5 Free Tips for a Smarter Home When You’re Away From Home
If you are planning a getaway to enjoy the fall weather or going somewhere exotic to escape the winter cold, then use these 5 Smart Home Tips to ensure your home is safe and secure while you are away.
#1: Get Eyes on Your Home
Hire a house- or pet-sitter to keep an eye on your home and to have the appearance of someone being home. If that’s not possible, call your local police station’s non-emergency number and alert them that you’ll be gone. Many stations will do drive-bys to ensure nothing looks suspicious.
#2: Stop Deliveries or Have Someone Pick Them Up
Place a hold on your mail if you’ll be gone more than a few days, and try not to schedule any package deliveries while you’re gone. If you subscribe to a newspaper, make sure you put it on hold, too. If you’re having someone house- or pet-sit, then they can bring them in, and in lieu of that, you can always ask a neighbor to pick them up for you.
#3: Invest in Automatic Lights
Setting lights on a timer to come on and turn off at natural times can help it look like someone’s home. Additionally, outdoor motion sensor lights can deter potential intruders.
#4: Don’t Post Your Whereabouts on Social Media
You never know who’s got less than innocent motives when they look at your facebook or twitter profiles. It can be difficult not to share in this day and age, but resisting the urge to tweet or post pictures of you on vacation until after you return is your best bet.
#5: Use (or Don’t Use) Electronics to Your Advantage
Firstly, make sure you’ve turned off and unplugged computers and televisions in case there’s any type of an electricity surge. Also consider turning off the power to your garage door opener to deter thieves with universal remote controls. Lastly, consider investing in a home security system that lets you keep your own eyes on your home while you’re away. Today’s technology allows not only for home video surveillance, but for monitoring via computer or cell phone. It’s a surefire way to know the moment something happens that it shouldn’t—and give you time to do something about it.
About ACS Smart Buildings
At ACS, we have all sorts of tricks up our sleeves in the form of the newest and greenest technology to help your building work better and smarter to save you time, energy and money. We work with all kinds of industries, including but not limited to schools, national service & franchise, commercial & enterprise, medical & hospitals and retail. Visit our website for more information or give us a call at 888-265-2773.
