Smart security for home is equally important during work from home
We have secured our home with mechanical door locks and window latches. Some of us have also installed security cameras for surveillance. So why do we need to worry about ‘Smart Security’?
One disadvantage of mechanical locks and latches is that they can’t alert us when someone is breaking in. Since we’re at home anyway due to work from home, we may assume that smart security is optional. This’s only true until Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 is under control, then we’ll leave home more often and start travelling like before.
While it’s fine to live without smart security for now but we’ll definitely need it when our lives are back to ‘normal’. Even with new normal, smart security is still important for the reasons as shown below. Now is also the best time to experiment the benefits of smart security because we’re free at home!
1. Smart Security Warns Us When Tampering is in Progress
In most cases, reliable mechanical door locks should be good enough to prevent intruders from breaking into our home. However, if the intruders decide to pick our mechanical door locks, we may not know until it’s too late. With smart door locks, we get the alerts while the tampering is in progress and we can call the police right away.
In addition to preventing unauthorized entry, we can grant access to people that we trust. Meanwhile, we can monitor who has entered our home and when. When the smart door lock senses that we’re approaching, it unlocks automatically and locks after time-out. Our smartphone becomes the virtual key that replaces the mechanical key. The auto locking and unlocking operations are touch-free which is desirable during the age of Coronavirus.
Note that smart door locks are unable to:
- Stop intruders from tempering the locks
- Send alerts when suspicious persons are approaching the door before tempering
- Show and record the faces of the intruders who are trying to break in
2. Smart Security Shows Live Streaming and Recording of Suspicious Activities
Smart door locks are very effective in preventing break-in. However, they can’t send advanced alerts that potential intruders are getting too closed to our property. Nor can they help to monitor what’s going on inside and outside our home.
For early warning, smart motion detectors are very useful for sensing suspicious movements and alerting us immediately. The alerts prompt us to to check who are outside our home. If we’re not at home, we can call for help when we’re also receiving alerts from smart door locks or smart window sensors. Unfortunately, all the above alerts do not allow us to see what’s going on.
Indoor smart surveillance cameras are perfect for visual monitoring, recording and alert notification when suspicious activities are detected. The recorded videos will be very useful for police follow-up if needed. Many smart cameras have built-in speakers where we can warn the intruders to leave. Outdoor smart surveillance cameras are similar to the indoor versions except that they’re built to operate in harsh outdoor conditions like rain and snow.
3. Smart Security Alarms Us on Potential Fire Hazard and Poisonous Gas
Most people relate home security to intrusion prevention, security monitoring and control. Few realize that fire hazard prevention is also an important aspect of home security. By preventing fire from taking place, we’ve protected our home and family from fire damage, injury and loss of life.
Similar to conventional models, smart smoke detectors sound alarms when smoke is detected. The biggest difference is the warnings are in the form of friendly human voice. Advanced voice warnings for colorless, odorless and poisonous carbon dioxide is life saving especially when we’re at home. All these alarms and warnings buy us precious time to react and escape. When we’re far from home, smart smoke detectors warn us by sending alerts to us.
What happened to Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral is a good reminder that fire damage can be very costly to repair.
4. Smart Security Prevents Property Damage Due to Water Leakage
While water leakage doesn’t damage property as extensively as fire hazard, it does cost money to repair the damage done. Since it’s not life threatening, most people don’t take it as seriously as fire hazard.
On the surface, smart water leak detectors seem like a waste of money. As years go by, some water pipes and faucets start to leak due to wear and tear. We can either replace the faulty parts or waste money on leaking water. This is avoidable by using smart water leak detectors to alert us on water leakage detection.
We’ve witnessed a local library flooded with water pouring down from ceiling. It seems that the water has been pouring for the entire night! In this case, unnecessary high repair cost and one week of cleaning up are avoidable with smart water leak detectors.
5. Smart Security Discourages Potential Intruders from Targeting Unoccupied Home
Unlike smart door locks, smart light bulbs do not prevent intrusion. They can’t monitor our home or show us what’s going on either. And they can’t even send alerts for any unusual activity. But they’re surprisingly effective at discouraging potential intruders from targeting our unoccupied home.
When we’re away from home, the very first security measure is to make our homes look normal at night. The home lights should turn on before dark, turn off before sleeping, turn on room lights randomly and so on. This is the ‘away mode’ in smart light app which gives the illusion that someone is at home.
With smart light app, we can monitor whether the lights are on as scheduled. We can turn them on and off manually as needed. We can also use smart motion detectors to turn on smart door lights automatically whenever someone is approaching. In fact, smart light is an excellent at creating the right atmospheres for work from home, entertainment and anything in between.
Smart Security is Simple and Affordable
Home security used to be costly because of professional evaluation, design and installation. Smart security devices changes all these because they’re so simple and affordable to install. Since Wi-Fi and Internet access are common in most households, upgrade to smart security is only 1 small step away. We can simply start with something simple like smart light and expand gradually with others like motion detectors or door sensors.
Stay safe and be socially responsible!
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