Have you ever packed up your family and left home for a few days or weeks, only to discover when you return that a pipe has burst, you left the air conditioner running, or even worse, that your home was broken into?
If only there was a way to not only monitor your home while you’re gone, but turn down the heat, check for storm damage, or program lights to go off. I’ve got good news for you….
Technology has come a long way, and home automation can give you peace of mind while you’re on vacation, or even just out for the day. You won’t be left to guess what’s happening at home when you’re not there.
What is home automation?
Home automation allows you to program and control the systems in your home, whether you’re there or not. You can set your thermostat to follow a daily schedule, and have different modes for weekends or vacations. You can even program your sprinkler or irrigation system.
Home automation allows you to control and program devices such as:
- Lights
- Electrical outlets
- Audio systems
- Heating and cooling systems
- Sprinklers
- Thermostats
One of the best parts of home automation is the ability to make changes and control your systems remotely. With a few taps on your smartphone or other electronic device, you can turn things off and on, up or down.
Read more on the five perks to managing your home security system on your mobile device.
Benefits to home security
While it’s nice to be able to control the air temperature remotely, or turn off the lights you left on, there’s an even greater benefit to home automation. It can give you the peace of mind of knowing your home is safe and secure.
And, you can monitor your house from the road. Some home security features you can control remotely include:
- Alarm systems
- Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
- Surveillance cameras
- Door and window sensors
- Locks
All these features can help protect your home from intruders. Not only will you be able to monitor your home, you’ll receive alerts about what’s happening. If a door or window sensor picks up any tampering, you can find out via email or text. Not only can your system help deter intruders, it will alert you if a break-in is attempted.
Want to know even more about protecting your home from invasion? Read these burglary facts and five tips on deterring burglaries.
You also will want to know that your home is safe from weather, fire, or other disasters. Curious whether your home weathered a storm? Use the camera viewing service to see for yourself. Sensors placed throughout the house can also monitor the air for not only smoke, but dangerous levels of other toxins.
What about the kids?
What if you’re away from home, but your kids are not? Rest assured. You won’t need to rely on your kids to let you know they’ve gotten home from school safely. And they won’t need to carry (and potentially lose) a house key. An automatic front door lock can let the kids in, and alert you the children made it home.
Also, if your kids are spending time home alone, teach them these five lifesaving safety skills every child should know.
Besides letting your kids in, you can give others keyless access to your home too. If you ask a neighbor to let your dog out, you can unlock the door for them remotely, then have the system lock the door when the neighbor leaves.
And you won’t have to make copies of your keys for the:
- Handyman
- Electrician
- Nanny or babysitter
- Housekeeper
Gone are the days of needing to hide a spare key under a rock!
How does it work?
Sensors, detectors, cameras, and other equipment to connect your systems (lights, heat, etc.) are set up in and around your home. Your home’s Wi-Fi connection is used, so the home automation system can communicate with your smartphone or computer, via an app or program.
Once installed and connected to the Internet, your system will be up and running. Think how nice it would be to sit on the sidelines of soccer practice, or recline on the beach, and still be able to see and control what’s happening at home.
