Smart home video and security cameras provide homeowners with peace of mind. They let you know what’s going on at home when you aren’t there and are a great proactive security solution. If you’re new to smart home security, buying the right cameras can be tricky. So, here’s some information to help pick the right security solution for your family’s needs.
Gaming is your life. You live it, eat it, and breath it, always aim for that ultimate virtual experience. Now, you can have a truly immersive gaming experience with help from your home automation system.
While home automation may seem like an unlikely tool in boosting the gaming experience, but trust us, soon you will have all of your fellow gamers wondering why they didn’t think of the idea first. Here are a few ways you can make your gaming even more enjoyable.
Gaming requires its own ambiance. Use home automation to set a gaming scene with preset lighting and temperature settings. Use the controls to give the room a more comfortable feel, or use special lighting to make the environment more exciting, and a true entertainment zone. With lighting and temperature just right, you are almost ready to go.
Sound is one of the most important elements in the gaming experience. With home automation integrated into your gaming and entertainment system, you can set up the surround sound system just the way you want and have it ready in an instant.
Someone is at the door. Again. Now you do not have to stop what you are doing only to find out it was something that could have waited. Home automation integrated with your home security system allows you to see who is at the door from your smart phone and even answer it when it is something that requires your attention.
Everyone needs a break once in a while, even from fun. Once you are finished gaming, or if you just want to check out what is on t.v. an integrated system can switch between modes or on and off without hassle.
Everyday technology helps our lives become more and more integrated as we find more ways to make our lives run more smoothly and with more purpose. In fact, all the time we save using home automation on a daily basis is one of the ways we can cut away for a little guilt-free game time. When you think about it, leveraging home automation to enhance the gaming experience isn’t just the obvious choice, it’s genius.
If you’d like more information about home automation, call GuardMe Security. GuardMe Security is a premier provider of monitored home alarms and home automation and has been serving the community for over 20 years.
It was not that long ago that people rarely locked their front doors. Communities were fairly safe, you knew your neighbors, and people generally looked out for each other. It was also a matter of convenience. Family members were always coming and going at different times and kids never remembered their keys. It was also not uncommon to be providing access for a neighbor who needed to borrow or return something. Leaving the door unlocked was far easier than trying to coordinate schedules and manage lost or forgotten keys.
While the days of leaving your door unlocked might be gone, front door convenience and security does not have to be, thanks to home automation and smart security features. Today, technology offers the convenience we want and the security we need without sacrificing the warmth of a welcoming home.
Smart locks solve a multitude of security and scheduling issues. With smart locks, you never need to worry about lost or forgotten keys because physical keys become obsolete. Unique access codes (or even biometrics!) allow each person to gain access and even let you know via text who gets home and when. Even if you are away from home, you can use the smart app to grant temporary access to a neighbor or service provider or suspend access if needed. An integrated system can even disarm your system when you enter your access code.
Now that doorbell cameras are commonplace it is hard to imagine what we ever did without them. Doorbell cameras allow you to view who is at the door before going to the door, so you always know if it is safe or worth disrupting your schedule. If it is not something that needs addressing, or if it is someone unknown to you, you can answer the door through the integrated speaker so you do not need to open the door or make yourself vulnerable to possible danger. Video doorbells are also motion activated so you can receive texts when there is suspicious activity around the door and view video clips of the activity. This is a huge security advantage as many burglars will knock at the door to see if you are home before trying to make entry.
Burglars, vandals, and anyone else looking to cause problems want to do what they do without being seen. Adequate front porch lighting is a huge deterrence. Having motion sensitive automated lighting means that their activity can trigger the lights to go on, or you can control the lights (and just about everything else in your home) all from your smart phone.
GuardMe opened its doors in 1997 and have made superior equipment and services our priority every day since.
As kids grow, our worries are supposed to diminish. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen — but the good news is, there are lots of things parents can do to minimize their concerns as kids get older and more independent. Here are some ways you can get your smart home security system involved. Be sure to add these items to your checklist.
If you’re someone who is prone to losing keys, you could be wasting hours of time every week on fumbling, searching and digging around. And if you lose keys, aren’t your kids likely to follow in your footsteps? Rather than dismiss keys as one of life’s necessary inconveniences, you could eliminate keys altogether with a smart lock for your front door. This gives you eyless entry into your home.
You and the kids can get all those hours of lost time back by adding a smart lock onto your system. The next step is to set up your own entry codes for the system; you can share one code or each have your own. This provides a secure way to get into the house whether you’re together as a family or arriving home separately.
An image sensor is one of the most exciting features of smart home security. As the kids get older and there are more occasions for them to come and go after school, you’ll want to see who they might be bringing with them. The image sensor has a motion sensor with an on-board camera that lets you do that. Whether you have it mounted in the inside entryway or overlooking the front door, it can take a snapshot the moment they arrive. As kids become teens, this ability to keep tabs on who they’re bringing home can become even more valuable.
These are some of the most useful features for parents to add on as their kids grow up. For questions on any of these smart home security items, call us to request a complimentary consultation.
For information on smart home technology that integrates with your security system, contact GuardMe to request a no-obligation consultation.
There are so many essential items to get when the kids go back to school, from clothes and backpacks to folders and pencils. What do these things have in common? While they’re all essential, they’re also consumable. They last one school year (if that) before they wear out. Luckily, there’s one back to school essential that doesn’t do this: smart home security.
For working families with children who are old enough to stay home independently after school, a smart home security system delivers peace of mind throughout the school year – every school year, for years to come. Here’s how that peace of mind is provided.
The term “latchkey kid” conjures up memories of kids wearing a key around their neck or carrying it in a backpack. Even when children were responsible enough to stay home alone, Mom and Dad worried that the key might get lost – which meant no way for the kids to get safely into the house. With smart home security, that worry is eliminated.
Your smart home security system provides keyless entry to the kids, with their own entry codes they use to get into the house with their smartphones. If you prefer to let them in yourself, you can do it from the convenience of your own phone. No worries about where the keys went, no worries about the kids getting safely into the house.
Every school year, our kids get more independent – so why do our worries grow along with them? With your smart home security system, you can manage those worries with visual check-ins of the kids the moment they arrive home.
From any image sensor, you can see a quick snapshot or view a live feed. If you’re in a meeting when they get home, check your phone when the meeting’s over to see the stored video clip of them walking through the door. There’s no more nagging the kids to check in – just a quick glance at your phone.
One of the most unnerving things about allowing after school independence is their unsupervised access to certain areas of the house: the liquor cabinet, the gun safe, the tool shed. More commonly, you may simply be concerned about too much time spent in front of video games. Your smart home security system can help with this. It offers a range of custom alerts for specific activity and events, so you can get an alert any time they go near those areas.
To learn more about back to school home security essentials, contact GuardMe Security. We will be glad to provide a free consultation.
For information on smart home technology that integrates with your security system, contact GuardMe to request a no-obligation consultation.
Smart home security may seem like an expensive investment. However, it can lower insurance premiums, provide you with peace of mind, and grow with your family. Here are just a few of the things intelligent home security does to make your life easier.
Keyless entry means less keys for the family to keep up with. Gone are the days of placing extra keys outside so the kids can get in if they forget or lose theirs. The alarms system lets you assign a different access code to every family member. Now when they get home from school, they can enter the house with their code, and you receive an alert on your phone that they’re home.
So, what happens if they forget their code? Just tell them to push the video doorbell alarm, and you can let them in remotely. It’s easy and secure access.
Your kids’ memories don’t get better with age so it’s natural for them to forget to close the garage door or set the alarm. You can create smart reminders that notify you about security problems. Those same reminders can go to the whole family through the smartphone app so that the kids receive the notification too. It won’t take long for them to shut the door or set the alarm from wherever they are.
Smart home security is a flexible security solution, so it grows with your family. You may find that your security needs change or you need additional features to keep your household running smoothly. It’s easy to upgrade your system or change things so that you have the most up-to-date and secure technology. Talk to your security integrator if you want new services such as smart outside lighting or video surveillance. Updates are easy too because everything is done over the cloud.
Intelligent security fits the needs of your family now and always. It decreases your stress and increases the security of your home and property. An adaptable security solution makes life easier and simplifies household chores.
Over time you’ll see significant energy savings thanks to your smart home thermostat. For information on smart home technology that integrates with your security system, contact GuardMe to request a no-obligation consultation.
The lazy days of summer at the beach are over, and your daily schedule is out of control now that school’s back in. How can you ever remember everything that you need to do? Enter smart home security. While it can’t pick out your outfit for work the next day, there are many safety features that help secure your home and make tasks around the house easier.
It’s easy to forget to lock the door or set the alarm when your family’s behind schedule. However, smart home security systems can send you a reminder that somethings amiss at home by sending you an alert. The alert has a button that you simply tap, and the system sets the alarm or locks the front door.
Intelligent home security systems were designed with busy families and chaotic schedules in mind. When the kids are home alone after school, they’re sure to leave doors and windows open. Your smart home security system and smart thermostat work together to notify you of the problem and set the temperature back to energy savings mode. As soon as you message the kids and they shut the door or window, the thermostat sets back to your preferred temperature.
Wondering what your kids are doing when they’re home alone or if they’re letting in unapproved guests. The system can send you video clips when a specific activity triggers the security cameras.
Set the system to send you clips whenever the front door opens or when one of your kids uses their security code to enter the house. Wherever you have a smart security camera, you can get smart video clips. You’ll always know what’s going on inside your home when you’re gone.
Your smart home security system won’t just alert you when the kids forget to close a door; it also notifies you of suspicious activity. Whether somebody comes on your property or an unexpected visitor shows up, the system sends you an alert so you can verify the activity. It also notifies you when something sets off the alarm or someone disarms it.
Today people find new ways to use their home security systems. Smart home security does more than just secure your home; it makes life easier and more convenient.
Over time you’ll see significant energy savings thanks to your smart home thermostat. For information on smart home technology that integrates with your security system, contact GuardMe to request a no-obligation consultation.
With the increased focus on bullying throughout schools and families over the past decade, we thought it would be a good idea to join the organizations and businesses that are promoting National Bullying Prevention Month.
Bullying – when defined as a power imbalance characterized by the intentional, physical or psychological mistreatment of another person on a repetitive basis – happens to around 2.7 million children and teens a year, according to the website BullyingStatistics.org. Bullying behaviors can vary from hitting, shoving and restraining to name-calling, threats and intimidation.
Of course, modern parents are now faced with the added challenge of protecting kids from cyberbullying, which can be equally as damaging as in-person bullying; in fact, some high profile cyberbullying cases over the past few years have shown us that cyberbullying can actually compel children to commit suicide. It may be tempting for adults to roll their eyes at the new focus on bullying; after all, didn’t previous generations have to deal with it, too?
But according to Dr. Bob Wilmott, Chief of Pediatrics at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, it’s important to take bullying seriously and not just brush it off as something that kids have to “tough out.” “The effects (of bullying) can be serious and affect a child’s sense of self-worth and future relationships,” he said. If your child tells you he is being bullied, “Praise your child for being brave enough to talk about it.”
Other actions you can take include:
As opposed to focusing on the bully, that is. Although you are upset, your primary concern should be offering comfort and support your own child first, rather than plotting retribution on the bully.
A child who is being bullied needs to know he is not alone. If he understands that bullying is something that happens to lots of kids, that may help minimize his inclination to think that something is “wrong” with him.
Talking to the bully’s parents may be useful in some situations, but most experts recommend asking the school for help first. Getting the support of someone at school who cares enough to get involved can be one of the most effective ways to intervene in a bullying situation.
Hopefully, these tips will be helpful to parents who are concerned their child may be experiencing bullying. Of course, we can’t directly protect your children from bullies at school – all we can do is help you protect them while they’re at home. If you need information on a smart, intuitive security system designed to shield your family from break-ins, contact GuardMe Security today.
Back-to-school can present quite a few scheduling challenges for parents, and sometimes it is necessary for older children to be home alone for short periods of time. Even while we allow our children to gain some independence, keeping them safe always remains the top priority. It is a nerve-wracking time for parents but there are some ways to ease your anxiety and increase your kid’s safety using your home security system and some simple safety practices during the back to school months.
Take a look at these steps and see if you can do anything to increase the safety of your child’s time home alone.
With help from your home security system, you can remain in control and have a watchful eye on the kids, even if they arrive home before you do. If you have any questions about home security or how it can help manage the busy school year, please give GuardMe a call. We have been your neighbor for over 20 years.