Smart Summer Tips to Automate Your Home While Vacationing

During the summer months, home robberies are more common. Research suggests robberies are less likely to occur when security systems and other signs of people are visible at a property. Today’s smart home products can help automate your house, making it less obvious to potential burglars that no one’s home. Here are some tips for securing and automating your home while on vacation. Hiring a pet sitter or house sitter is a good idea to deter potential robbers from believing no one is home. Newspaper and mail deliveries should be suspended, since burglars will notice mail piles as an indicator of an empty house. Smart light bulbs are a great way to automatically turn on lights giving the appearance someone is home. According to a recent study, burglars are less likely to break into a home if there are visible deterrents, such as security cameras and alarms, and will likely choose another target if such deterrents are detected. D-Link Systems, Inc. offers indoor and outdoor security cameras, as well as a camera video recorder that can stream, record and playback hours and hours of security footage. Smart locks allows you to remotely lock and unlock your door directly from your smartphone, and also see when anyone enters or exits your home. Smart locks also allow you to give temporary keys to house guests for when you are away, and ensure that the door will be locked when the guest leaves. You can purchase a smart lock like the August Smart Lock for $249.99. You can also install a smart doorbell that lets you see who’s at the door, plus it can also serve as a security camera, doubling your home security. You can access the smart doorbell remotely using your smartphone, and you can even interact with people at your door because it has a built-in mic and speakers. One of the most important pieces of advice that you should heed while away on vacation: Do not give a real-time account of your activities on social media, as burglars can use this information to know which house to target and when to target it. | Read More