The primary way I protect our home is by not publishing the fact we're away on vacation. Social media is the worst place to share your holiday plans. By all means, publish all your holiday snaps after you're home, but to do so while you're hundreds (if not thousands) of miles away can have unforeseen consequences. If you've wondered how you can use technology to protect your home, here are some handy tips to make your fortress less attractive for those seeking opportunity.
Set up a smart home alarm system
If you don't already have an alarm system installed by professionals, DIY kits like those offered by Amazon's Ring are a great way to provide peace of mind with sensors, audible alarms, and live monitoring. We managed to pick up a starter kit during an Amazon Prime sale last year and it's used daily. When away on vacation, everything is configured to remain in away mode with all sensors active and monitoring for movement. The Ring doorbell already covers the front door, complemented by an indoor camera covering the rear garden and an outdoor camera for the side driveway.
Every entry point to the house is covered with automated responses and alerts for movement detection. Being able to fetch your phone and have a quick check on the house every so often is a great way to enjoy your holiday without worrying about what's going on. You don't even need to have such a system configured. A simple Raspberry Pi single-board computer (SBC) can handle cameras and record footage. Use a NAS and you can keep everything in-house. And if you want to go all-out, there are smart door locks that can be managed and monitored remotely.
How to make a security camera with a Raspberry Pi
A simple DIY project to monitor your surroundings
Pretend you're home with smart bulbs
Philips Hue and other ecosystems are excellent for turning lights on and off without you lifting a finger, but they can also create the illusion you're home. Different timings can be used per day to make it seem as though lights are being turned on and off manually. Mechanical timers are good for keeping to a low budget but there's no variance in the timing for each day. At the specified time, the light will turn on (or off) each day. This can appear automated by anyone scoping a property — that said, the absence of any movement, particularly with vehicles can be a giveaway.
Other smart home tech can be integrated into this approach, including automated blinds to help sell the idea someone is present. Smart plugs are another solid addition to the home and can handle various tasks. One is dedicated to the fish aquarium, which can be reset to ensure the lighting timer is synchronized. For some reason, it doesn't store the current time through power loss, resetting to 00:00 at boot. Connecting to Bluetooth resets the tank but this isn't possible while away. Cue a smart plug, which can cycle the power at midnight and reset the aquarium lighting.
I created my own smart home hub, and I kind of love it
Oftentimes, writing tutorials for XDA involves me doing things I would never normally do, or things I simply have to undo after I've done all the testing. But last week, I was asked to write about how to turn an old PC into a smart home hub, and to my surprise, the process of setting up Home Assistant was very rewarding. After setting up my own server, all my Google speakers and Chromecast were already on the list so I could manage playback on those devices. But with some work later on, I even added full-blown TV remotes for both of my smart TVs, which really turned this from a fun little side project into an actual useful tool. It even supports Wake-on-LAN magic packets, so I can also turn the TVs on after a bit of extra setup. I don't yet have a ton of smart devices in my home, but I love how I can have all these things in one place, and what's more, running locally so I don't need an internet connection for everything. Do you use Home Assistant? What kind of devices have you set up
Notify trusted family members or neighbors
Technology cannot solve everything, which is where good old neighbors and family check-ins work wonders. Providing a trusted individual with access to your home (and any necessary alarm codes) is a good way to have someone check that everything is clear. Not only do you have to worry about someone breaking into your home, but a water pipe could burst, or an appliance catch fire. Unless you have internal surveillance, connected smoke alarms, or some other devices monitoring every aspect of your home, nothing beats a pair of eyes and a sense of smell.
Smart speakers and automation devices like Amazon Echo can even listen out for smoke alarms or glass breaking, though you may have to pay for the luxury. Even with countless cameras and sensors active and online, I'd still recommend getting someone to pop by and make sure all is well, especially if you're away for longer than a week. These are just a few tips to help you enjoy your relaxing holiday without worrying about home. It'll still be standing when you return with all your contents accounted for. Just remember to be smart about things.