Author: GuardMe Security

When most people think of home automation, they think of the advantages such as convenience and saving time, energy, and money. While those are real advantages, for families with individuals with special needs or physical limitations, home automation can mean much more. In some cases, it can even be a game changing and lifesaving difference.

There are 57 million Americans with disabilities, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities and many more Americans with diminished abilities due to aging. Home automation has the ability let individuals live more independently, safely, and comfortably in ways easy to take for granted.

Home Automation is the Ultimate Assistive Technology

Everyday living can have many hurdles when you are living with any form of disability. The ability to reach or easily maneuver switches is something many of us take for granted. When those tasks become difficult or even impossible, home automation can serve as an incredible solution. Where barriers exist such as mobility issues, having centralized access to home controls from a mobile device can help prevent falls.

Forget Forgetting

As we age, our memory fails us sometimes. Unfortunately, forgetting some things, such as shutting off the oven, is not only dangerous but can lead to injury or death. With home automation, loved ones can receive alerts, and tap into the home automation system and turn off appliances remotely. Loved ones can also make sure the doors are locked at night or receive alerts if doors or windows are opened.

Sensitivity to Sensory Issues

Sensory processing disorders such as Autism cause individuals to experience things like noise and lighting differently, and too much of either can cause discomfort. By setting lights and controlling the use of noisy appliances or technologies you can make the home sensitive to those with sensory processing disorders.

Support for Developmental Disabilities

Supporting and managing independence of a loved one with limitations can be difficult. While it is important to support as much independence as possible, it is just as important to make sure that loved ones are safe and able to manage important tasks. Home automation can stand in the gap with temperature controls, automatic shut off, and the ability to check in to security camera feeds to make sure that all is okay without being invasive.

The goal for all of us is to function as fluidly as possible in life. Home automation technologies can be a powerful tool for success for any of us, no matter our ability or limitation. If you would like more information on how home automation can help, give GuardMe a call. We have been family owned and operated for 20 years and care about the community because it is our community, too.

Being a new mom, or being a veteran mom with a newborn can be a real challenge. Having a baby is a joyous occasion, but it is also a time filled with sleep deprivation and pressures of adjusting all of the rest of life to accommodate and adapt to this new life. For sure, it can be overwhelming.
No matter how rocky things are going in the moment, rest assured there are helps that can help manage even the toughest days. Some of the best help can come from an unlikely source, home automation.
Home automation can provide incredible help, as well as peace of mind for the new parent. Here are just a few of the many ways you can get life back under control.

Smart Doorbell

Smart doorbells are a boon to new parents. No sooner do you get the baby to sleep than they are awakened by the doorbell, and commence with another three-hour marathon cry. Or you have your hands full feeding or changing baby but there is someone at the door. Yeah, we know. Perfect. Rather than letting the doorbell wake the baby yet again, or trying to figure out what to do first- doorbell or diaper—you can use smart technology to manage it all. Just set the doorbell to silent during naptime and view and talk to the visitor via your smart phone or tablet to decide whether it is something than needs addressing then or later.

Avoid the Doorbell with Smarter Front Door Locks

Naturally, when you have a new baby everyone in the family wants to come over and visit—a lot. This can create its own sort of chaos every time you need to stop and let people in or try to sync schedules so you are home to open the door for their arrival. Without passing out a dozen keys, what should you do? Employ the help of your smart lock. Smart locks allow you to create unique codes for your guests so they can unlock the door without a key, and without disturbing the parental precision it takes to manage life with a newborn.

A Smart Thermostat

Newborns can’t regulate temperature, which can be a real worry for parents. When they get to warm or too cold they become uncomfortable and can’t sleep. The best way to solve this (and provide yourself some peace of mind) is to use a remote temperature sensor in the baby’s room which can allow you to keep the room at the perfect temperature.

The Ability to Check

Check what? Oh, you know—everything. As a new parent, it is pretty hard to relax and not worry about the details of life that keep the baby safe. Is the door locked? Is the baby asleep? Can anyone get through the window? Who is at the door? Is the alarm enabled? With your app, you can do it all from your smart phone and then just relax and enjoy the baby.

Guardme Security opened its doors with one goal in mind; to provide custom home security systems designed based entirely on the needs of the client. Our affordable technology connects all of the key devices in your home with your smart phone and tablet. For more information about home automation and home and life security technologies, please call us today.

We all love smart technologies, especially when they are applied to home security and automation. But have you ever wondered just how “smart” you can make something as simple as your front door? If not, you should stop and give it some thought because it is actually pretty incredible.

Security Superpower

Modern security technologies give you control and visibility over your home and when applied to the home’s main access point, the front door, it’s like having all of the tools of a superhero at your disposal to combat crime, or just help you decide whether or not you want to answer the door! Here are the cool tools that make your door smart:

Video Doorbell Provide Intel

A video doorbell is the eyes and ears of your front door security. As soon as someone comes to the door, you can see who is there immediately, and can either address them through the two-way communication via the doorbell speaker and your smartphone, decide to open the door, or open the door remotely to let them in. Since you can answer the door remotely, you never have to disclose that you aren’t home.

Since the doorbell is also a camera, you can also record and review video so you can identify suspicious activity.

Smart Locks, Rock

Forget under the mat, in the flowerpot, or in a fake rock. Having hidden keys or extra keys floating around is a huge risk. Smart locks make your front door as strong as the Man of Steel, and can provide a lot more information and convenience in the process. A keypad eliminates the need for physical keys and the use of unique codes can generate automatic smartphone alerts so you can keep track of important arrivals, like when the kids get home from school.

Smart Lighting Eliminates After-Dark Problems

Smart lighting at your door can illuminate the front porch automatically when triggered by things like motion, ringing the doorbell or the garage door opening. This ensure that you always walk up to a well-lit area, the safety of your visitors, and deters crime all in one.

Smart Security App

No matter if you are at home enjoying your favorite television show, at work, or across the world on vacation, you can control your front door from the palm of your hand—from providing access to confirming package deliveries. Now your door is more than just a point of entry—it’s a point of information, a disruption preventer and a whole lot more.

With smart technologies, the possibilities are endless. At GuardMe, we take those technologies and integrate them into interactive security systems that protect today’s busy families. If you have questions about this or other home security solutions, please give GuardMe Security a call.

As humans, we crave being understood. Being understood means that we’ve been heard and, generally, there is some positive response to our needs. Ultimately, having that positive response (if even in a small way) refreshes us for the tasks ahead. Maybe that’s why the home automation industry has exploded over the last decade—it makes our most sacred spaces responsive to who we are and how we live through adaptive learning.

Turn on the Magic

Have you ever thought about how truly amazing it is that your home automation system can have your lights on and favorite music playing when you get home, or sense when you get up in the morning and turn on appliances and adjust the temperature accordingly? It has been the dream of the ideal home since the 1940s, and the promise of the truly automated home really has revolutionized our lives.

Today, in addition to the ability to be programmed, home automation systems can “learn” your habits and program themselves accordingly.

So, What is Adaptive Learning?

Most people are familiar with home automation and home security technology and have a general understanding of how it works. But one of the lesser-understood aspects of home automation is adaptive learning. Adaptive learning is the difference between a system being programmed to perform tasks and a system that programs itself to perform tasks in response to your pattern of usage.
Home automation uses a series of connected devices and sensors and connects them so the user can control them from one platform and so that the system can glean information from all of the connected devices and sensors to learn your activity patterns.
Typically, connected points include such things as:

• Door sensors
• Window sensors
• Motion sensors
• Thermostats
• Lights
• Security alarm systems
• Appliances and entertainment systems

Technology That “Gets You”

More information is always better and that is why adaptive learning is such an advantage. Because the system uses information from all of the sources to understand what you use, when, and for how long it truly “gets” you and your lifestyle. Having a connected home is having more than automated lighting and temperature control. It means the system is optimized to meet your unique needs and make you truly at home.

GuardMe Security has been family owned and operated for over 20 years. Providing superior products and service is our top priority. For more information about home automation and adaptive learning, please give us a call today.

Moving is both exhilarating and exhausting and exciting and stressful at the same time. It can also be a prime opportunity for burglary. While moving, people are distracted and have let down their guard. They are more likely to leave doors open and property out in the open and unattended. They may have the security alarm turned off. Burglars also know that there are usually many extra people around during a move, so their presence when you step away will not draw attention from neighbors. Burglary during a move may seem bold, but it actually makes the whole process easier. After all, things are already packed and labeled!
During a move, security may be the last thing on your mind, but no time is a good time to be lax in security practices. If you are planning a move, implement these practices to keep it safe.

Keep Security in Place

Even if you only have a few days left in the home keep all of your security measures in place, from security alarms and technologies such as security cameras to practices like keeping the doors and windows closed and locked.

Do Not Leave Your Belongings Outside

On moving day, do not leave your boxes outside while you make trips back and forth, or leave an open moving truck unattended. Both make it easy for an opportunistic thief to grab and go. Instead, unload your belongings into a secured space such as a garage.

Use Color Codes

Instead of labeling your boxes with a list of contents or what room it goes to use a color code. When you list what is in the box you are also providing that information to a would-be thief and make it easy for them to choose which boxes to take and which to leave behind. Even stating which room can tip them off to potential value. A box marked “bathroom” might have highly sought-after medications, “garage” may be tools or other easily sold items.

Keep an Eye on Both Properties Using Home Security Cameras

If you are making trips back and forth to a new home, do not leave either one unoccupied during the moving process if at all possible. If you can’t hold down two forts at once, use home security cameras and monitor them from your smartphone or another smart device.
Change Your Locks
Change the locks to the new home as soon as possible. There is no way to know how many people have a key to an older lock. Investing in a smart lock is a great option.

Do A Safety Check of the New Home

Before you move in, do a thorough safety evaluation of the home. Check the windows and doors and the strength of the locks. Find out if there are adequate smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Is the perimeter secure? Do you have enough lighting? If not, prepare to make some changes to increase security.

Call Local Home Security Professionals Before You Move In

Instead of waiting until you unpack and get settled, call home security professionals and have a home security system installed before you move in. Homes with home security systems are 60% less likely to be burglarized. Having a system will make your new home an unattractive target even during the moving process, which is a time of vulnerability.

Since we opened our doors in 1997, GuardMe has been proud to part of all of life’s exciting transitions. Whether you are moving to the area, or have new changes in your life, our custom integrated security systems meet your needs.

Video doorbells have not been around that long but already we can’t even remember what we did without them. Who would have thought such a small device could change the way we do things so much?

What Makes Them So Different?

Traditional doorbells are wired to a bell that sounds when pushed. Video doorbells are smart doorbells and do that and more. The devices are additionally equipped with 2-way communication, video camera, and motion sensors and can be integrated into your home security and home automation system. If someone comes near the door, you’ll know even if they do not ring the bell because of the motion sensors. Both triggering the sensors and pushing the doorbell will cause an alert to be sent to your phone. From the phone, you can answer the door without stopping what you are doing, whether you are busy in your home office or at a meeting overseas, without giving away whether you are actually home or not.
How Do People use Them in The Real World?

Smart Security Lovers

Some people have their security seriously dialed in, and know that their video doorbell is not just another smart gadget. They use it to screen visitors without having to get near the door, and as an extra security camera monitoring activity around the front door.

Former Hiders

Before video doorbells, there was always this awkwardness when a sales person came to the door. You know they know you are home and you feel obliged to answer the door. What are the choices? Answer or hide. With smart doorbells, you can answer the door and then quickly get back to work without having to spend five minutes under the table.

Never Worry About Deliveries

Online commerce is a way of life today but the savings can be swooped away by porch pirates looking to grab your goods. With video doorbells, you’ll get an alert when movement triggers the sensor and will know to keep an eye out for your package. If someone comes near it, you can thank them for stepping away via the 2-way communication.

No Need to Disturb Movie Night

During movie night, the only disruption you may want is that of the pizza delivery person. With a video doorbell, you can see that the person at the door is whom you were expecting before putting the movie on pause and going to the door.

Put the World on Mute

For those who work night jobs or have babies in the home sleeping during the day is essential. For those people, the value of being able to put the doorbell on mute is an incalculable gift.

GuardMe Security is a premier provider of monitored home alarms and has served the community with exceptional service for over 20 years.

Most people think about ways to prevent another burglary, after having been victimized. Since, according to FBI crime statistics a burglary happens every 18.2 seconds, there are a lot of people that fall into that category. While the burglar is busy counting up the profit from a job that took roughly 10 minutes, the victim is left counting the cost of lost property and a lost sense of security. If you have been a victim, you know that horrible feeling. If not, you’ll want to do all you can to avoid knowing it personally.

The good news is that there are many simple and effective steps you can take to help prevent burglary.

Lock Your Doors and Windows

It may seem like a no brainer but most of us actually leave windows and doors unlocked quite frequently out of forgetfulness or being rushed. We may forget to close the garage door and the door that leads from the garage to the house, or forget that we opened a widow for fresh air. Even more common, we have a houseful of people leaving at various times and everyone thinks that someone else locked the door.

Secure the Front Door with a Video Doorbell

One of the most shocking burglary statistics is that the most often used point of entry for a burglar is the front door, at a whopping 34% of the time. Given this fact, securing and adding as much deterrence as possible to this area makes a lot of sense. One of the best solutions is to use a video doorbell so that you have a video recording of the potential burglar, and generate an alert all sent to your smart phone.

Check the Hardware

Locking your doors and windows is not enough if you have older, malfunctioning, or less than sturdy hardware. Consider changing from traditional lock and key for the front door to a smart lock, and beef up window locks.

Do Some Research

Check out local crime statistics and talk to local law enforcement agencies to find out more about the kinds of crimes in your area, as well as specifics about local burglaries. Who was the suspect? Did they live locally? How did they gain entrance? What time of day was the crime committed? Knowing these things can help you take specific security precautions.

Look Home

Burglars do not want to get caught so attempting to burglarize an occupied home is certainly less than ideal. Even though you can’t be home 24/7, you can sure make it look like you are. Use home automation to have lights and electronics go off and on as is the house is occupied.

Consider Professional Solutions

A professionally installed and monitored home security and home automation solution is a huge deterrence and provides peace of mind. Smart security can provide you valuable intel on what is going on around the property, and provide a way for you to control the solution remotely.

GuardMe is a premier provider of monitored home alarms and commercial security systems.