As someone who really loves to travel, I can assure you that the best time to get away is whenever you can. I love my home, but I love to get away just as much. However, even when I am gone, I still love being able to peek in at the home from time to time and have the reassurance that things are okay. Today’s smart home doesn’t care if you are across town or across the world. Check out how modern home automation devices are looking out for you while you are away…
- Security camera client software
- Thermostats
Many of today’s thermostats are wifi-enabled and some of them are even smart (and I use that term loosely). As an energy miser, I can assure that there is no greater feeling than knowing that I’m in control of when and how much my home is climate-controlled. I vividly recall the days of hitting the road and finally remembering at some point before we head home, that I forgot to set the thermostat.
- Deadbolts and door sensors
Years ago, in our greater a metropolitan, a little girl was kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night. The perpetrator simply walked through the back door – no forced entry. It is very likely that the parents simply forgot to check the locks on all of the doors before they went to bed – I do that all the time. I know this happens a lot. But this particular instance really hit a nerve with me. I soon discovered smart dead bolt locks and door sensors. Brilliant! The door sensors, of course, have been around a long time and for good reason – they work. However, when you add to that the ability to automatically lock your doors, great things happen. Controlled with a smart hub, you can program the deadbolt locks to automatically lock themselves at 10:00 p.m., for example. The hub could also alert if you left one of the doors open or if one of the locks or sensors isn’t communicating. The other benefit is controlled access. For example, if you have a contractor working on your home or a neighbor is coming over to feed the dog while you are gone, you can either remotely unlock the doors for them, or assign them unique temporary access codes that let them in during only certain times of the day and expire after a period of time determined by you alone.
- Lights on (and off)
Smart switches can be programmed to turn on and off several times throughout the day (and night) or even just randomly switched from your phone halfway around the world at anytime. The very appearance of activity at your home can be enough to keep any troublemakers at bay.
5. Garage doors
Ever left the garage doors open? I have. Let me tell you, it is a sick feeling. Smart garage door openers let you know when they are open or closed, can be activated remotely, and even programmed to close whenever you want them to!
- Flood sensors
For some reason, it seems that something like 90% (making this up) of all water leaks seem to happen while the house is empty. With the right implementation, flood sensors can not only help you know when you’ve sprung a leak, but they can also send an alert to an actuator to shut off your main water valve.
7. Water heater/water valve
Irrigation timers