Winterize Your Home with Smart Home Security!

When fall arrives, homeowners all around the Kansas City, MO, area think ahead to the winter. Usually, what comes to mind is sealing up windows or perhaps decorating for the holidays. But smart home security offers some additional comfort and convenience that you need more of during winter months. Winter poses some unique threats that you should be aware of, even some that people might not guess.

If you’re curious to see how security fits into preparing for winter, keep reading! We’ll offer three ways security and surveillance help you weather the colder season and holidays, armed with the ultimate peace of mind.

SEE ALSO: How to Protect Your Smart Home Security from Attacks

Keep Porch Piracy Top of Mind

75% of Americans worry about porch piracy today, according to a recent FedEx study. Thanks to Amazon.com and the other retailers with online stores, many of us can order virtually anything we’d need from our homes. When you combine the ongoing pandemic with holiday shopping and the gifts that will start pouring in, you’re looking at the most welcoming environment for porch pirates.

We’ll add some surveillance cameras that watch your porch around the clock, like IC Realtime’s vandal-proof dome camera, the ICIP-D565-IR, paired with a robust network video recorder, such as Luma’s 500 Series NVR system, for full-time recording. Both solutions can integrate with your automation system, giving you efficient, convenient control from control pads around your house, voice control, or your mobile device. Advanced camera AI can recognize someone unfamiliar and notify you as they approach, even remotely. From there, whether you’d like to arm your home, flash lights, or sound an alarm, you have all the tools you need to evade porch pirates.

Watch for Fires!

Many people assume that summer poses more fire risks than winter, due to the popularity of campfires and outdoor cooking. However, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 30% of home fires and 38% of home fire deaths occur during the months of December, January, and February.

Why? People are lighting candles and cooking and baking more, on one hand. Another point to remember is that, like the air, home materials dry out, making them more susceptible to catching fire and spreading flames. When fire starts, our smoke detectors can send a message triggering your alarm to sound, while integrated climate control systems automatically stop circulating air to stop fires in their tracks. You can also press an emergency button on any control device to notify authorities.

Consider a Mock-Occupancy Scene

Even if you’re not traveling as much as you used to pre-pandemic, the holidays beckon people to do more gift shopping, grocery buying, and family visiting than usual. Opportunistic burglars often strike when they know residents won’t be there. Control4 pioneered the “occupancy simulation” scene, which they call “Mockupancy,” where your automated system memorizes your daily patterns. When you’re away, Control4 will mimic those lifestyle cycles automatically by switching your AV and lighting on and off as though you were there. This illusion will remove your home from a criminal’s target list.

Contact Us Today!
If you want to know that your security provides the protection you need this winter, connect with our technology professionals by calling (913) 498-1183, filling out our online contact form, or sending us a live chat below now.