How Smart Homes Increase Your Home Security

Believe it or not, over a million home burglaries occur every year. When scoping out a house to steal from, burglars look for easy targets. They break into houses when people are at work or on vacation. But most importantly, they look for residences that don't have home security. Because the last thing a burglar wants is to run into a smart home.

Smart home technology, from doorbell cams to motion-detecting CCTV, means burglars think twice. The question becomes, 'why are smart home options so superior to other types of security?' 

Join me as I discuss the reasons why smart home security provides the best crime prevention available.

What Makes a Smart Home?

Technology is affecting the real estate industry in fascinating ways. Smart home options for security are just one of these things.

A smart home is a loose term for any residence that makes use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Internet of things refers to having a network of interconnected smart devices. These devices not only give me finer control over them, but they communicate with each other to better serve me.

An IoT device can be a washing machine, air conditioning unit, or even a doorbell. I can program them to work together. For example, an air conditioner that drops the temperature when I get home from work.

A key feature of IoT is that I always have control over them. Even if I'm at work, I can access these devices from my phone. If I need to take a peek at what the dog is doing, I simply open the home camera app.

A convenient side effect of these smart home services is that they double as security.

How Does Smart Home Security Make Me Safer?

As I mentioned earlier, I have access to my smart home technology from anywhere. I can check the cameras at my leisure. I can turn on the lights, turn down the temperature, or even lock the doors.

This means that my home is in my pocket at all times. I could be on the other side of the world and still have complete control.

Let's go back to the example of being on vacation. Most people get a home sitter, leave the lights on, or play music. But burglars are clever, and they can tell when someone isn't really at home.

Unless I've left someone to watch over my house, it's up to chance whether a burglar makes a forced entry. All of that changes when I have smart residential security.

Smart home security has all the hallmarks of residential security: cameras, sensors, and security alerts. But the way I can apply these things is totally different.

Applications for Smart Home Security

What's cool about these smart technologies is that they report to me whenever something strange happens.

For example, I can set my smart doorbell to alert me whenever it detects movement. I can open my phone and check instantly if someone is at the door. With some doorbell models, I could even talk to the stranger and ask them what they were doing there.

If it seems like they're up to no good, I can snap a photo of them. That gives me an excellent resource for later if I need to get in contact with the police. I can then share that photo with the neighborhood watch, too.

Smart security options are also great for when I've made a mistake. Say I forgot to lock the doors, but I'm already at the airport. With a simple button press, I can lock them and forget.

But since the home is smart, I can set these things to be automatic. The house might, say, lock the doors automatically after a few minutes.

If the unlikely event that the doorbell camera isn't working, another appliance might be. My inside CCTV might alert me about a loud sound, such as a window breaking. Then all I have to do is call the police, and the authorities will catch the burglar in the act.

Versatility and Ease of Use

What sets a smart home apart from traditional residential security is versatility and ease of use. In the past, I would have to get in contact with one of the big-name security options. They'd install their own security system and then handle any suspicious activity alone.

However, with smart home options, I don't have to pay for any subscription. I don't have to cede control of my house to some third party. I can install only the devices I want for my specific needs.

And unlike a subscription service, I pay for the devices, and that's it. No future payments are necessary. If I only want the doorbell cam, that's the only payment I'll ever make.

Lucky for me, this is easy to do. I don't need a professional to set up a WiFi camera or smart refrigerator. All of these devices come with beginner-friendly instructions that a child can carry out.

Smart Home Services Are the Future of Residential Security

The verdict is in: a smart home provides superior security compared to its predecessors. It gives me finite control of my home from anywhere in the world. It allows me to go on trips or to work, and rest assured, my home is a tap away.

The intersection between home technology and real estate is a booming industry. Follow us for more home technology news to keep up to date with the latest.