Home security was a well-defined entity some 20 years ago. When someone mentioned installing a security system, you could count on window and door sensors, heavy-duty locks, and maybe one or two video cameras. Today, things are different. Home security and home automation are so intertwined that the line between them is rapidly blurring.
We shouldn’t be surprised by the two entities mingling, given how wireless technology has changed them. When the first smart home devices were introduced back in the era of first-generation programmable thermostats and mechanical timers, wireless technology did not exist. But now, wireless is everywhere.
Maybe that’s why companies like Vivint Smart home now integrate security and automation technologies. Vivint recently published a post about Maryland home automation that demonstrates this very principle. The post covers all of the latest and greatest devices for both automation and security.
Built on Wireless Networks
The sheer number of home automation and security devices now available to consumers is overwhelming. From smart thermostats to automated lighting and programmable window shades, the options just keep growing. The one thing they all have in common are the wireless networks on which they operate.
Modern home security and automation is built on wireless. Wi-fi and Bluetooth are the top two wireless technologies, but there are others. Moreover, mesh networks allow for more thorough coverage with fewer security risks and service interruptions.
Outside the home, security companies rely on broadband internet and cellular networks to carry signals around the globe. Wireless security systems are connected to remote monitoring centers where personnel are always on hand to respond to alarms.
Meanwhile, homeowners can remotely access all of their security and automation equipment with their mobile phones. It is truly amazing. A homeowner can use his phone to check his video camera feeds. Another homeowner can adjust her thermostat or lock and unlock her doors with the swipe of a finger.
It All Works Together
Stepping back and looking at things from a big picture view reveals just how much home automation and security systems work together these days. There is no longer a need to draw a distinction between the two types of devices. They all fall under the home automation banner. It is just that some devices have security functions while others are more about efficiency and comfort.
On the home security side of things, you have:
- Video surveillance cameras
- Smart door locks
- Automated lighting
- Window and door sensors
- Glass break sensors
- Smoke, CO, and water sensors
- Medical alert systems.
On the automation side of things, efficiency and comfort are enhanced by:
- Smart thermostats
- Automated window blinds
- Automated home entertainment systems
- Smart speakers
- Geofencing capabilities.
What we can do with our home automation systems these days is truly incredible. You really have to experience it to understand the full potential of it all.
Tying Multiple Technologies Together
If you needed an example to demonstrate just how technologically advanced home automation has become, tying multiple technologies together would do the trick. For example, consider geofencing paired with temperature control and home security.
Geofencing utilizes the GPS function on your phone to create a virtual fence around your property. With that fence created, you can program your smart thermostat and home security systems to coincide with geofence parameters.
You can program things so that, as you are pulling away from home in your car, your thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature while your security system arms itself and locks the front door. On your return, your phone triggers the geofence system to reverse everything. Your thermostat automatically readjusts, your security system disarms, and the front door is unlocked.
Remote Access Is Big
What if you’re not into geofencing? Is there anything else you can do with your home automation that wasn’t possible a few years ago? Absolutely. Remote access immediately comes to mind. Thanks to the integration of home automation and security with broadband internet, remote access is now standard fare.
Let’s say you have out-of-town guests coming in. You don’t have to leave the key under the doormat. That was yesterday’s strategy. Today, your guests merely send you a text message when they arrive. You can use your phone and your home security mobile app to unlock the front door remotely. Boom.
Did the boss approach you today and ask you to work late? No worries. Override your thermostat and lighting settings right from your workstation. There’s no need to waste valuable heat or electricity if you’re not going to be home.
Voice Is the Wave of the Future
As exciting as things on the home automation and security front are right now, they are only going to get more so in the future. Voice control is leading the way. The voice control genie was let out of the bottle with the very first smart speaker developed by Amazon. Now that so many Americans own smart speakers, it’s only a matter of time before everything related to home automation and security is voice-activated.
With the right smart speaker and wireless lighting controllers, you can already turn lights on and off simply by speaking. You can command your smart speaker to order flowers or check the weather. But there’s so much more engineers are working on.
Imagine voice commands to arm and disarm your security system. Imagine speaking to turn on your irrigation system and lower the blinds in the family room. We are already well on the way. Right now, engineers are just working out the kinks inherent to natural language processing. Once they conquer it, there will be no limits to voice control.
Technology has blurred the line between home security and home automation. They are now one of the same for many companies like Vivint Smart Home. And as that line is blurred, fewer homeowners are drawing a distinction as well. They are investing in the home automation space and getting both home automation and security devices in a single package. That is the way it should be.
