Remote Monitoring: Peace of Mind on Your Next Vacation

July 21, 2014

This post comes to us from Lisa Montgomery, Senior Editor at Electronic House and freelance home technology writer.

You’ve hit the road with the family for the annual summer vacation. You can’t help but feel apprehensive about the well-being of your house and property while you’re away. Thanks to innovative home technology, your worries can be over. Equipped with Internet-friendly surveillance cameras and a control system, your house can keep you apprised of everything from a busted pipe in the basement and trespassers in the backyard, to the status of the thermostats and light switches. All you need with you is your smartphone with a WiFi or 3G/4G connection, and you can monitor and manage your home from miles away as easily as if you were there.

An automation system and surveillance cameras can be set up to alert you to certain conditions via a text or email message. From your phone you can log into the system to confirm the validity of the alert, and better yet, respond appropriately to it. For example, if your system has texted “Motion at the front door,” you can access the outdoor surveillance camera and view the front door remotely on the screen of your touch screen. If you see that it’s a friend who has stopped by to pick up your mail, you can unlock the door to let him/her in, then lock it back up after they leave. Should you see the weather back home has become outrageously hot and dry, you can tap into your home control system remotely to adjust the thermostats to protect the plants and activate the sprinkler system to keep the grass healthy and green during your absence.

With remote access to the electronic systems in your house, you’ll have the peace of mind to truly relax during your well-deserved vacation. So grab a towel, sunscreen and your smartphone and hit the beach. Your automation system and linked-in surveillance cameras have everything under control back home.

Check out how this killer vacation pad in Bal Harbour, Florida, is outfitted with home technology to allow the owner to check in, at any time, from his primary residence in France: The French Connection