Vacation plans? These tips will keep your smart home safe
Headed out of town for an extended vacation? Your smart home devices make management and monitoring easier than ever, so with the right settings, your home can practically run itself even when you’re gone for days or weeks. And once you’ve created those modes, you can turn them back on the next time the road beckons.
Let’s take a look at quick steps and settings for common smart devices before you leave on vacation. Take an hour or so to prepare these steps before you leave, and you won’t have to worry about them again!
Read more: The Best Travel Gifts | Best DIY Home Security Systems to Buy
Thermostats
With a Nest thermostat, you can easily control the temperature in your home, wherever you are.
If you have a smart thermostat, most types will detect when you’re away and provide a way to change the thermostat remotely. After all, that’s probably why you bought it in the first place. It’s a nice perk if you’re going to be gone for a few hours or a workday.
For longer periods of time or for thermostats with a vacation mode, it is a good idea to check the threshold settings for an extended absence. These temperatures are the minimum and maximum temperatures that your system will allow before it will turn on. To save energy, set them to slightly colder and warmer than when you would be home.
Sure, you can adjust the temperature remotely, but the whole idea here is to set it and go. So before you leave, set the temperature ranges on your thermostat so you can save money and keep your home safe at the same time.
Read more: Get the most out of your smart thermostat to save money and energy this summer
High and low temperature thresholds save the most energy when they are set closer to the outside temperature than you would probably want when you are at home. However, they should still be safe enough for your home.
If you have roller shades or window coverings, it is best to lower them when you are not there.
Lights and shades
My parents always left the TV on while we were gone so people would think we were home. As a kid, I thought it was a silly game of pretend, but now that I’m a homeowner, it makes sense. Lighting isn’t a surefire way to guard against intruders, but setting your lights or TV to mimic human activity is a good place to start. Smart switches and schedules can do that.
Read more: Ikea brings voice-controlled smart roller blinds to the rest of us
A good rule of thumb is that outdoor lights should be on at night and off during the day, while indoor lights should cycle on and off in different rooms. If you have smart switches, consider creating a schedule based on the time of day that matches what you would normally be doing at home. You can also set smart bulbs to cycle on and off periodically.
If you have automatic window treatments, consider setting them to stay down when you’re away. Keeping the lights on can deter crime, but leaving your curtains open can turn your living room into a burglar’s showcase.
The Ring Alarm Pro is our top pick for DIY security for your smart home.
Cameras, doorbells and security systems
You have a lot of choices when it comes to both DIY smart home security systems and professionally monitored systems. While they do most of the work for you out of the box, it’s important to give them a quick health check before you leave. Security settings will vary depending on which products you have.
Regardless of the brand, it’s a good idea to make sure that any integrated motion sensors, cameras, locks, and doorbells have new or fully charged batteries and that notifications are properly enabled to reach the appropriate emergency contacts.
Read more: Our review of the Ring Video Doorbell 4
When it comes to cameras and smart doorbells, make sure the lens is free of debris, cobwebs, or decorations that could obstruct your view. If you’ve lowered the motion sensitivity or set your camera to ignore movement in certain areas around your home, now would be a good time to turn those features back up to maximum alertness. Finally, make sure all of your notification settings are set to alert the right people at the right times.
Make sure detectors and sensors are enabled and can alert you in the event of an incident.
Environmental detectors
Leak, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms give you peace of mind every day, and even more so when you’re away from home. Making sure all of these devices have fresh batteries, a good Wi-Fi connection, updated apps or firmware and the right notification settings is worth spending a few minutes before you head out.
Read more: Smoke detector installation manual
If your detectors aren’t connected to a live monitoring service, it’s even more important to have an alert sent to the appropriate mobile device. That way, you can have a friend or neighbor check out suspicious alerts. If you don’t have these environmental detectors now, consider getting them in the future: they work with many security systems and have standalone options.
The iRobot Roomba S9 is our favorite robotic helper.
Robot vacuum cleaners and other small appliances
There are several robot vacuums that come with some version of a scheduling option. If you use that feature a lot, turn it off when you’re away. If no one’s home to make a mess, the vacuum doesn’t need to run. And if you’ve upgraded the sensitivity of the motion detection portion of your security system, a robot vacuum can cause false alarms.
Read more: Our review of the iRobot Roomba S9 Plus vs. Neato Botvac D7 Connected
You can save battery life and wear and tear on your vacuum cleaner by ensuring it’s not running when it doesn’t need to be. The same goes for other small appliances that may be running on a smart schedule or with smart switches. Go through your list of managed devices to make sure everything is turned on or off.
The human element
Yes, smart homes are cool. They can do a lot for you on a daily basis and keep you connected to home when you’re hundreds of miles away. Still, smart homes aren’t perfect, and it’s a good idea to have a trusted (and tech-savvy) person or two keep an eye on things. Consider hiring a top-rated pet sitter in addition to your pet tech, or a trusted plant sitter who can also make sure everything is running smoothly when they come by to water your greenery.
And for a complete look at how you can improve your home security with a single purchase, check out our best indoor security cameras, the best wireless camera for easy installation, and the best cameras with lights to deter intruders.
