Crafty gizmos to outfox burglars
How high-tech can help you keep tabs on your home...
SO what about using modern technology to improve your personal security? top new gadgets can make safeguarding your home and possessions easier than ever.
You can now buy burglar alarms, cameras and even doorbells that let you monitor your home remotely. whether you’re at the shops, at work or even abroad, these devices connect to the internet so you can see what’s happening at home on your smartphone.
the images are beamed via an app so you can see the activity in real-time. and devices also notify you if there has been unusual movement in or around your house.
It’s a huge step forward in the battle against burglars. For years, home security has been typically limited to the local Neighbourhood watch scheme and a burglar alarm, which was activated if a door or window opened or movement was detected inside. there was CCtV, but it cost an arm and a leg.
More people are cottoning on to the latest gadgets which help them keep tabs on their home. Sales of smart home security products are up 103 per cent on last year at John Lewis alone. here, we look at the top options...
SECURITY CAMERAS
Cameras are affordable and easy to install, and security footage is all saved in a tiny black box, or even in the cloud — a virtual space for data. Jonathan Pass, at security devices website
safe.co.uk, says: ‘Smart security cameras are becoming very popular. Some connect wirelessly with your smartphone, while the more affordable options have a wired power source instead of a battery. You’ll pay more for kits that are wireless and easier to install.’
Mr Pass says that among the bestsellers in cameras are the CCtV kits from Swann, which cost between £119 and £1,199. he says: ‘Most people position cameras outside, but they can be used inside, too. they all connect to a box which is the brain of the kit and saves the footage in case you need to show it to police.’
For wireless cameras he recommends Netgear’s arlo Pro (£429-£749 on safe.co.uk) which comes with seven days of motion and audio-triggered recordings.
Some advanced cameras also have facial recognition features at a premium price, such as the Nest IQ (£329, johnlewis.com).
SMART ALARMS
these still sound at home if there’s a break- in, like the traditional alarms, but they also alert you via your phone. Mr Pass says a bestseller is the Yale Smart home alarm (£179-£399, safe.
co.uk) which is easy to install with wireless motion sensors.
he says: ‘ You can also buy accessories for the alarms such as a superior motion detector, which takes a picture or video of what triggered the alarm.
‘Or if you have CCtV, you can log into your camera app and see what’s happening for yourself.’
elsewhere, the Smart alarm (from £349, smartinstall.com) doesn’t require Wifi — good news for anyone who gets patchy broadband coverage.
Instead it uses a SIM card that can alert up to five phones when the alarm is triggered. that means you can set it to notify a neighbour or another family member if you’re on holiday or working away from your home.
REMOTE LOCKS
Traditional keys are history for those converting to smart locks which allow remote control of your front door.
the lock can be operated by your phone or used manually by punching in a code on the keypad or with a key card — like the ones used in hotels. Yale’s smart lock (from £117.28, yalestore.
co.uk) allows you to generate a one- off code to tradesmen so you don’t have to take time off work to let them in.
CONTROL LIGHTS
a dark home is potentially a vulnerable one. there are now lightbulbs that can be controlled by your smartphone, so you can turn lights on and off when you’re not at home as a deterrent to any potential intruders. Ikea has smart lights (from £29, ikea.com) which you control through an app, or a remote at home.
Specialist companies offer a bulbs that come with night vision, to help your security cameras see clearer in the dark. LIFX + bulbs (£79.99, uk.lifx.com) promise clearer images.
LIFX’s Marc alexander says: ‘ Lighting is important for enhancing cameras to help them see further. to an intruder the house looks like it’s in darkness, but you would get clear images from your camera using night vision lighting — it can see two or three times further.’
VIDEO DOORBELL
When these doorbells ring, so does your phone. there are two ‘ runaway successes’, says John Lewis smart home buyer katrina Mills.
ring (from £89, johnlewis.com) is a video doorbell with an in-built 180degree camera which is wi Fi enabled and triggered by pushing the bell or approaching the door. It then connects to your phone so you can talk to people at your door.
Installation involves mounting the camera and doorbell units and installing the ring app.
You can buy a video recording plan to access videos of your home surveillance any time, anywhere, and save them for up to 60 days. a newer model with higher quality video and better night vision is also available, typically costing £ 179 ( pictured left). another version is the Nest hello ( from £ 229, johnlewis. com). these won’t stop a determined burglar but might act as a deterrent and, if not, you could get images of them.
SMOKE ALARMS
Keeping a home safe isn’t just about protecting it from burglars. they need to be safe from fire and smoke, too. while standard smoke alarms can definitely be lifesavers, you can now go one step further with a smart smoke alarm.
It can speak to tell you what the problem is, and, if you’re out, it will send you a notification to your phone. Nest Protect (from £99, john lewis.com) has an industrial grade smoke sensor, can be silenced from your phone and even tests itself automatically to check it’s working.
water leak detection technology can also prove incredibly useful, allowing householders to monitor and detect leaks sooner, thereby reducing damage.
LeakBot (£ 149, leakbot. io) connects to your phone and alerts you to hidden leaks. It works by testing the temperature of water, which cools if there is a hole in a pipe.