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Home Alone
Some of the best features of a smart home happen when nobody’s home.
While you’re away enjoying your vacation, your smart home is taking care of business. It will update you on any unusual activity. It will make sure the environment is just as you want it to be. It will keep the lights on as if you and your family are still home. And you can monitor security and environmental conditions from anywhere, and make changes as you need.
Traveling this season? Here’s how your smart home can offer you a worry-free holiday no matter how far from home you are.
Security
One of the simplest and most effective methods of protecting your home is with a CCTV or IP camera system from Jackson Hole AV.
CCTV and IP camera systems record 24/7 and allow for playback so that you’re able to review content at any time, from anywhere, via your smart phone, tablet, or desktop computer.
Before you leave town, make sure your security system is in working order – cameras, motion sensors, and locks should have fully-charged batteries. Emergency contact notifications should be updated and correct. Cameras need to be clean and unobstructed. Motion detectors should be set to maximum vigilance.*
Lighting and Shades
Lighting and shades also play an important role in your smart home security. Keep the shades drawn while you’re away, and set your interior lighting schemes to mimic regular activity throughout the evening, to help deter unwanted visitors.
Systems like Lutron HomeWorks QS improve your home’s security with automated exterior lighting. The system can also be programmed to play real-life lighting events, so the home appears occupied even if you’re gone.
With your smart phone or mobile device, you can control your blinds and the lighting in your home and garden from anywhere, readjusting as necessary.
Temperature
Smart thermostats adjust home temperatures throughout the day, and many have vacation settings for when you’re away for a longer period of time. Making sure the vacation settings are accurate is a good thing to check before you head out. Need to make a change while you’re away? Adjusting thermostats remotely is a popular feature of smart home integration platforms like Savant.
Environmental Sensors
One last item to check-off is a quick look at the smoke, carbon monoxide, and leak detectors. Make sure they all have updated apps and emergency notifications so that you can receive updates in case of changes or alerts.*
Perhaps the best thing about being away from your smart home is that you can still monitor and control activities from your smart phone or tablet. Want to change the lighting scheme? Lutron’s HomeWorks QS allows you to make changes from your mobile device. Do you have a large delivery coming? Savant allows you to open your garage to receive the delivery and then close the door remotely.
If you’re interesting in finding out how your smart home can be updated to offer you the ultimate peace of mind while you’re away, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to help you discover what your smart home can do for you.
* Price, Molly: Traveling for the holidays? Here’s the smart home list to check twice. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/traveling-for-the-holidays-heres-the-smart-home-list-to-check-twice/ Accessed 5 December 2017.
