Sunday 1 May 2016
It wasn’t so long ago that when an intruder broke into a home, the homesecurity system would sound an alarm. If it was a monitored system, the central
station would call the police to report the intrusion. This assumes, of course,
that you armed the system, the batteries were still good and the intruder
wasn’t quick enough to disable the system before it sounded the alarm or dialed
the central station.
The revolution brought on by wireless technologies, smart phones, and mobile apps have changed all of that. Today, home security systems can still sound alarms, but are much more difficult to forget about or foil. A software-supported security system can send you a text message every time a door or window is opened, whether you’ve armed it or not. It can stream live video or send still images of what’s happening in your garage, living room, backyard or wherever you deploy a security camera. You can even be alerted before the break-in, the moment the burglar pulls into the driveway!
And that’s not all. Home security has teamed up with home automation so the same interactive service can give your home the appearance that someone is home. Lights, TVs and radios can be turned on and off at random intervals, or according to the schedule you choose. Even motorized blinds can be raised or lowered upon your command.
