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Why You Should Create An Automated Home For Your Family

May 23, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Why You Should Create An Automated Home For Your Family

Nothing is more important than your family’s safety. According to latest FBI figures, there were more than 1.5 million burglaries reported in the US in 2016. Break-ins constitute about 19 percent of all property crimes in the country. More than the financial losses brought by burglaries, these crimes can cause injuries, emotional trauma, and sometimes even death. Protect your family and valued properties from break-ins with home automation. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

 

How can you keep your family safe in this age of new threats? Consider automating your home.

Why You Should Create An Automated Home For Your Family

An interconnected home is a safe home

Photo courtesy of picjumbo.com via Pexels

 

What is a home automation system? It is a system that “uses a combination of hardware and software technologies that enable control and management over appliances and devices within a home.” An automated home is also referred to as a “smart home.” Think about thermostats that adjusts to outdoor weather, an oven that cooks without need of supervision, a laundry machine that customizes its spinning cycle based on clothing material, and all these gadgets and appliances controlled via a centralized system. The system may be connected to your smartphone, giving you control over your home wherever you may be.

 

Home automation is particularly effective in protecting your home and your loved ones. This involves the installation and maintenance of network-enabled cameras and physical security systems. You may install wireless alarm system and receive notifications in your smartphone. You can also receive real-time feeds from your laptop. A home automation system may also include equipment that can prevent property damage due to typhoons, floods, and water leakage.

Why You Should Create An Automated Home For Your Family

A wireless security system for your smart home

Photo courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels

 

How do home automation systems work to protect your family? A wireless security system, as the term implies, does not involve wires and cables. It is recommended for those renting apartments or homeowners who do not want to bore holes on walls. A wireless system is linked to your electronic gadgets, and to a monitoring center through broadband connectivity. Thus, it’s important that you have a reliable Internet connection. As a precautionary measure, some people would install a wired security system as back-up when the broadband fails.

 

One of the top-rated wireless security systems in the market today is the Honeywell Lynx Touch. The models offer an 80-zone capacity that can suit any size of home, or even a business setting. As a back-up, the Lynx Touch includes 1 hardwired zone on the main board. This Honeywell premier system includes a module that lets you control your security devices and have them synced with different system functions of the alarm. Moreover, you could attach peripherals that would allow you to connect your security system to a central monitoring center.

Why You Should Create An Automated Home For Your Family

24/7 protection for your home and loved ones

Photo courtesy of bruce mars via Pexels

 

According to a study by the University of North Carolina Charlotte, most burglars considered the close proximity of other people when selecting a target home. They consider the traffic, home occupants, presence of police officers in the area, escape routes, and signs of increased security. The study reported that 60 percent of the burglars said they would seek an alternative target if there was an alarm on-site. Nevertheless, 13 percent said that they would still continue with the break-in after discovering the presence of an alarm system.

 

Who would protect your home when you’re not around to call the authorities during a break-in? Instead of relying on your neighbors or anybody who would hear the alarms, you can take control by linking your home security system to a monitoring center.

 

A monitoring system, such as Honeywell Connect, keeps an eye on your residence 24/7. Once your security system detects a breach, it alerts a monitoring center that will confirm the threat with you. If you fail to give a security code or respond within a set period, the hub would notify the appropriate authorities for immediate response.

 

Surveillance cameras for round-the-clock protection

Surveillance cameras have been proven to be effective burglar deterrents and crime solvers. Lives and properties have been saved, and criminals were apprehended with these home security equipment. Over the years, cameras have evolved to those that can do more than record events. You can now install security cameras that provide high-definition live feeds, send motion notifications, and cloud storage. Newer models feature wide-angle lens and built-in loud siren.

 

The remote monitoring feature of cameras are not only to keep burglars away. These can help you check whether your kids have arrived home safely from school and if your pets are safe when you’re out. The live feeds can be accessed through your smartphone, tablet or laptop.

 

Why you should automate your home

 A smart home is a safer home. Remote monitoring, automated lighting, and a monitoring service offers you peace of mind. Home automation can also help you save serious money by reducing energy consumption and cutting utility costs. For instance, a smart thermostat turns off once it detects that no one’s at home. It can adjust the temperature with the temperature outdoors, which helps save energy. Moreover, it can notify you when to change the filter or if something’s wrong with the heating system.

 

Home automation offers convenience and comfort, making your home truly a haven of relaxation. You can connect compatible gadgets, appliances and security equipment, and control them with a few clicks. You can set your lighting to turn on automatically when you unlock your smart door locks. A smart home can also create a relaxing atmosphere with adaptive lighting, comfortable temperature, and even calming sounds.

 

Always aspire to create a safe, secure, and comfortable home for your family. Build a living space where your children would love to spend time, keeping them safe from the streets. Home automation offers you cost-efficient solutions. Explore smart appliances, install wireless home security systems, and stay updated with smart home innovations. Make the most of what technology has to offer.

Filed Under: fatherhood Tagged With: automation, DIY, father, fatherhood, home, smart Home

Creating a Connected Home With The Nest Smart Thermostat

October 9, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment


nest
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As someone who loves technology I am always interested in working to make my home the most connected home that I can. There are so many products on the market these days that allow you to have fun with technology and one of the ones I have been very interested in lately was the Nest. If you have never heard of Nest, you should. It is a WIFI enabled Smart thermostat that helps you save energy and money and best of all never come home to a cold house. The Nest balances the temperature in your home as it senses your activity, learns your preferences and can be adjusted from your smartphone, tablet or laptop (talk about cool!). The Nest WIFI ebabled Smart thermostat also allows you to connect to your existing router / network and develop a secure and reliable connection.

 

I was able to try out the Nest thermostat in my own home and I am so glad that I did as my existing one was about to kick the bucket. When the Nest arrived, as you can see in the pictures, it came packaged very professionally. Everything that you needed was included and it stated it would only take abut 30 minutes to install. I put the instructions to the test and started to do the install myself. Now, many of you know that I am not the most handy person, so taking on projects like this can sometimes go poorly but the instructions for the Nest were easy to follow and understand and within les than 30 minutes I had the Nest installed.

Nest

Once installed it did take a little more time as I also installed a new Netgear Router while I was at it as the router that we had was old and giving us issues and I did not want to have any problems down the road with our overall network. I chose the NETGEAR – Nighthawk DST AC1900 Wireless-AC Gigabit Router with DST Adapter as I knew that it would give me and my family everything that we needed to create a strong home network that could support connections across all of our devices. Also, one of the things I loved was that it came with set up and support via phone & web and 1 year of Geek Squad support. As I am not an expert on Geek related issues, having an expert in my corner is always a good thing! The Netgear Nighthawk also offered AC1900 with Dead Spot Terminator which will help to eliminate my Wi-Fi dead zones and in the end will supports 10+ connected devices which helps in an uber-connected home like mine!

Nest1

Once I had the router setup I went to download the free app from GooglePlay (It is available in iTunes too) and once installed and connected I was able to easily adjust my thermostat from your smartphone, tablet or laptop. I even tried this from work, which is about 25 minutes away from home and it worked like a charm!

I feel so much more at ease with the additional alerts and reminders that I am getting now and as it monitors my equipment, sends service reminders and tells me if anything is not working correctly, I now will know right away is something like my home’s temperature goes above or below limits that I set.nest1

While I have not yet been using this for a week, I know that from everything that I have read that after about a week the Nest thermostat starts programming itself to the temperatures you like and when you’re not at home, it will automatically switch to an energy-efficient temperature.

I am looking forward to tracking my own energy usage and see the tips that are provided to me about how I can conserve even more in the future!

Sling-TV-logo-featured
As a part of trying this out I also was able to try out a month of Sling TV too. I did not know a lot about Sling, but in reading more about it I found that it really is everything you love about TV for a fraction of the price you’d expect. With Sling TV, you can enjoy live TV from popular channels — ESPN, AMC, A&E, TNT, HGTV and more — for just $20 per month. Plus, watch the latest episodes of your favorite shows and new movies on demand. You can get extra entertainment with add-on packages starting at $5 a month and HBO® for an additional $15 per month. This is a lot more savings than I get with my own local cable company!

You are able to watch at home or on the go and sling TV is available on multiple devices:

•             TV and video players, including Amazon FireTV and Roku

•             Xbox One

•             Smartphones and tablets (select operating systems)

•             Laptops and computers (select operating systems)

With Sling TV, you don’t have to worry about equipment and set-up fees, and there’s no annual contract. Simply sign up online, download the app and start watching. Try it for free for seven days.

https://www.sling.com/?cvosrc=BestBuy.BBY

 

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Filed Under: fatherhood Tagged With: Best Buy, electronics, smart Home, technology, WIFI

Taking Control of your Garage With Chamberlain MyQ

June 4, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

chamberlain-myq-garage
 photo disclaimer_zpsaa1cb05b.jpg

 

Picture it, you are away on vacation, you have a neighbor watching your home, and they lose your key. How the heck are you supposed to help? What if you have pets that must be fed? Do you pay them to have a locksmith come out? Talk about expensive! Now there is a better way!

Recently I learned about the Chamberlain MyQ Garage device. This is a new device that you install in your garage and connect to your garage door. By connecting these, you are able to control your garage door remotely through an App that you can download on your phone.

The MyQ device was easy to set up and though it does take a bit of time to set this up in your garage, when you do get it set up, it takes only a few minutes to get things set up once complete.

chamberlain-myq-garage

One of the hardest things to do for me is finding a stud in the ceiling of your garage that will allow you to hook the receiver to the ceiling of your garage. I did find one and once I did, I was able to easily connect the receiver to the ceiling. The second piece that you must connect is the MyQ receiver that you connect to the door itself. You have two ways to do this. You can either connect this with adhesive strips, or you can screw this onto the door itself.

I have tried to control the garage with my new MyQ device when both near and far and so far I have had no problem using it whether 10 or 50 miles away, so it is working perfectly!

Thus, in the end, if you are interested in taking control of your garage door and make your house more accessible when you need it to be, look no further than using this new Chamberlain MyQ device!

chamberlain-myq-garage

Features of the Chamberlain MyQ Device

Creating the Smartest Garage on the Block

  • The new Chamberlain Wi-Fi MyQ Garage Door Opener with Smartphone Control lets you monitor, open and close your garage door from anywhere in the world with a smartphone.
  • Alerts to your smartphone when the door opens or closes tell you when your kids make it home safely from school or when anyone is coming and going from home.
  • The new product turns your smartphone into a house key so you can go for a jog without taking your key, or let your neighbors or kids inside when you’re miles away.
  • The MyQ opener will work with Apple HomeKit, SmartThings by Samsung, Google’s Nest and the Wink App, so you can connect your garage door to other home devices.
  • The product will be available in two models this May at Home Depot, with expected retail prices of $250 to $270.
  • Chamberlain also offers MyQ Garage, a simple, $129 add-on to existing garage door openers, offering the same benefits if a new opener isn’t needed.

Giveaway

How would you like to win this for yourself or for your family? All you need to do is fill out the below form to be entered.  The contest will run for one week and will end on June 11, 2015.

 

Winner must be a resident of the U.S.

Chmberlain MyQ WIFI Garage Door Opener

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

 

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New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?

Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader

Questions?Drop me a line at [email protected]

Filed Under: fatherhood, giveaway, product review Tagged With: chamberlain, Garage, giveaway, MyQ Garage, smart Home, WIFI

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