turn those codes on and off. For instance, your house cleaner could have access during the weekday, but you can set it up so that they never have access on the weekends while you might be away.
Video Doorbells
You don’t want to open the door for a stranger, but peepholes are so passé. Instead, why not set up a doorbell camera? These devices turn the camera on when someone pushes the doorbell and display an image of the person directly to your smartphone. Some can also automatically turn on when they sense motion in the area, and you can communicate with the person at your door through your phone even if you’re not home. You might be surprised by the number of people who come to your door when you’re not around!
Monitors
As well as keeping an eye out for potential intruders, you may also want to watch for fire, carbon monoxide leaks, burst water pipes, basement flooding or other threats. Fortunately, there’s an app for all of those. There are a wide variety of safety monitors that can check for these things and report back to your smartphone. The downside is that there’s no single monitor that works for everything, so you may have to individually purchase the things you might need.
Smart Garage
With the latest smart garage door openers, you can easily open or close your garage remotely and learn when someone else is opening the garage door. Some can also connect to a video camera for extra security. While you’re updating your garage, you also might want to pick up a Haiku garage light. It offers 16 times the amount of light of a normal light bulb and detects motion, so it only turns on when you need it.
Most new communities in Edmonton are safe, but smart technology allows us to feel even safer about our homes, especially when we’re away. Best of all, each of these is an affordable solution, so in the end, you know you’ll be happy you made a reasonable investment in the overall security of your home.
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