Home Automation and Security: A Match Made in Heaven?

If you want a way to keep your family safe, impress your guests, and increase the value of your home, then a combination automation and security system may be the perfect upgrade. It's easy to associate home security systems with simple front door or window alarms, but they can do so much more. Even better, many can integrate shockingly well with modern smart devices.

Options for pairing home security and automation systems are so many and varied that it may feel overwhelming at first. Luckily, you can break most of this technology down into a few straightforward categories.

Home Surveillance Integration

The most straightforward way to bulk up a traditional home security system is with smart cameras for home and property surveillance. You can purchase modern smart cameras for many purposes, including indoor and outdoor surveillance. Unsurprisingly, outdoor cameras tend to be more robust and durable, while indoor-only cameras tend to be more affordable.

The sky is the limit when it comes to adding cameras to a security system, but you should consider covering a few critical locations. For indoor cameras, you should cover high-risk entry points such as your front door or large ground-level windows. Outdoor cameras are better suited to covering approach angles, such as your driveway or front porch.

There are also many reasons why you may want to choose a smart camera over a traditional CCTV camera. Smart cameras offer features such as motion detection, automatic cloud backups, and remote access. These features allow you to automate most camera management tasks and access security feeds from your home even when you are away.

Whole House Monitoring

Your security system can do more than just help to protect your home against burglars. In addition to providing surveillance for intruders, smart sensors can also offer protection against a variety of other threats. From carbon monoxide to plumbing leaks, you can choose from a wide array of intelligent devices that can help to prevent costly damage to your home.

Smart smoke detectors are one of the most straightforward options for adding connected home monitoring to your security system. These devices can send an alert to your phone when they detect smoke, often even identifying the level and location of the threat. Depending on your security setup, these alerts can also automatically inform the fire department of the issue.

If you're looking for even more thorough monitoring, then plenty of additional options are available. For example, water leak detectors can help to alert you to plumbing problems long before your basement floods. Some of these devices can even be connected to smart valves to automatically shut off your home's water in the event of a significant issue.

Full Security and Home Automation

Adding smart features to your home security system opens up an incredible world of possibilities. If your home uses smart lights, then you can assign these to trigger under specific circumstances automatically. Turning on lights throughout the house when an intruder is detected can be a powerful deterrent, and bright or flashing lights can help to alert you in the event of a fire or other emergency.

If you have connected smart cameras, then you can also trigger a variety of events when motion is detected. Activating all exterior floodlights when any camera detects motion can be an excellent way to frighten away potential intruders while also allowing your cameras a clearer picture of the situation. Linking these devices to your phone even makes it easier to manage and control them.

Whatever your home security or automation goals, Coastal Burglar Alarm can help you to realize them. Contact us today to discuss the best options for your home.