What is smart home security and why do we need it?
Smart home security offers better protection to families and their assets with the latest technology and solutions. For security installers, it provides new opportunities to enhance their customer experience, helping people feel even more secure.
So many parts of our homes have become smarter in recent years. Smart speakers allow us to stream music, add items to our shopping list, and will even teach us foreign languages. Household appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, and even lightbulbs have been made smart. So, what does smart home security actually mean?
Traditional security systems such as intruder alarm systems have protected our homes for decades. Sales of home CCTV systems have also soared as the technology and availability of high-quality solutions have become more affordable.
When we talk about smart home security, we are referring to systems that can be connected (usually wirelessly) to other systems in our homes. They usually offer multiple functions, like automated arming/disarming, and can be managed with the help of software on phones and/or computers.
With a smart home security system, homeowners enjoy easier access to control the protection of their homes, with better technology that ultimately helps them, and their families feel safer. The technology has also evolved to make smart home security the most cost-effective safety solution for many homeowners.
You may be wondering, “If security equipment like CCTV is now more affordable and becoming more popular, why do we need more advanced security systems?”
Despite certain home security equipment being more widely available, the risk of threats against UK homes continues to be a real concern. According to the Office for National Statistics, a burglary occurs every 106 seconds and costs the average UK household around three-thousand pounds. Furthermore, more than half of burglaries occur when somebody is in the house – which suggests thieves are becoming more brazen in their attempts to enter and steal from residential properties.
The bottom line is homeowners need greater protection than ever before and better coverage of what’s happening in their homes whenever and wherever they are. This is made possible with smart home security and we’ll explain how next.
What are the benefits of smart home security?
Smart home security offers a host of benefits to homeowners and choosing the right solution will depend on what their unique needs are. We’ll cover the main benefits that tackle the most popular needs homeowners have shared when searching for the right security system in this article. Remember, this is not an extensive list and one of the main benefits of smart home security technology is that it is constantly evolving.
Now, we can dig deeper into learning about the main benefits of smart home security, starting with the protection it offers.
CCTV and intruder alarms that you can always monitor
Residential CCTV systems have advanced so much in recent years. Not only has the performance improved – High-Definition quality images now come as standard with most quality systems – they now run on simple software that can be accessed on your laptop or mobile phone.
Homeowners with smart home security installed can now monitor live or recorded footage from their CCTV systems straight from their mobile phone using a simple app like Alarm.com. Better still, smart home security systems can automatically start recording footage when an intruder is detected and send it with an alert to the owner right away, while the crime is still in progress.
With traditional CCTV systems, victims would have to wait until they got a nasty surprise when they returned home. They would then need to review all the CCTV footage from that day to find the evidence of the burglary, hours, and maybe even days after the incident.
The same could also be said if an intruder alarm is triggered. As soon as an intruder is detected, the system will send the owner an instant alert so they can quickly take action in calling the police. Smart home security has helped homeowners and the police dramatically reduce their response times.
The peace of mind smart home security provides homeowners can be priceless, as they will never need to wonder what is happening in their homes again.
This technology has opened doors for homeowners to be able to outsource their security system monitoring completely. At Southern & Northern Monitoring Services, we monitor over 100,000 devices in the UK and can provide 24/7 remote monitoring for any home in the UK. Click here to find out more about our remote monitoring and remote security management services.
Residential security that thinks for itself
One of the great benefits of smart technology is its ability to think for itself and run certain functions autonomously. Smart home security is no different, many systems can be pre-programmed to arm/disarm, run system health-checks and send reminders to users automatically.
This saves homeowners time and can save a lot of stress, especially when we consider that most people are busier than ever and generally aren’t security experts! The addition of simple software to manage their smart home security systems makes managing them even easier. With a system like Alarm.com, they can view everything in one workspace on their mobile phone or laptop.
Imagine you’re running late for work and you leave the house in a rush, only to get 10 minutes down the road before you realise you’ve forgotten to arm your intruder alarm. Wouldn’t it be great if you could quickly open the app on your mobile and switch it on as soon as it’s safe to do so? Those are the kind of everyday problems that smart home security solves.
It can also save homeowners money by sending a notification when repairs or general maintenance are required. These can be quickly resolved to minimise the downtime of your systems and keep them running for as long as possible. It can also reduce unnecessary callouts for security technicians and as we all know, time is money!
Check out this video below to learn more about our smart security partner Alarm.com. You’ll see how easy security management can be for homeowners with smart home security.
Securing relatives from a distance
If you can monitor your own security remotely and service providers like Southern & Northern Monitoring can as well, then can smart home security help you protect other family members, such as elderly relatives, who live elsewhere? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
So long as the right smart home equipment such as intruder alarms and CCTV cameras are installed, anybody who is authorised to do so can access those systems remotely using the app or web-based software. This means you could add a layer of protection and peace of mind for relatives who may potentially otherwise be vulnerable.
How smart home security helps installers
We’ve established that smart home security can offer homeowners a solution that provides; better protection for their homes and their families, 24/7 coverage of their security that is available wherever they are, simple tools to manage their security and their home, and systems that are built to think and look after themselves.
Now that you know what’s possible, you can plan to amplify your customer experience and gain an edge on your competitors with smart home security. Southern & Northern Monitoring Services can provide the technical support you need, and we are proud to be partnered with Alarm.com, which is a leading smart home security application.
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We also offer a wide range of security solutions for homes and businesses, such as guard replacement, CCTV, personal safety, fire detection, and intruder alarm monitoring.