There are a lot of things that go into a good security plan, and trying to deal with all of them at the same time you’re planning a trip can feel like too much to handle. However, the process can be made to be relatively stress-free with the following “Tips For Monitoring House While On Vacation“.
Monitoring House While On Vacation
- Security Systems: A home security system is simply a collection of electronic parts that work together to monitor your home. These parts work together to keep your home safe from things like fires, floods, and people breaking in. Having a security system makes it much simpler to monitor your residence while you are away on vacation.
- Smart Lighting: The software in smart LED bulbs connects to an app, smart home assistant, or other smart accessory, allowing you to remotely control or automate your lights. As a theft deterrent, many smart bulbs offer a “vacation mode” that randomly turns the lights on and off to resemble the homeowner’s normal behavior.
When paired with security cameras, security lights work especially well. Even if you are hundreds of miles away in a hotel room, cameras connected to security apps let you see exactly what’s going on at your house, despite the fact that lights can startle potential intruders. You can call the police to stop an alarm if you are notified that one has gone off.
READ: Smart Home Safety – The Most Popular Technologies That Protect Our Lives
Consider the IP rating of your cameras. A camera’s IP rating tells you exactly what kind of weather it can handle. You don’t want a random thunderstorm to cause you to lose your video feed. Outdoor cameras need ratings of 65. They are dust-tight and capable of withstanding water discharged from a nozzle at that level. However, you can purchase cameras with ratings up to 68 for even greater security. They are resistant to dust, dirt, and sand at that level, and they can even be submerged for thirty minutes in water up to 1.5 meters deep.
- Install a Video Doorbell: These amusing little devices are also extremely helpful for enhancing home security. You can see who is ringing your doorbell from anywhere in the world with smart video doorbells.
You will receive an alert on your mobile device, and you will be able to speak with the visitor in real time. You can instruct them to leave a package in the back or to return later, whichever works best for you.
Some even accompanied movement sensor locators that will caution you when somebody is sticking around your entryway patio, and assuming you lose phone inclusion, you can in any case find the video cuts later. If you need to report a crime upon your return, the footage they record can be very helpful, and it can also be given to the police for further investigation.
Also, when your door is opened, alerts are sent to you by door sensors that work with magnetic circuits; window sensors, like those for doors, let you know when a window’s seal has been broken; the two types of glass-break sensors detect when someone breaks a window at your house, either one will let you know; Put up a sticker or yard sign with the alarm company’s logo. A thief will know that attempting to rob a house will be more trouble than it is worth.
- Tell a trusted person: If you have a trusted friend, family member, or neighbor, ask them to visit your house on a regular basis to ensure that everything is in order. This will help you keep your home safe while you are away. They should be able to enter the building to check all of the back doors, windows, and other entrances once in a while.
- Let the Police Know: In order to frighten away any potential criminals, they may occasionally send patrols throughout the neighborhood. Although it is not guaranteed, it may be able to take care of the house while you are away.
- Put a Respite on Your Mail Conveyances: A spilling over mail is a certain indication of a vacant property. You could have a trusted friend or neighbor drop by to pick up your letters and any junk mail while you are away, but only if you think they are trustworthy.
Alternately, you can request that your mail defer arrival for a short time until you return. You can do this from the comfort of your own home by merely visiting the USPS website and completing an online short form. They will hold your mail until you return and prevent it from being delivered to your address.
Also stop whatever other customary conveyances that you get (counting month to month memberships) if you are going on vacation.
- Don’t Put the Key under the Rock: It’s a long-standing custom to put a spare key under a rock or above a window but you shouldn’t do it while you’re on vacation. If your key is hidden outside, you can bet that burglars will find it before you return because they know where to look for keys the best. Make sure to lock all of your spare keys inside and collect them all. Leave a spare key with anyone who needs to enter the property while you are gone.
Turn your phone into a Home Security Camera
The transformation of an old phone into a home security camera is one of the most useful ways to repurpose it. It’s a low-cost way to watch over your home when you’re not there.
Furthermore, setting it up is not hard. Simply:
Install a security camera app on your old phone. First, get a security camera app for your phone. Most apps provide many of the same features such as motion detection and alerts, local streaming, recording and storing footage locally or remotely, and cloud streaming. Once everything is set up, you can use your new phone to control your security camera and monitor your home from anywhere.
Alfred is one of the best apps for turning your phone into a security camera. It does not matter if your previous phone was an Android or iPhone because it is cross-platform. The same is true for your brand-new phone.
Alfred gives you access to both the front and rear cameras, a two-way audio feed, motion detection with alerts, free cloud storage, and a remote view of your live feed. You can upgrade to Alfred Premium to gain access to additional features like zoom capabilities, higher-resolution viewing and recording, ad removal, and cloud storage for thirty days.
- Install Alfred (Android, iOS) on your current and previous smartphones, as well as any tablets you intend to use.
- Swipe through the introduction on the new phone before tapping Start. Tap Next after selecting Viewer.
- Click Sign in with Google to sign in with your Google account credentials when you arrive at the sign-in page (a Google account is required).
- On the old phone, follow the same steps but select Camera instead of Viewer. Also, make sure you use the same Google account to log in.
You will have completed the setup once both phones have been signed in to Alfred. Alfred has restricted the camera’s settings to a select few. On iOS, the only options are to enable or disable audio, select between the front and rear cameras, and enable or disable motion detection. You can set a resolution, enable a passcode lock, enable continuous focus, and have Alfred automatically reopen if the phone reboots if you are using an Android device.
You can change a few more settings from your new phone such as whether or not to turn on notifications, set a camera or viewer name, remove a camera, check how many times a camera has disconnected, adjust the sensitivity for motion detection, and enable a low-light filter on cameras. You can also add other people to your Trust Circle which gives them access to your video feeds.
Even though Alfred is a good choice, there are other options as well. If you want more features, Manything, Salient Eye, and Presence are all good free options with affordable subscription plans.
Also, IP Webcam is one of the most well-liked Android-only choices.
READ: What Is A Family Emergency Plan
After you have established the stream, you will need to set up and position the phone security camera. You might want it to focus on the main entrance to your house, your backyard, where you store valuables, or a place you think might be especially vulnerable. An IP camera can also be used as a baby monitor.
You can set up multiple cameras to provide fairly extensive video coverage if you have multiple old phones you are not currently using.
