Sure you’ll come across a variety of industries that just seem to evolve at a rapid rate. You’ll come across some that have managed to beat any and all expectations that people had about them years ago. And one of those industries is the home security industry. It’s an industry that doesn’t sleep, and thanks to that, today we reap the benefits of smart home security systems that are simple and effective.
With that being said, it’s hard to grasp just how far smart tech has come over the years. Therefore, let’s take a look back and see what we’ve accomplished, so you know how much you should expect from the future (hint: quite a bit!).
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Smart Lights are Key
If you take a look at lights as an industry, regular, conventional lights seemingly don’t have much you can improve about them. There are no downsides to using them, and you won’t come across any big problems with them. But what we’ve realized in the past years is that we can use them for so much more than just getting a bit of light in our home.
The first “smart” thing about the lights was the timers that were implemented. They allowed you to turn on or off the lights at a scheduled time, which saved you a bit on electricity bills. Fast forward to today, you can control your lights from just about anywhere, using nothing but your smartphone and a working internet connection.
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And by “control”, we don’t just mean turn them on or off. We mean you can set up a complex and advanced schedule, you can set triggers that are basically motion sensors in your home, or a smart lock and video doorbell. You can change the color with some of them, too. And while this might seem like a convenience, and not a security thing, keep in mind that someone being at home is one of the major deterrents when a potential burglar is casing your place. And a light turning on in a room is an indicator of someone being home, more than enough to scare burglars away.
Apps and Alerts Keep Us in the Loop
Even though we did have apps years ago, it wasn’t until the App Store launched in 2008 that we got truly creative with them and started to take advantage of them as much as possible. And the home security industry jumped on the opportunity, too, so now we have apps that keep us in the loop.
To begin with, all of the smart home security systems are connected to the internet through your home network. This means that you can access them from pretty much anywhere you are and see what’s going on. You can see if your doors are locked or not, you can see if your lights are on or off, and you can even connect to your cameras and see what’s going on in your home. And even though this does show you what’s going on, pretty much on-demand, you’ve got another thing that’s even more important – alerts.
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Alerts can tell us that something is happening in a matter of seconds. Chances are you can’t really afford to constantly check your cameras and sensors, and that’s why you need a way for them to tell you when something is going on. Alerts are that way, and if anything happens, you’ll know within the minute. And while a few years ago they just let you know, today they do a lot more. They give you the ability to take control over the situation with a click or two, whether that’s notifying the authorities that someone is breaking into your home, or alerting your family that they should leave the house as soon as possible.
These apps and alerts work really well by themselves, but they truly excel when you’ve got a home automation system set up that has plenty of sensors and is connected to everything in your home. This kind of system doesn’t need much input on your end, and can basically react when it’s necessary, hence it’s known as a “smart” system.
Wrapping things up
With home security becoming smarter by the minute, and devices giving us unparalleled control over our entire home regardless of where we are, you can comfortably say that we have indeed come very far. This is also a pretty strong indicator of where things are going in the future, so we will only see these things improve, become smarter and more reliable, and require less user feedback. We live in exciting times, and it’s a great idea to get yourself a smart home security system and take full advantage of everything it offers!
