For many of us, a holiday is a highlight of the year and something we look forward to for months. The excitement can also come with its fair share of planning, organisation and stress, but does it have to be this way?
With a few clever tricks, you can leave the house worry free to enjoy your trip and focus on your holiday. In this post, we’ll reveal smart home hacks for you to rest easy when you’re away to have the holiday you dreamt of.
Keep An Eye On Your Home With Smart Security Cameras
By investing in a good camera system, you can see exactly what’s happening at home from anywhere in the world. With motion detection, night vision, two-way audio and cloud storage, you can literally be sat on a beach and still see and hear who is at your home.
Some cameras have powerful built in lights and even sirens to ward off unwelcome visitors too. Mix that with AI driven object detection and facial recognition and you can get yourself a powerful security network for a fraction of the price it cost just a few years ago. This means you only get notifications of people that aren’t recognised and not that cheeky fox that’s always hanging around at 2am.
Secure Your Home With Smart Door Locks
Have you ever left the house and couldn’t remember if you locked the door? Not the best start for your holiday if you’re already worrying if your home has been left open. With a smart door lock, you can easily check if your front door is locked from anywhere in the world and even lock or unlock it too.
This means a cleaner, house sitter or pet minder can still visit while you’re away. You can relax knowing that everything is still being looked after, meaning you come home without a worry in sight. You can even assign individual access to see who has been and exactly when they were there.
Lastly, a smart lock can recognise when you’re getting close and automatically unlock when you’re nearby. When you get home from your holiday with suitcases and bags everywhere, it’s easy to forget where you packed the keys. Imagine getting home after a long day of travelling, bags in hand and you just walk through the front door and crash out on the sofa. (Don’t worry, the door auto-locked itself behind you).
Create a Lived In Look With Smart Home Tech
Apparently, mockupancy is a real word, we checked. Essentially, you can make it appear as if you are home by using smart lights, scheduling and routines.
This is more than just a plug in timer, we’re talking lights that come on at sunset, blinds that close themselves, then lights that can turn off randomly between preset times. All set up to make it look like you’re there to deter any unwanted visitors.
Smart plugs can turn things on and off too and you can even get smart devices that turn ‘dumb’ products into smarter ones. A well designed smart home can make your home look occupied at all times, giving you further peace of mind when you’re away.
Keep the Temperature in Check
When you’re away, it's important to manage your heating correctly so you can either benefit from some savings on your bills, or maintain a comfortable temperature for your pets. Also, if the temperature is wrong, pets will suffer and your pipes could freeze, causing significant damage.
With a smart thermostat or thermostatic radiator valves, you can monitor the temperature in your home at all times from anywhere in the world. This means you can drop the temperature down to minimise usage, but ensure the pipes don’t freeze as well. You can also turn your heat back up before you get home, meaning you arrive home to comfort.
You can step off a plane, freezing after an amazing, warm, winter getaway, knowing you’ll still come home to comfort. When the heat has been low for too long in the winter, the bones of your house are cold and it can take days for it to go back to normal. Set a reminder 24-48 hours before you arrive home, then bump the heat back up and relax.
So Many Sensors
There are many additional sensors you can add to your home which are affordable and simple to use, providing an extra layer of protection.
Motion Sensors
For security, a smart alarm system will allow you to secure your home and will alert you if anybody enters when you’re not there. Motion sensors can even be used to turn on lights outside or inside, activate smart plugs, or play sound or music on a smart speaker.
Contact/Vibration Sensors
You can use contact sensors to let you know if any doors or windows are opened too and vibration sensors to let you know if a window or a door has been forced open. An essential element for home security and your first defence against break-ins.
Leak Sensors
A leak sensor can be added under a sink, near a boiler, toilet or dishwasher to alert you in real time if any water is detected. This means you can act quickly to minimise damage and get somebody to help when you’re away (you can let them in with your smart door lock). There are even options that can be installed into your mains water that automatically shut off your supply even if it detects a micro leak.
Smoke and CO Sensors
Lastly, smart smoke and CO detectors can alert you to fire or carbon monoxide so that you can act quickly to minimise damage.
Will Your Holiday Be Better?
Smart home products have come a long way from their humble beginnings and are more affordable than ever. While the super rich have been taking advantage of this technology for years, it’s finally available to the masses and can potentially make a big difference if something were to happen while you’re on holiday.
The best part of having a well designed smart home is that it will improve your life while you’re home too. Who wouldn’t want their front door to automatically unlock when they approach, or lights come on at the perfect time, blinds closing themselves, or the temperature always matching your requirements, while still saving you money by optimising your usage?
The next time you go away for holiday or on business, you could relax more and worry less, knowing that your home is being monitored, while maintaining a look of being lived in. With a few simple changes, you next holiday could be better than you ever imagined!
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email info@smartstart.uk.com
phone 0333 335 5503
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