11 high-tech home security tips before a vacation
Smart home technology is not only useful when you’re at home, it’s also a lifesaver when you’re on vacation. Today’s smart technology can handle all kinds of long-distance issues, from cameras that send you smart alerts when they recognize people, to smart locks that you can control from anywhere. Add a pet sitter or plant watcher to the mix, and you could be on the road for weeks at a time.
So while you’re preparing for the holidays, take a few minutes to customize your smart home. Here’s what we recommend to keep your home safe while you’re away.
Set Away or Vacation mode
Many smart devices have a vacation or away mode that you can set to simulate an occupied home.
Today’s smart home and home security settings not only have an Away mode, they often have a vacation mode as well. That’s a routine you can set up while you’re away for several days or more (if your home app doesn’t have a vacation mode, you can adjust your Away or Eco mode or set up a new routine entirely). Devices such as Philips Hue lamps and platforms like IFTTT make it easy to create entire routines that span multiple devices.
Holiday routines can turn smart lights on and off indoors and outdoors to make it look like someone is still home. They can also control other compatible devices, such as managing smart irrigation systems, enabling smart cameras and more. Set up a routine like this once, and you can use it again and again on outings.
Check the motion detection settings for your video doorbell
An important tool to keep an eye on your home: video doorbells.
Video doorbells excel at keeping an eye on the action, and their algorithms are getting better at detecting people and other objects. Companies like Eufy are even working on motion detection that can identify suspicious behavior, such as avoiding main paths, and look for poor security.
However, the motion detection that works best in your daily life is not always the kind of detection that works when you’re on vacation. We recommend that you visit the doorbell and home camera apps to view your motion detection settings. Consider steps like:
- Increase motion detection sensitivity
- Set object detection to people only to reduce the number of alerts
- Set up detection zones in close-up areas of your home and windows where people may try to gain access
- Turn up the beeps or light indicators to indicate that a camera is on and watching
- Set the notification to push to your phone screen instead of just staying within the app
- Look for web app options, such as Nest’s support for online viewing and control, which is ideal for holidays abroad
If you pay for a subscription, check whether it supports 24/7 emergency contact so that you can immediately call the police or fire brigade if there is an alert. It may be worth upgrading to that type of plan if you’ll be away for a month or two.
Keep your curtains open or automated
To keep your home looking lived in, it’s a good idea to have your curtains open during holidays (letting in the sun to prevent it from getting stale). Or if you have smart curtains or smart shades (which are also available as retrofits for existing curtains), you can program them. Schedule them so they open during the day and close at night for the best effect. Smart sun blinds like this don’t have to be expensive: even Ikea has an affordable version.
Manage access remotely with a smart lock
Aqara’s smart deadbolt replacement looks and feels great.
Smart locks don’t just let you know if you forget to lock the door. They also automatically lock for you under certain conditions and support a variety of scheduling options.
The most useful smart locks, such as the Aqara U100 or the Schlage smart leveryou can create passes or temporary codes that you can give to visitors. This way you can arrange checks for pet keepers, plant waterers, helpful neighbors and others you may want to let in, but only at certain times. Smart locks combine particularly well with video doorbells. Make sure you are in an area with a reliable Wi-Fi connection to use them remotely.
Adjust your heating and cooling
Ecobee offers a special holiday mode for its smart thermostat.
Smart thermostats from Nest, Ecobee and others also have Eco and Away modes that you can use to set separate holiday schedules. Ecobee also has a special holiday mode in the thermostat settings that you can use specifically for this.
The best temperature range varies by season, but should be lower than you have in mind when you are at home. For summer, that would mean turning the thermostat up 5 to 10 degrees during the day, but with a hard cap around 80 to 85 degrees to protect houseplants and so on. For winter, aim for the opposite with a hard hood of about 50 degrees during the day.
That temperature bill changes if you have pets in a warm climate. You’ll want to keep the house more comfortable by limiting the temperature range to somewhere in the mid-70s for cooling and around 60 for heating.
Set up a “listening service” like Alexa Emergency Assist
Alexa’s emergency assistant is an affordable listening and contact service.
The listening features use simple algorithms to identify “uh-oh” sounds, such as breaking glass, smoke detectors, and even loudly barking dogs. Home security systems like Abode or Ring offer listening options, but you don’t always need a home security device to enable this.
For example, Amazon’s Alexa smart speakers and smart displays have the Alexa Emergency Assist service, the successor to Alexa Guard. It costs about $6 per month and gives you access to sound detection, 24/7 emergency services and emergency contacts for family. That’s a nice deal to snag for a few months if you’re going on vacation for a season, and thanks to the two-way audio on all Alexa speakers, you can talk live through it whenever you want.
Keep watch with an armed security system
If your home doesn’t have a full home security system that can monitor multiple access points such as windows and doors, now is a good time to consider one. Today’s home security systems don’t require professional installation or even a monthly subscription to monitor your home – and many work with third-party smart devices too.
Check out our guides on the best DIY home security systems, the best cheap security systems, and the best systems for your home to learn much more about your choices.
Add a leak detector to vulnerable living areas
Kangaroo includes a climate sensor, also called a leak detector, in its comprehensive eight-piece home monitoring kit.
A leak detector is a smart device with an open circuit that lies against the floor. When water completes that circuit, it sets off all kinds of alarm bells and app notifications to let you know a leak is present. That makes them valuable if you are away from home for an extended period of time. Stick them near the toilet, under the sink, next to the boiler or under pipes that could freeze during a winter holiday.
Leak detectors are available to complement most home security systems, but there are also standalone versions such as Eufy’s $35 model (requires a HomeBase) or Alexa compatible Kidde Leak Detector from $45. We recommend these models because they work with apps, which is important when you’re away from home.
Tell your home alarm center that you are away
If you are spending money on professional home monitoring, search their website and find an email address or phone number to let them know you are on vacation. Many home reporting centers will adjust their official responses if they know that everyone will be away from home.
Call your email service (optional)
In the past, calling the post office was a must when going on vacation. And if your vacation is going to last longer than a week or so, we highly recommend sending a message to your local postal service and asking for your mail to be held. It’s very easy to do and it can be done complete the steps online in a few minutes.
However, we don’t get as much mail these days as we used to, and it’s harder than ever for strangers to notice when someone’s mail is piling up. If you’re only away for a few business days, you can probably safely skip this step.
Be careful what you post online
Vacations are great, but be wary of posting too much information on social media.
We know it’s tempting to post about your vacation plans on social media, but this can also be an invitation for burglars or intruders to pay a visit. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know and trust everyone on your friends list, or friends of their friends who may also see status updates.
To stay safe, it’s best to avoid posting information and photos about your trips until they’re over. Then you can go wild and release all those perfect photos on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.
Bonus tip: If you’re renting, look at your lease
Some rental agreements require tenants to let the landlord know if they are going on vacation for a certain period of time, such as longer than a week. Others don’t mention it at all. Check your rental agreement for more information. Even if you don’t have to alert anyone, you may encounter additional requests such as turning off the water supply, setting the temperature to a certain level, arranging access for a pet sitter, and so on.
Finally, now’s the perfect time to drop by our guide on how to stop burglars from making any attempts at your home, information on whether thieves actually use Wi-Fi jammers in smart homes, and the all-inclusive security cheat sheet. for setting up various parts of home security.
