Four Trends in Smart Home Safety

For homeowners and renters alike, smart homes are a great solution that offers convenience, functionality and increased security. And with the holidays approaching, now is the perfect time to find out more about what smart home technology can do.

Here are four of the hottest trends in smart home safety and security.

Tend 1: Integrated Solar NightLight

Almost every one of us has suffered from some type of injury when using the bathroom or getting a glass of water in the middle of the night. Often, the reason for many of these accidents can be linked to either the lack of adequate lighting or that we avoided turning on the overhead lights. Fortunately, a product by Solatube has been invented to answer these challenges. Thinking inside the tube, Solatube integrated a small solar-electric system that collects the sun’s energy by day to power a NightLight that automatically comes on at dark. The soft glow, which mimics moonlight, means homeowners won’t have to turn on the lights for late-night trips to the bathroom or to navigate dark hallways and stairs. This hot trend offers a bright solution for safe, automatic nighttime navigation. As an added bonus: natural light has been shown to kill germs, making the home a safer place in more ways than one.

Trend 2: Home Automation and Controls

Home automation and controls is exactly what it sounds like: automating the ability to control items around the house—from window shades to pet feeders—with a simple push of a button or voice command. Homeowners now have the ability to make certain they really did lock the back door or turn off the lights before leaving the house. This trend is taking a security system and turning it into a “smart home” device, and consumers are loving it.

Trend 3: Video Monitoring

Having a solid indoor security camera is now the cornerstone of any good home security system. This happening trend allows homeowners to watch live video footage of their home from their smartphone anytime, anywhere. It also takes the stress away when leaving pets at home for any amount of time. Owners can monitor and speak to their animals while they are away. This convenient trend offers peace of mind and may deter burglars.

Trend 4: Geofencing

Think of geofencing like an invisible fence serving as a virtual perimeter. With it, homeowners can draw around any location on a map and trigger actions from their smartphone when they enter that location through an app. A great example would be an electronic notification sent to mom’s or dad’s cellphone when their child arrives home from school, triggered by the child’s cellphone. This remarkable trend also allows parents to establish a “safety” zone outside of which their child is not allowed to venture. The geofence sends mobile alerts the moment their loved ones enter or exit the area established, tracking their children’s whereabouts. This is also helpful for those caring for elderly parents who may have some dementia. Overall, this trend is making homes safer, smarter and more efficient.

With all of this great technology, being a homeowner just got a whole lot easier!