Making Your Home a Smart Home: Tips and Tricks for Enhanced Security and Convenience

One of the most effective ways to make your home a smart home is by incorporating cameras, sensors, and other devices that can enhance security and convenience. For around $150 each, you can plug in and connect these devices to the internet using the Nest app, which is also used for setting up Nest smart thermostats. These cameras can detect motion or loud sounds like a window breaking and send you alerts, providing snapshots of the event. The free account sends notifications, but if you upgrade to Nest's yearly subscription, you'll get access to 30 days of video history stored in the cloud.

Besides cameras, there are many other smart sensors that can be used for home security. These include sensors for doors and windows that alert you if one is opened, leak detectors that prevent floods, and motion detectors that can detect intruders or automatically turn on smart light bulbs to deter burglars. All of these sensors are under $20 each, which is a relatively low upfront cost.

To secure your door, consider using a smart doorbell ring that replaces your current doorbell. These devices feature a camera that notifies you of motion at the door and can even show you a live video feed when someone rings it, allowing you to check who it is on your smart home devices or phone before answering. This can be especially useful for homes with multiple entrances.

Another important aspect of making your home smart is locking your doors securely. Smart door locks offer added benefits like keyless entry, notifications, and alerts if the lock is tampered with. They also provide sturdy dead bolts that are similar to those found on non-smart locks but add an extra layer of security.

In addition to these devices, it's a good idea to replace your smoke detectors with smart ones. These detectors can notify you if there's smoke or carbon monoxide in the air, providing peace of mind for families and home owners. Some smart smoke detectors, like Nest Protect, can even be silenced on your phone when they're triggered by cooking or other non-smoke-related events.

If you have items that you want to track when they leave the house, consider using a tracker like the Verizon Smart Family Tracker. This device uses cell networks and GPS to show you a live location of whatever you've attached it to. The only drawback is a small fee for the cell network service, which may be necessary depending on your usage.

For families with children who already have mobile phones, there's a great option for tracking their whereabouts using a family tracking service like Verizon Smart Family. This service offers an app that provides location data on everyone on the plan or, if you have a kids' plan, it's included for free. The monthly fee is relatively low at $10 per month, and this service can provide added peace of mind for parents.

Building Your Own Smart Home: Tips and Considerations

One of the most effective ways to make your home smart is by building your own system using devices from various manufacturers. This approach allows you to choose only the devices that you really need, rather than paying for a comprehensive system with features you may not use. By selecting individual components, you can tailor your smart home system to your specific needs and budget.

When considering which devices to include in your smart home system, it's essential to think about your specific security concerns and how you want to utilize each device. For example, if you're concerned about intruders breaking into your home while you're away, a motion detector or smart door lock may be a top priority. On the other hand, if you're more concerned about maintaining a clean and healthy home environment, a smart thermostat or air quality sensor might be a better choice.

Ultimately, building your own smart home system requires some technical knowledge and planning, but it can also be a fun and rewarding experience. With a little creativity and experimentation, you can create a customized system that meets your unique needs and enhances your overall living experience.

Smart Home Devices for Enhanced Security and Convenience

When it comes to making your home smart, there are many devices available that can enhance security and convenience. From cameras and sensors to door locks and smoke detectors, these devices can provide peace of mind, save time, and even increase the value of your home.

Some popular smart home devices include:

* Smart doorbell rings with cameras and motion detection

* Smart door locks with keyless entry and notifications

* Smart smoke detectors with alerts for smoke and carbon monoxide

* Smart sensors for doors and windows that alert you to potential security breaches

* Motion detectors that automatically turn on smart light bulbs to deter burglars

These devices can be used individually or in combination with other smart home systems to create a comprehensive security and convenience solution. By choosing the right devices for your specific needs, you can build a smart home system that's tailored to your lifestyle and preferences.

Conclusion

Making your home smart is easier than ever, thanks to the wide range of devices available on the market. From cameras and sensors to door locks and smoke detectors, these devices can enhance security and convenience while also providing peace of mind for families and home owners. By building your own system using individual components or selecting a comprehensive system, you can tailor your smart home solution to your unique needs and budget.

Remember to consider your specific security concerns and how you want to utilize each device when choosing the right devices for your smart home system. With a little creativity and experimentation, you can create a customized system that meets your needs and enhances your overall living experience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe no longer live in a time where in order to have a home security system you have to call the likes of like ADT & Brinks and other giant conglomerate security companies have them come by and install all this expensive camera equipment and sensors and blah blah blah and then pay them a ridiculous monthly fee for them to monitor your home instead there are a ton of smart home devices that can easily be used to create a smart home security system that will not only do the same thing for less money and no monthly fee but also a ton of other benefits that you can use on a daily basis and not just you know when there's an incident so this video I'm gonna go through how you guys can make your own Do It Yourself smart home security system for all of those benefits and more first off for all of this to work there is there is one monthly fee that you need to actually pay sorry but the truth is that if you're watching this video chances are you probably already have it mobile phone service and your internet service now full disclosure this video is sponsored by Verizon but if you've seen any of my videos before you know I'm a huge fan of my Verizon FiOS gigabit internet service at my apartment now in order for any security system to work nowadays you need an internet connection and one that is fast and reliable is best obviously you'll also need the same for your mobile phone so you can make sure you get all of the notifications camera feeds etc and that's where Verizon FiOS and Verizon Wireless can help and they even have some awesome deals going on right now for example new and existing Verizon Wireless customers who add new Verizon FiOS service can get $200 off a flagship phone you can head to the link below for all of the deals that are happening right now and to get more information and see if it's all available in your area now if you want a system that can monitor your house send you alerts call first responders if necessary etc you probably should go for a smart home security system like canary you can get the canary view like this one for about $80 or so and you just plug it in connected to Wi-Fi point the camera at your front door your living room your child's crib whatever and it's good to go now it can be set up to notify you if it detects motion or even a human figure show you a live feed plus record a clip of the event allow you to call the police and fire department directly from it have the system armed and disarmed automatically based on if you're home sleeping or away etc also there's no monthly fee for the free service which does all the things I just mentioned there is also a premium service for one hundred a year that adds some extra functionality like storing videos for 30 days allowing for two-way audio access to an incident report team to help you after a break in etcetera etcetera but only if you really need that now besides the all-in-one smart security systems like canary you can also either create your own in a way or supplement the security system by adding your own smart cameras to the house now nest makes some great indoor and outdoor cameras for around 150 each that you can plug in connect to the internet and set up via the nest app the same that is used for the nest smart thermostats if you're familiar with those one set up they can detect motion or loud sounds like a window breaking and send you alerts the free account sends you snapshots of the event or you can pay for that yearly nest to where access to get 30 day history of all videos stored in the cloud similar to canary besides these smart cameras a great idea for home security is using a smart doorbell ring makes a good one that works by replacing your current doorbell and thanks to a similar camera on them they can notify you of any motion at the door they can even show you a live video feed when someone rings it so you can check to see who it is on your smart home devices with screens or your phone before even going to answer now besides cameras there are a plethora of smart sensors that as I showed in the video on how to make your home a smart home that you can check out below if you want that are also perfect for home security smart things makes sensors for doors and windows that you can set up to alert you if one of those is opened ones that detect water leaks to make sure you don't have a flood while you're gone and motion detectors - that you can not only use inside the house to detect a intruder but outside to automatically turn on smart light bulbs for example to deter a burglar etc all of them are under $20 apiece which isn't bad at all now what about actually locking your door well there are smart door locks that you can install that have sturdy dead bolts like their non smart varieties but also provide added benefits like keyless entry that you can revoke easier than trying to get a key back from someone you might have leant to notifications also work on this etc now another thing that's a good idea is to replace your smoke detectors with smart ones so they can actually notify you if it's smoke or carbon monoxide or someone's just cooking etc instead of just buzzing like crazy now nest also makes a popular one called nest protect they can do all of that it can also be silenced for your phone when you whenever Li set it off while cooking instead of having to jump on our chair and frantically try and rip it from the ceiling lastly if you have things that you want to keep track of when they leave the house you can get a tracker like this one from Verizon it uses the normal cell networks and GPS to show you a live location of whatever you attached it to now because of the nature of it working outside of the house there is a small fee for it working on the cell network like you have to do when you're paying for a phone for example now if you don't need to track whatever the item is this specifically you can also use Bluetooth trackers like this tile sport which essentially records the location that the Bluetooth connection is broken between the tile and your phone indicating that you may be left that item behind then you can use your map to find out where that last location was and then once it gets within Bluetooth range it'll connect and you're able to ring it it's actually quite clever now let's say that thing you want to track is oh I don't know your child and they already have a mobile phone you can use a service for family tracking the Verizon offers called Verizon smart family for 10 dollars a month to have an app that gives you location data on everyone on the plan or if you have a just kids plan for your kid that service is actually included with that for free there you go with much lower upfront costs and no necessary monthly fee there's those added benefits if you mean them but you don't have to have them it makes a lot more sense to me nowadays to just kind of build one of these yourself as opposed to trying to go into those giant companies and get them to install a bunch of things that you don't really need them to monitor you get the idea hope that's helpful though let me know in the comments below what you guys think of this if there's other things that maybe you think should be added to a solution like this would love to hear from you guys I'm sure other people like to read that as well otherwise if you like this video please thumbs up it or share it's greatly appreciated also check out the rest of my channel if you like we just see there please subscribe and ding the bell mic support subscribe so you get notified when I do new videos otherwise there's also a link below to be taken to my email newsletter goes out once a week it gives you all the videos that go live here but also some other tips and tricks and things that are on my website they don't necessarily make it here to video as always though regardless thanks for watchingwe no longer live in a time where in order to have a home security system you have to call the likes of like ADT & Brinks and other giant conglomerate security companies have them come by and install all this expensive camera equipment and sensors and blah blah blah and then pay them a ridiculous monthly fee for them to monitor your home instead there are a ton of smart home devices that can easily be used to create a smart home security system that will not only do the same thing for less money and no monthly fee but also a ton of other benefits that you can use on a daily basis and not just you know when there's an incident so this video I'm gonna go through how you guys can make your own Do It Yourself smart home security system for all of those benefits and more first off for all of this to work there is there is one monthly fee that you need to actually pay sorry but the truth is that if you're watching this video chances are you probably already have it mobile phone service and your internet service now full disclosure this video is sponsored by Verizon but if you've seen any of my videos before you know I'm a huge fan of my Verizon FiOS gigabit internet service at my apartment now in order for any security system to work nowadays you need an internet connection and one that is fast and reliable is best obviously you'll also need the same for your mobile phone so you can make sure you get all of the notifications camera feeds etc and that's where Verizon FiOS and Verizon Wireless can help and they even have some awesome deals going on right now for example new and existing Verizon Wireless customers who add new Verizon FiOS service can get $200 off a flagship phone you can head to the link below for all of the deals that are happening right now and to get more information and see if it's all available in your area now if you want a system that can monitor your house send you alerts call first responders if necessary etc you probably should go for a smart home security system like canary you can get the canary view like this one for about $80 or so and you just plug it in connected to Wi-Fi point the camera at your front door your living room your child's crib whatever and it's good to go now it can be set up to notify you if it detects motion or even a human figure show you a live feed plus record a clip of the event allow you to call the police and fire department directly from it have the system armed and disarmed automatically based on if you're home sleeping or away etc also there's no monthly fee for the free service which does all the things I just mentioned there is also a premium service for one hundred a year that adds some extra functionality like storing videos for 30 days allowing for two-way audio access to an incident report team to help you after a break in etcetera etcetera but only if you really need that now besides the all-in-one smart security systems like canary you can also either create your own in a way or supplement the security system by adding your own smart cameras to the house now nest makes some great indoor and outdoor cameras for around 150 each that you can plug in connect to the internet and set up via the nest app the same that is used for the nest smart thermostats if you're familiar with those one set up they can detect motion or loud sounds like a window breaking and send you alerts the free account sends you snapshots of the event or you can pay for that yearly nest to where access to get 30 day history of all videos stored in the cloud similar to canary besides these smart cameras a great idea for home security is using a smart doorbell ring makes a good one that works by replacing your current doorbell and thanks to a similar camera on them they can notify you of any motion at the door they can even show you a live video feed when someone rings it so you can check to see who it is on your smart home devices with screens or your phone before even going to answer now besides cameras there are a plethora of smart sensors that as I showed in the video on how to make your home a smart home that you can check out below if you want that are also perfect for home security smart things makes sensors for doors and windows that you can set up to alert you if one of those is opened ones that detect water leaks to make sure you don't have a flood while you're gone and motion detectors - that you can not only use inside the house to detect a intruder but outside to automatically turn on smart light bulbs for example to deter a burglar etc all of them are under $20 apiece which isn't bad at all now what about actually locking your door well there are smart door locks that you can install that have sturdy dead bolts like their non smart varieties but also provide added benefits like keyless entry that you can revoke easier than trying to get a key back from someone you might have leant to notifications also work on this etc now another thing that's a good idea is to replace your smoke detectors with smart ones so they can actually notify you if it's smoke or carbon monoxide or someone's just cooking etc instead of just buzzing like crazy now nest also makes a popular one called nest protect they can do all of that it can also be silenced for your phone when you whenever Li set it off while cooking instead of having to jump on our chair and frantically try and rip it from the ceiling lastly if you have things that you want to keep track of when they leave the house you can get a tracker like this one from Verizon it uses the normal cell networks and GPS to show you a live location of whatever you attached it to now because of the nature of it working outside of the house there is a small fee for it working on the cell network like you have to do when you're paying for a phone for example now if you don't need to track whatever the item is this specifically you can also use Bluetooth trackers like this tile sport which essentially records the location that the Bluetooth connection is broken between the tile and your phone indicating that you may be left that item behind then you can use your map to find out where that last location was and then once it gets within Bluetooth range it'll connect and you're able to ring it it's actually quite clever now let's say that thing you want to track is oh I don't know your child and they already have a mobile phone you can use a service for family tracking the Verizon offers called Verizon smart family for 10 dollars a month to have an app that gives you location data on everyone on the plan or if you have a just kids plan for your kid that service is actually included with that for free there you go with much lower upfront costs and no necessary monthly fee there's those added benefits if you mean them but you don't have to have them it makes a lot more sense to me nowadays to just kind of build one of these yourself as opposed to trying to go into those giant companies and get them to install a bunch of things that you don't really need them to monitor you get the idea hope that's helpful though let me know in the comments below what you guys think of this if there's other things that maybe you think should be added to a solution like this would love to hear from you guys I'm sure other people like to read that as well otherwise if you like this video please thumbs up it or share it's greatly appreciated also check out the rest of my channel if you like we just see there please subscribe and ding the bell mic support subscribe so you get notified when I do new videos otherwise there's also a link below to be taken to my email newsletter goes out once a week it gives you all the videos that go live here but also some other tips and tricks and things that are on my website they don't necessarily make it here to video as always though regardless thanks for watching\n"