Whether you don’t have your smart home system installed yet, or you have one and aren’t yet leveraging its full potential, we’re highlighting the benefits of a monitored smart home system and how to take advantage of its functionalities.
What is a monitored smart home system?
There are smart home systems that aren’t monitored. That’s the difference. A monitored smart home system allows the user to see and manage their home when they’re away, or even when they're in bed and don’t want to walk downstairs to lock the doors and turn off the lights.
A smart home system allows you to automate your home, scheduling actions to meet your family’s needs, such as locking and unlocking doors, turning on the heat, turning on the outside lights, and more. Automations are fine-tuned to you and your family’s habits. A monitored system ensures you can keep tabs on these triggers and be alerted should anything outside the ordinary happen.
The benefits of home security systems
Deter burglary
Home invasion rates are rising in Canada. However, homes with visible smart home systems are less likely to be victims of these crimes. Not only are others less likely to infringe on a home when they can see a smart home system, but you’ll also have the evidence, security, visibility, and foresight to any activity. A monitored smart home system might even make your neighborhood safer since cameras and sensors will generally detect more than what’s in their immediate surroundings.
Remote home control
When a smart home system is monitored, it means the owner and admins can see what’s happening in and around their homes and make decisions accordingly. For example, if your kids are returning from school, you can unlock the doors to let them in and lock them behind them.Â
You can also see when someone comes in through the garage and ensure it closes behind them. These automatic functions can also be automated for a hands-off approach. Or, the thermostat can be turned on when you’re about to return from a long trip and want the house heated before your arrival. Or, you can set your lights to turn on and off at different intervals to make it look like someone’s home when you’re away.
Notifications of home issues
When you’re not home, the house is either empty, or there are people and/or pets within that aren’t capable or knowledgeable enough to take care of the home should something occur. In either case, a smart home system will alert you if something happens requiring your attention. For example, if smoke is detected, if there’s a leak in the house, or if there’s gas. The smart home system will have to be integrated into these parts of the home for these alerts (smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, etc.). If pets or family members are home, you can keep the right temperature, and safety measures are implemented.
Lower home insurance premiums
Home insurance premiums are based on a few factors, including whether or not the home is outfitted with a security system. Many insurance providers will offer a discount between
5 percent and 20 percent for a home with a smart home system. Packages with more capabilities that will help protect the home from fires and water damage will lead to a bigger discount.
The initial incentive to purchase a smart home system is likely additional security and home automation. However, monthly savings are certainly another one of the benefits of home security systems.
Evidence for insurance
While smart home systems deter crime and help interfere with accidents before they become too severe, there are exceptions. If something happens while you’re away from home, such as a burglary or a fire, the system will have video footage and analytics that can serve as evidence to support an insurance claim.
In such cases, a homeowner might have staged a burglary or started the fire for an insurance payout. However, with a smart home system, the evidence will be concrete with the installed cameras and sensors. This evidence will help in getting approval, as well as getting the most you can to cover the cost of the loss.
Additionally, monitored systems will alert you to any problems so you can call emergency services if necessary, as soon as a problem begins. Cameras will also record anyone that may have been involved in a burglary which will help police detain them.
Energy saving
Smart home systems help automate your home. This means you can set timers and triggers for many aspects of your home that will save on energy bills. For example, turn the lighting off when a room is empty, turn off the thermostat when no one is home, and close garage doors to manage your home’s temperature.
Protection for kids and pets
It’s impossible to be around your children and pets 24/7 but with a smart home system, it’s not impossible to always keep tabs on them. One of the benefits of home security systems is the peace of mind you can have knowing how your children and pets are doing. You’ll see if a pet is misbehaving, if your adolescent and their friends are safe, or if anyone is out by the pool (if you have one), and more.
Tailoring the system to suit you
Not every home is the same. Not everyone has a pet to watch, a grandmother to care for, a pool to monitor, or a large family to keep tabs on. That’s why it’s important to tailor a smart home system to match your needs. Choose the actions and triggers that need to happen in your home and create a safe space where you and your loved ones can feel confident. Get started today.