Improving Your Existing Home Security with a Home Automation Protocol

Protect your assets by expanding and improving the home security systems already in place on your property.

 

 

Technology is continually advancing, a thing that has been proven by how often we upgrade our smartphones, or even our entertainment technology like our laptops, televisions, and gaming consoles. One area of improvement that often gets overlooked by homeowners is home security. The home security protocol that you chose for your house years ago may be ready for some upgrades, whether that means expanding with add-ons like Internet of Things home automation devices, alarms and sensors, or hidden cameras. Your home security should be prepared to protect your home by decreasing your vulnerabilities to the dangers you face today.

Smart Home Devices

When it comes to improving your home security, one of the first steps is modernizing your security protocol. Today, the most up-to-date security devices are usually a part of the smart home family, or the Internet of Things. Security devices that operate over smart home systems are able to expand existing home security beyond the simple home alarm system styles we remember from twenty years ago. Smart home devices are capable of bringing your home security into the 21st century.

Devices that operate via smart home hubs, such as smart doorbells, allow you to take your home security to the next level, accessing information about your home from anywhere in the world, as long as you have internet access. You can set up notifications to be sent to you every time a camera pointed at your front door detects movement or someone rings your doorbell, letting you know what’s going on at your home whether you’re there or not.

Smart home devices can also offer benefits beyond security, giving you the capability to keep your household running smoothly in other areas. Certain smart home devices can make adjustments to your living area, such as turning lights on and off at specified times or adjusting the temperature of your home in the morning when your family leaves for work and school and again in the afternoon when you return home. This can save hassle, increase comfort, and also reduce home expenses.

 

Alarms and Sensors

Alarms and sensors, which often work with your smart home devices and hubs, can help add an additional layer of security to your home. You can set up sensors to notify you when certain doors or windows in your home are opened, certain switches are activated, entrances are breached, etc. If there are any specific areas that you want to protect in your home, sensors are the perfect tool for monitoring movements and comings and goings on your property. At BrickHouse Security, we provide sensors for nearly every use, enabling you to monitor everything from when an elderly parent opens their pill cabinet to how often your garage door is opened on an average day.

If these alarms and sensors are paired with keyless entry locks where the members of your household or staff have to type in their unique passcode to enter the house, or security cameras that are activated to record when the sensor detects movement, you will be able to even more closely monitor what each notification means. For example, if the front door of your home is opened repeatedly over the course of a day, you can check footage or entry records to determine who is coming and going. Security is improved when you are able to have a better handle on who is on your property, where they are going, and when.

Other options for alarms and sensors are placing them in areas where you don’t want anyone to go. For example, you could place a sensor on your bedroom door when you have a service worker in your home, allowing you to receive a notification if they access an area of your home that you would prefer to keep off limits.

 

Hidden Cameras

Hidden cameras are an excellent tool for increasing the reach of your home security tools. Hidden cameras can be placed in areas of concern, such as on your front porch, facing your driveway, or monitoring rear entrances of the home that neighbors can’t see. If movement is detected from a delivery driver approaching your house or a trespasser snooping around your backdoor, you can have your hidden camera begin recording when the motion is detected and notify you of the activity.

A smart doorbell is also a beneficial tool for home security as it not only can be setup to record detected movement, it can also enable you to speak with the person who is at your door, no matter where you are. Smart doorbells enable two-way communication so you can speak with your guest and determine whether to open the door for them. The security boost offered by smart doorbells is that the person at the door does not know whether you are communicating with them from inside the house, from work, or from halfway around the world. If the person at your door is a would-be burglar, communicating directly with you and knowing that their image was captured on your hidden camera could be the keys to preventing them from breaking into your home.

Hidden cameras can work together with your other home security options, like alarms, sensors, and smart home devices, giving you a complete picture of what’s happening on your property while you’re away.

 

Assessing Your Home Security Situation

If you’re considering adding additional security to your home, you should begin by considering where your current home security comes short of your needs or expectations. Assess your current security situation to determine how you may be able to expand what you already have in place. Improving your home security can be as simple as adding a few extra security measures to eliminate your home’s vulnerabilities.

Want to learn more about how home automation tools can help improve your home security? Explore some of our other learning articles for more information.