Would you trust a smart home security system to protect your home?

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Not perhaps the right place to comment, but in the article “How to make your home more secure” there is a picture of a ‘shed door’ with a plate lock on it securely fastened with a padlock. Isn.t the use of ordinary phillips screws to attach it to the door just asking for the burglar to bring his philips screwdriver with him
to gain entry in two minutes by undoing the 4 screws?

Special screws can be used that once done up are difficult to unscrew!!!!!

And with the recent passing of the governments ‘universal surveylance laws’ which basically allows ‘Big Brother’ to monitor everything that you do on the internet, SMART home security must be a dream come true for the various (hundreds) of organisations that have access to this info.

No, but I trust it to protect my mother!

Last year, I looked at the options and costs for telecare systems for my elderly mother, who still lives independently in her own home. I found the cost and practicality of even the simplest systems to be poor value for money; around £200 per year just for monitoring a pendant alarm. And what happens if you forget to have the alarm with you at all times or you are unconscious?

Instead, I spent around £300 on a Samsung SmartThings kit and a couple of extra sensors. As it needs an Internet connection to work, I upgraded my mother’s phone line to add broadband for an extra £5 per month to her existing contract.

This system has been operating for nearly a year now and is proving to be very successful. Apart from the router and hub, there is no wiring and the sensors are tiny and unobtrusive.

My sister and I receive instant alerts to our Android phones/tablets when the fridge is opened. So the first message of the day is a welcome reminder that she is up and about, and then eating normally throughout the day.

There is a small fob on her keys, so we know when she is out shopping; no point in ringing then and worrying that she is not answering the phone.

Most rooms have a motion sensor; when she is home, we can proactively check that she is moving about and not at the bottom of the stairs. They also monitor the temperature and would alert us if the house is too cold.

The patio door has an open/close sensor. If there is no movement, but the keys are at home, she is most likely in the garden. Again, not a good moment to call.

Finally, whilst Samsung don’t provide one, Aeotec make a neat Z-Wave panic button that works with the SmartThings hub, which my mother can wear around the house if she wants the reassurance of a panic alarm.

We are also considering adding Philips Hue lighting that can be automatically or remotely controlled, a Samsung video camera and Yale remote locking. If she was to trip and fall down the stairs, we could turn on the light, see and communicate with her over the camera’s audio system and unlock the front door for a nearby neighbour or the emergency services.

There are many other types of sensor available that can be integrated into the system, depending on your relative’s needs and circumstances, including flood detectors, fire and CO alarms, etc. Even fitness monitors are compatible, although the battery life of these devices is not currently sufficient for someone who does not receive regular home care.

Basically, the benefits of these smart home systems are not limited to a burglar alarm, for which they are not particularly well suited, as others are pointing out. But neither should they be dismissed as a gimmick for specific applications, particularly as more and more devices become Internet enabled.

In my view, Which? should be including these systems on their Assistive Technologies pages for Elderly Care and provide a sample set up configuration. They are a cheaper and far more flexible alternative than the commercial systems available and have the advantage of active, as well as passive, monitoring.

Your article on home security page 34 of Jan which – shows a padlocked shed which is incorrectly fitted. The square holes MUST be fitted with smooth headed coach bolts, or a burglar could just unscrew either part and walk straight in.
From a retired policeman!
(Laurie Oliver ex Gwent Police)