You may have heard the term “Smart Home” recently. What does that mean? And how could it help you keep an eye on your lake house when you’re not there?
The term smart home is a catchall for using home automation technology to control functions of appliances or devices in your home through a smart phone, or by automating some household tasks (think turning the lights off before you leave). This technology can be incredibly convenient to control lights throughout your home, or to change the temperature of your home with the push of a button whether you’re there or not. An added benefit though, is that it can enable you to keep a watch on your lake house when you’re away.
What you want to do with smart home tech
While you can do many amazing things with home automation, like making independent living a reality, we’re going to focus on the home monitoring benefits of the technology.
The goal is to provide you with peace of mind when you’re not at your lake home by knowing the doors are locked, the windows are shut, and by being able to see your property whenever you want. Smart home technology can help you do this through an array of sensors, cameras and monitoring equipment; all tied together by a smart hub for complete control.
When you connect these devices through a smart home hub you’re able to get access to all the data from them in one place. This lets you get notified if a door opens, window breaks, and even allows you to see your home through a camera at any time.
What you need to monitor your lake home with smart home tech
First, you’ll need a smart hub to connect all the sensors, cameras and monitoring equipment. Many people prefer Samsung’s SmartThings as their platform, and they start by purchasing a hub. You can also get their home monitoring kit that comes with a hub, two door/window sensors, a motion sensor and a smart outlet to control a light or other fixture.
After you have those basics you can easily pick up indoor cameras to check in on your home from wherever, a smart smoke alarm that lets you know when there are any problems, or even an outdoor security camera that could point towards your dock.
Here’s where the smart hub comes in handy. By connecting them all through that hub, you can see everything within one app, and get notifications when specific events occur. For instance, you can get a push notification or text message sent to your phone whenever the door opens, or when a window opens. Better yet, when that happens you can check your cameras to see what happened; all within a few seconds.
Smart home technology makes it incredibly easy to keep tabs on your home when you’re miles away. And with the outdoor cameras you can make sure your dock is secure.
For more information about Smart Home technology, or great deals on the products listed here, check out Smart Neighbor.
