Smart Home security is about two things: sensors, and connectivity. The correct sensors in the correct places connected the correct way combine to make not only the security system you’d want to keep the home safe and sound while you’re away (or asleep) but a system that can be responsive to family members as they move about during the day.

We might think of sensors as the eyes, ears, and nose of the house. Video cameras are typically the first, long-range line of defense, that can be triggered by motion even in the dark and often film in the dark. Modern cameras will usually have an audio feed available too. These can have other sensors and triggers too, like item left/item missing detection, line-crossing detection, and vehicle recognition. Outdoor motion detectors are another sensor that are often tied to flood lights or other external lighting. The light coming on can act as an alert to the homeowner that someone is approaching. It can help cameras see, and it lets the moving party know the homeowner is aware of their activity.

The next layer of sensors are the portals into the home – the windows and doors. Effectively, any opening big enough to enter the home through should be considered a portal. For most security, each one should have a sensor installed to allow the home to know whether it is open or shut. The home would consider itself “secure” when all portals are shut. If in an armed state, opening any portal usually triggers an alarm.

Motion detectors aimed at portals provide a second layer of defense. If the attacker breaks the window and enters without opening it, the sensor on the widow was useless. Aiming a motion detector at the window or door gives us a second opinion, a different set of eyes, so to speak, to evaluate the situation. Most homeowners are averse to cameras indoors, but a video camera can be just as effective here. 

For homeowners who’ve opted for persistent listeners in at least some rooms, they can be trained to listen for the sound of glass breaking and alert on it. In a perfect world, multi-layer security working together would: capture the intruder’s motion on video on their way to the home and potentially alert on that; capture the sound of the window breaking and alert on that, and confirm the intruder’s entry into the home with the internal motion detector. Additional motion detectors within the home would track the person’s movement through the household.

Within the home, multiple traps could be set to capture a veritable electronic signature of the intruder. If they were simple enough to leave their mobile device radios on, then using Near Field Transmission, BlueTooth, and WiFi, your Smart Home would be enticing the device to connect and leave behind a forensic trail of evidence for investigators to pursue.  

A wide array of sensors in strategic places is the way to secure a Smart Home from unwanted visitors. Connectivity is the other side of that coin. Starting with the cameras, ElectraPort recommends hardwired cameras wherever possible (especially for outdoors locations). While illegal, it is remarkably easy to get WiFi network jammers that would block the ability to record without local storage on the camera, and would block the ability to control the camera remotely to pan or zoom. A savvy criminal might be able to render WiFI useless in a small area around themselves and take out your security system. If the devices are hardwired, this trick won’t work. It might cost some more money, but we encourage you to not buy wireless sensors for windows and doors either, for the same reason. The home with hardwired sensors will be worth more (especially when cleanly wired and installed to your local code by an ElectraPort partner) than the one that’s set up with WiFi. Security is worth the extra expense, in our opinion.

Another type of sensor that isn’t so much on the crime prevention side but still counts for security are the type that detect temperature, smoke, and Carbon Monoxide/Dioxide, as well as those you might find in the basement detecting water. These all secure your home from excess damage, if possible. Smart smoke detectors can easily dispatch 9-1-1 on their own or alert you to make the call. We recommend smoke detectors in as many rooms as possible, to help with isolating the locations where smoke is present. Even just having a temperature sensor in each room can be an indicator of fire – if it’s 300 degrees in the bedroom, it’s probably not because we turned up the heat too high.

Getting all this fancy security installed is great, but what happens if someone actually tries to break in? It depends, of course. Having all that technology send you an email at 3am when you’re sleeping, or when you’re on a flight, is not that useful of a notification. But to send text or push notifications to the whole family might be enough. Otherwise, the system can be monitored by a provider who’ll notify you and your local 9-1-1 dispatch center simultaneously.

Security can be a big part of effective Smart Home strategy. Even when the system isn’t armed, the sensors can help the home know where your family members are so maybe only those rooms get HVAC services, or the lights are turned on in only those locations. The choices are endless. We hope you enjoy your Smart Home journey!