Door and motion sensors provide a little peace of mind, as do cameras that track outdoor activity. Thieves are going for houses that are not secured. The easiest path is what burglars go for.
If home security systems were once a luxury, improvements in technology and increasing competition in the electronics market have made home security cameras and other devices available to just about anyone. NPD Group data shows that sales of home security devices are skyrocketing.
In the United States from May 2017 to May 2018, sales of smart doorbells increased 147 percent and sales of home security system kits rose 190 percent, according to NPD’s Retail Tracking Service.
Getting started
Experts at Consumer Reports test and rate products that homeowners and renters can install themselves. Advances in camera quality and internet speed enabled an explosion in the home automation/electronics market — and the products improve greatly with every new generation.
Daniel Wroclawski, home staff writer at Consumer Reports, said his organization tests products like smart doorbells and cameras, and they’re just beginning.
Wroclawski and others touted smart doorlocks as a good investment and a way to control who gets in your home and when they get in, allowing homeowners to set codes for different people at different times.
For example, if you have a maid who arrives at your home on a regular basis and stays a consistent period of time, you can give that person a code and a time frame for coming and going. You then get alerts on your smartphone when the person enters or exits your home.
Your whole home
Home security has evolved to be just one part of whole-home automation, especially in new-home construction, when it’s easier to hardwire everything into your home.
There’s a lot of DIY stuff you can do on your own, but you can end up with five apps to control your home and no one wants that.
DIY kits on the market can replace those services but leave you monitoring activity yourself, from a laptop, tablet or smart phone. Depending on how tech savvy you are and how much time you have.
Even insurance companies see the value in home security. Firms such as State Farm offer discounts of up to 10 percent on monthly premiums to those with traditional security systems.
“We definitely see it as a way to impact everything from reporting home theft to reacting to fire. Everyone leads busy lives, and we’re out and about more often than ever. To have that resource not only allows for peace of mind but has also significantly reduced insurance claims,” said Heather Paul, a public affairs specialist at State Farm.
In new-home construction, wiring for smart home features such as security cameras and monitoring is the new standard.
The future
The biggest revolution in the next few years will be when 5G becomes available. Most of our phones are on a 4G network; as the number goes up, so does the strength of the signal and ability to access data of improved internet signals set to start rolling out in 2019.
Contact a BSG expert today to learn more 855-MYSMARTHOME
