Five Creative Ways to Use Your Smart Home Security Devices

Smart home security devices are great at doing just – making your home smarter and more secure. Whether it’s protecting your perimeter or monitoring the interior of your home, smart devices have made our lives easier and allowed us to customize our security system to fit our homes, security goals, and everyday needs.

Protecting you, your home, and your loved ones is certainly the most important function of your smart home security devices. But did you know there is a slew of genius ways to use them to help in other areas of everyday life? If you’re looking for greater peace of mind for the miscellaneous worries throughout the day, your smart home security system might be able to help.

1. Window/door sensors to keep a lock on valuables: 

Have a wine fridge with expensive bottles you’re saving for a special occasion? A liquor cabinet with security that is lacking? Help other household members out of your stash by placing a window/door sensor on the seam of the cabinet or fridge door. These can also be utilized in other places like a drawer with jewelry or a closet where you’re storing family heirlooms – anywhere you may want to restrict access for members of your household or guests.

People also often secure sheds and garage doors with padlocks, deadbolts, and other traditional forms of security – but for an added layer, you can throw a window/door sensor into the mix. These smart devices will allow you to keep an eye on these less-trafficked parts of your home/property and can alert you if someone has managed to break in.

2. Indoor cameras for family meals and e-learning:

For parents managing their children’s e-learning, it can be difficult to juggle it all. Use the ADT Control app to switch between rooms and watch live video from your indoor security cameras, checking to make sure your kids are focused on their studies. This way, you won’t miss a beat of work or can continue prepping lunches for the day while ensuring your kids’ learning is still on track.

The two-way talk feature of indoor cameras can also work to your advantage. You can speak to family members in different rooms, rounding everyone up for family dinner. Or say hi to your pets while you’re at work or out running errands, reassuring them you’ll be home soon, and checking video to ensure they haven’t gotten into any trouble.

3. Outdoor cameras to keep an eye on yard happenings:

During the pandemic, many of us have resorted to small outdoor, socially-distanced gatherings to reduce the spread of the virus – and our kids and teenagers have done the same. Use smart outdoor security cameras to keep an eye on social distancing and two-way talk to enforce it. You can also use two-way talk when guests arrive to direct them to the backyard, and facial recognition to help differentiate between welcome guests and unwanted visitors. If you’ve built a bonfire and want to head indoors? Use the cameras to keep an eye on the embers.

4. Smart plugs to prevent electrical fires:

Leaving your hair straightener on is a documented stressor and it’s not uncommon to leave the house and have to turn back to ensure you’re not burning a hole in your countertops. Smart plugs and switches can connect lights and appliances to apps and give you the ability to control them remotely – so you can turn off that bathroom switch after you’ve already left your home. Plus, with the holiday season comes an increase in home fires caused by Christmas trees, so you can use smart plugs to ensure your string lights are off, giving you greater peace of mind as you fall asleep.

And if you do decide to travel during the holidays, use smart plugs to automate or manually control your lights to make an empty home look occupied.

5. ADT Control to set ‘Scenes’ for everyday life:

A perhaps underutilized feature of the ADT Control app? Scenes. While Scenes are commonly used to automate lights, control temperature, and set security devices while you’re heading out or coming home, there’s so much more you can do! Create a scene with a warm and softly lit house for dinner time or date night. Turn off the lights and arm the home perimeter when it’s movie night. Slowly turn on lights and play soft music to get everyone out of bed in the morning, and then turn on lights in specific rooms to get everyone prepped for some well-lit e-learning.

While people rightly use their smart home security devices to provide the peace of mind that their home and families are safe and secure, they may be overlooking additional, out-of-the-box uses. Taking the time to find creative, novel ways to use your devices will help you maximize your smart home security system and enjoy the smart home security process along the way.

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