In the beginning, smart home technology was reserved for the wealthy and the tech-savvy. With the advent of the now-ubiquitous smart speaker, it became a novelty wrapped in a cloak of convenience. Today, smart home technology is becoming a necessary strategy for running an efficient and safe dwelling for those who live there.
If you’re a parent, your top priority is keeping your family safe. In a world where threats are everywhere, it’s no wonder you want to create the ultimate safe space. Smart home technology provides the tools you need to build it.
If you think this technology is just a good way to keep the thermostat set to the right temperature, think again. Here are four ways smart home tech can keep your family safe and sound.
1. Smart Home 2.0 Increases Digital Security
Smart Home 2.0 uses many of the same components of the first iteration but fundamentally transforms how they work. Rather than relying on you to control turning the lights on and off remotely, 2.0 does it intuitively. These smart home solutions will streamline your everyday existence.
Smart Home 2.0 relies on impeccable Wi-Fi connectivity, full access management, and monitoring that relies on Wi-Fi waves rather than cameras. It also provides the digital security you’ll need to protect your devices. Cybersecurity powered by AI is the next step in protecting your home’s IoT gadgets and their users.
As more and more homes go smart, more and more hackers are profiting. To protect your family, you need constant vigilance against malware, viruses, phishing, botnets, and other cyber threats. Protection that blocks attacks and notifies you of them in real-time should be part of your smart home strategy.
The increased digital security offered by Smart Home 2.0 will thwart intruders, in person and in cyberspace. That’s an important feature when your family is digitally connected inside the home and out.
2. Controls Wi-Fi Access
Smart home technology is great for giving everyone in the household access to Wi-Fi. But not everyone should have free rein with that access. Freedom for kids should be tempered by protection from the worst the internet has to offer.
Although there are laws designed to protect children from online harm, they’re still exposed to danger. As a parent, you can use your smart home to help keep them safe.
With smart home tech, there’s no need to inventory and monitor devices to provide this safety net. Instead, you can control access on select devices or limit access to social media and other websites for certain individuals. You can even set time limits for kids to be on their devices.
Some smart home solutions provide the option of giving guests unique passwords to maintain limited access. Moreover, they let you restrict any access to other components in your smart home network. It’s a savvy way to protect your kids and your network from nosy guests, babysitters, or anyone else outside the family.
3. Protects Latchkey Kids
Lunchboxes, shoes, hats, water bottles — kids lose things all the time. Given that reality, expecting them to hang onto a house key seems positively unreasonable. Luckily, they can’t lose the keypad on the front door.
Smart home keyless lock technology provides your family — particularly your kids — with excellent protection. Kids can get into the locked house and the door will lock behind them. That’s important because you know they probably won’t remember to lock up once they’re inside.
Keyless locks can be programmed to lock and unlock automatically. Kids can’t wander out at night, and intruders can’t wander in a door you forgot to double-check before lights out. You’ll also know when kids get home and whether they leave again. If you detect an unexpected departure, you can check in with them.
You can program unique codes for each child and guest so you can track who’s coming and going. Monitoring foot traffic in real-time is an added layer of protection. Just make sure the code for kids is easy to remember since they’ll never keep track of it otherwise.
4. Monitors Environmental Quality and Safety
Smart home technology has evolved far beyond the capabilities of your grandma’s smoke alarm. You can use technology to monitor and alert you about the quality and safety of your home on many fronts.
There are devices that not only detect smoke in the air but also monitor chemicals that may provide an early alert. Think of smoldering plastics that may take time to produce significant smoke or flame. Some devices don’t just monitor levels of carbon monoxide but automatically shut down the furnace or water heater emitting it.
You can also install smart home devices that measure the humidity and barometric pressure in your home. They can track the quality of the air in the home and adjust heating, cooling, and ventilation systems automatically. They can also alert you to levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that could damage your family’s health.
Homes these days are built to be airtight. That may help lower the cost to heat and cool your home, but it negatively affects the quality of air inside. With the right sensors, your home can provide a breath of fresh air for everyone in it.
Life these days requires protecting your family from threats inside and out. Luckily, you can help keep your loved ones safe with the right smart home technology. If you still view your smart home technology as the internet of disparate things, take another look. The smart home of today and tomorrow pull safety features together in a single cohesive system that’s more responsive than ever.
Making your life easier while protecting those you love? Now, that’s just smart.
