Smart home technologies have revolutionized

Smart home technologies have revolutionized the way we live, making it easier to control and monitor our homes from anywhere we find ourselves. This has brought an increased level of security to homeowners. 

But unfortunately, as technology progressed, so did the methods of those looking to break and enter our homes when we’re not there. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the most effective ways to protect your home while you’re away so that you can have peace of mind knowing that your home and other belongings are safe. 

Set Your Lights on a Timer

All thieves, even those most organized, are opportunistic in nature, and they’ll target your property when it’s most convenient for them—usually when you’re not around. And you going out of town on a business trip or a vacation creates perfect grounds for thieves to break and enter your home. 

However, having your lights on in your home is one of the most obvious indicators that your home is empty because who leaves the lights on all day and night? Not only is it unpractical security-wise, but it also increases the risk of house fires. 

But what if you could control the lights in your home to turn on in the evening and turn off at the appropriate time during the night? Well, it turns out you can—connecting your lights to smart timers is a great and often more cost-effective method for increasing the security of your home. 

The timers would power the lights at the designated time, giving the illusion that someone’s home all the time. Some can even be controlled via Wi-Fi, allowing you to randomize the powering patterns, mimicking real-life situations. 

Motion Sensor Lights

Another great idea is to use motion sensor lights as your outside illumination. That way, potential thieves won’t have the advantage of a cover of darkness to break into your house. Of course, these should be strategically placed to light up any entry point into your home. 

Motion-detecting lights are great, as they’ll remain in operation for as long as they detect movement. This way, they’ll preserve more power and won’t play into an effect that you’ve left the lights on and gone away. 

Additionally, using smart lights  with motion detection is another fantastic idea, as these usually have an accompanying app that notifies you when the light turns on. 

Get a Smart Lock

According to statistics, 34% of burglars enter a home through the front door. Most often because this is the most easily accessible entry point. If you have a standard mechanical lock on your door, a less experienced burglar has anywhere from 20% to 40% of picking said lock. And the numbers are higher if the burglar has experience. 

Smart locks, on the other hand, are incredibly difficult to pink, as most of them rely on 2-factor authentication. Modern locks have a physical key with an electronic component that verifies the validity of the said key. So, both the mechanical and electrical keys must match in order to unlock the door. 

This is fantastic, as it prevents the thieves from simply picking a lock but also prevents them from using your stolen keys to access your property. If you happen to lose a key to your smart lock, you can just undo that specific key’s electronic verification code, thus preventing its possibility of unlocking the door due to F2A.

And the best of all is that smart locks often have cameras equipped, and they send notifications to your smartphone each time someone approaches your front door. That way, you can monitor who’s attempting to enter your home, gain footage, and notify the authorities. 

Install a Smart Security System

And while the statistics show that approximately 30% of burglars gain entry by picking the lock on your front door or by opening an unsecured window, the other 70% simply use brute force to open the door or window and thus gain entry.

So, it’s imperative that you install a high-quality security system. This encapsulates both outside and inside smart cameras equipped with remote access, alerts and notifications, night vision, motion detectors, and integration with your other smart home devices, such as door locks, lighting, and fire and sound alarms. 

It’s also a good idea to provide some sort of power backup for this system. As previously stated, thieves are opportunists, and if they’re well organized and knowledgeable, they can cut power to your property. While that isn’t likely to happen, it’s important to remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

Don’t Forget Fire Alarms

It’s not the burglars alone you should worry about; your appliances can cause damage too. We all heard the tale of a malfunctioning fridge relay igniting the leaking gas in the kitchen. And while the probabilities of that happening are less than 1%, any possibility of damage is a percent too high. 

So, it’s important to also equip your home with smart smoke detectors that can also detect leaking stove gas. That way, you can minimize the potential damage to your property or your own health. 

Summary

In conclusion, smart home technologies have revolutionized the way we live, but it’s still important to take necessary precautions to ensure the security of your home. Some effective ways to protect your home include setting lights on timers, using motion sensor lights, getting a smart lock, and installing a security system. 

And though these measures can give you peace of mind knowing your home and belongings are safe, it’s also a good idea to ask a trustworthy friend to check out the house from time to time.