The 8 Best Ideas for Smart Home Security in 2017
Improve the safety of your home with the best technology can offer. We’re sharing the 8 best smart home security ideas you should use here.
Residential home security has changed dramatically for the better thanks to technology. No longer are guard dogs, strong locks and clunky alarm systems the only way to implement security while keeping your home safe. Now there are some unique, effective and easy to install methods to consider.
We’ve put together The 8 Best ideas for Smart Home Security that you can use to improve the safety of your home.
The best part is, even though they utilize the latest technology you don’t have to be a tech genius to use or install them.
Let’s get to it!
Disclaimer: Most, if not all, the product links on this page will be Affiliate Links. Purchasing through these links doesn’t cost you any more money but it does help us pay for things like website hosting along with more bits & gadgets to write about.
1. Smart Lighting.
Folks have been using light in a smart fashion over the years to improve their residential security. We all are familiar with features such as using motion-activated outdoor lights and leaving lights or the television on to scare people away.
New technology has created the following opportunities to implement smart lighting into your home security plan:
Randomize light patterns when you’re not around.
A fixed light left on can actually have the adverse effect by highlighting your home as a target for burglaries.
A smart lighting system will operate lights at random to convey a more realistic impression that someone is at home. Don’t worry, you can set bedtime schedules so that your house won’t be flashing lights on throughout the night.
Automatic lights that are useful in emergencies.
You never know when you may need to get out of the house in a hurry.
By having lights that switch on with movement(motion sensing) means that you can have full visibility when trying to get the family out of the house in case of a fire or another emergency in the middle of the night.
Systems such as SmartThings and Vera can control Z-wave lights. Philips Hue and Lutron Caseta also offer smart lighting solutions.
2. Smart Water Sensors.
With smart water sensors, you can improve your residential security in a way you previously wouldn’t have been able to.
New sensors on the market can be connected to your wifi or home automation controller and can sound the alarm in emergency water situations such as a flood or burst pipe but they can also pinpoint slowly increasing moisture levels that lead to mold.
This can help avoid potential emergencies or costly repairs down the line. Samsung SmartThings has a Water Leak Sensor for under $40.
3. Video doorbells.
Getting up to look through the peephole to see who is at your door is so medieval…
With new modern Video Doorbells, you can check from your smartphone or tablet while lying in bed. This is particularly useful for seniors or people with disabilities.
Using cameras and microphones you can make sure it’s safe to approach and open the door or answer it even when you are not home! Ring and Skybell offer video doorbell solutions for under $200. Read our full in depth Ring Video Doorbell Install & Review.
4. Smart thermostats.
The thermostat industry has been revolutionized by Nest and their new modern home HVAC controller.
Not only does Nest learn your habits and start to control the heating/AC in your home accordingly, but it can also be accessed and controlled by your smartphone anywhere you have Internet.
This means you can turn the heat on just as you leave work, riding the train home or turn it off if you decide to take a late night out!
This can be extremely beneficial for residential security if you are away from your home or have a rented property.
For example, it’s common in some areas for an unexpected cold spell of weather come in and cause freezing. By using Nest you can avoid burst pipes and other damages by turning your heating on when you need it. Nest is not the only game in town though, as both Ecobee and Honeywell also offer Smart Thermostats.
5. Smart Smoke Detectors.
A nice additional feature to the Nest thermostat is their smart smoke detection system. Asides from the basic features of detecting and sounding the alarm for smoke and carbon monoxide, this smart smoke alarm can be silenced and controlled from your smartphone. The Nest Protect replaces your existing smoke detectors. The Leeo Smart Alert Smoke/CO Remote Alarm Monitor is an interesting alternative that works with your existing smoke alarms that goes for less than $50.
6. Smart Security Cameras
Modern home security camera systems have completely transformed the residential security scene.
With a system like Arlo Pro, you can actually monitor your home at all times from your device anywhere in the world.
When Arlo Pro send you an alert or sounds the alarm, you can use the app to look around your home to see if it is a genuine threat or a mischievous pet before calling the police. You can also deactivate the alarm if there is nothing to worry about.
Asides from residential security, many people like to use Arlo Pro to spy on their pets to see what they are up to when the owners are away from home. We recently used an Arlo Pro camera to see what was making noise in our attic(mice!) Read our in depth Arlo Pro Review. Nest, Ring and Canary also have Smart Camera solutions.
7. Smart Power Outlets.
Smart power outlets that plug directly into your power socket like an adapter and can be connected to your wifi system or via z-wave. Wemo & TP-Link are 2 popular solutions for this that start at about $30. Check out our recent article on how we used a Wemo Smart Plug to semi-automate our morning French press Coffee.
These smart plugs & outlets gives you the ability to toggle your devices on or off remotely by using an app or a schedule.
There are some useful programmable features such as turning a device on based on your phone location(geofencing). The opportunities are endless, but one example could be automatically switching the lamp and radio on when you pull up into the driveway. These are also useful to control your Holiday Lights on a schedule.
By having the ability to control your plugged in devices will give you peace of mind about your home security as you can prevent the risk of fires and make sure things are switched off when you are away.
8. Smart Locks.
You may think that smart lock technology belongs in sci-fi movies and Fort Knox government-level security but on the contrary, smart locks have become are accessible, affordable and already on the market for home security.
August, Schlage & Kwikset Kevo are three popular options. One of the advantages of this technology is you can see who opened a specific door at a certain time and have your home automation kick off certain lights and/or AC & Heat settings.
You can also use this technology to make sure you doors are locked when you are not home or when the alarm is set.
Some of these work with Bluetooth, Z-wave and Amazon Alexa, plus let’s be honest, it is super cool!
Making the most of technology.
We Must Be Geeks is a website dedicated to people(geeks) who are obsessed with using smart technology to make their lives more efficient and who love to explore new ideas.
New technology such as Amazon’s Alexa and the Raspberry Pi(running openHab) have the potential to change the home life of modern society and thanks to the internet we can share and improve new ideas with each other.
It’s not just Home Security that we are interested in, we also have a lot of content focused on DIY Home Automation. Be sure to check out some of out other unique posts such as How to automate your morning cup of french press coffee and How to answer a doorbell from the beach with your phone.
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