25,000 years ago, cavemen got the bright idea to combine mud, reeds, stones, and mammoth bones to build the first houses. Round houses emerged around 8,000 years ago, which allowed our ancestors to safely heat their homes with a fire in the middle of the room. From that point on, humankind has been relentlessly making improvements to increase safety and comfort inside the home. Smart home technology is the evolution of those efforts and helps take a home’s comfort and security to the next level.
Why Security Companies Offer Smart Home Technology
It’s possible to get smart home technology from your cable company or the local home improvement store. There are also a variety of DIY smart home systems on the market. So why hire a security company to install smart home technology like the equipment offered by Honeywell or Alarm.com? Smart home technology is just a piece of the puzzle. There are vulnerabilities related to fire and break-ins that smart home technology can’t protect against.
When Does a Traditional Security System Trump Smart Home Technology?
If your house is on fire or your home is being broken into, you’ll want a traditional alarm system connected to a monitoring stations capable of reporting these dangers to local authorities. Having an alert pop up on your cell phone that tells you your house is on fire, doesn’t do you much good if you’re having a fun day at the beach, in an important meeting, or your phone is out of battery power. While some of this risk can be mitigated by setting up several users to receive alerts, is it really worth putting the safety of your family in the hands of you having your phone on you at all times?
Are Smart Homes Safer?
Despite the fact that we recommend prioritizing a traditional home security system over smart home technology, we feel that adding this technology can make your home safer. Take these two scenarios for example:
Scenario #1 without Smart Home Tech: You come home to a dark house and fumble with the keys at the door. You hear a bump upstairs as you enter the house, and hope it’s just the cat.
Scenario #2 with Smart Home Tech: You flip on interior and exterior lights as you pull up to the driveway. You unlock the door with a click of a button for a seamless entry. As you walk in, you hear something upstairs. You quickly pull up a live video and see the cat knocked over a lamp in the hallway.
Would you rather be the one fumbling in the dark to unlock the front door? Or does being able to quickly enter a well-lit home seem safer to you? In addition, you can set up your phone to receive alerts that tell you when kids have arrived home safely from school, that an oven was left on, or that the garage door has been left open. You can even shut the garage door or turn off an appliance with a click of a button from your phone. Above all, smart home technology empowers users to get a better handle over what’s happening in their home, prevent potential dangers, and lessen unnecessary exposure, and we believe these features can help to make a home safer.
How Are Smart Homes More Comfortable?
Besides the safety features, smart home technology can make your home more comfortable, help you reduce energy consumption (sometimes by as much as 10-30%), and in general make life easier. Imagine not having to come home from work or leave a key under the mat to let a trusted workman or maid in the front door? Ever hear, “honey, did you shut the garage door?” Not only can you check this without having to slumber down the stairs, but you can fix the problem without having to leave the comfort of your bed.
The Evolution of Smart Home Technology
From vacuum cleaners that clean a room by themselves to smart toothbrushes that collect critical brushing data, smart technology is a part of our lives and it’s here to stay. Ultimately this technology is designed to make life easier, so enjoy it! Contact us if you’d like to learn more about the cost of setting up remote home automation features like locks, thermostat, video, or security features in your home.
Looking to bring your home into the future? The security experts at Butler Durrell can work with you to determine a system to fit your lifestyle and budget.
