subject: How You Can Monitor And Control Your Alarm System From Your Smartphone [print this page] Today, advances in technology are making life incredibly convenient. Cell phone applications are extending beyond simple telecommunications and are now being integrated with various other systems. Take home alarms, for example. Previously, a home alarm had to be manually armed or disarmed by home owners in person at their property. Today, it is possible to do this same function remotely from your smartphone. If this all sounds too good to be true, here is some more information about smartphone applications for home alarm systems.
Remote Arming and Disarming
How many times have you left home only to wonder if you remembered to arm your security system? Instead of worrying about it all day at work, you can simply check your smartphone to see if your system is armed. If you forgot, you can simply activate it remotely from your phone. If your children come home from school on their own, you can deactivate the alarm just before they get home. This means that you can limit the number of people who know the arming and disarming codes, thereby making your home more secure.
Remote Monitoring from Your Smartphone
If you have video cameras as part of your home security system, you can view live video sent to your smartphone so you can monitor what is happening at your home when you are not there. If you see anyone accessing your premises who shouldn't be there, you can alert the local police authority. You can also check what time the kids get home from school and if they are really doing their homework when they say they are.
You can also use the smartphone application to monitor housekeepers, maintenance crews or babysitters. When you are out to dinner and a babysitter is watching the kids, you can have the peace of mind that all is well at home. As well, you can make sure that pets are not getting out of hand, chewing items they shouldn't be or making a mess on the floor when you're not around. Additionally, you can set up your video cameras to record motion-triggered clips and receive them directly on your smartphone with remote video monitoring.
Linking to Motion Sensors in Your Home
Motion sensors form an important part of any home protection and alarm system. They are usually fitted to doors and windows and can also be used to monitor movement inside your home, for example a door or window opening and closing. Any disturbance on these motion sensors can immediately send an alert to your smartphone. If it turns out that you have unwelcome guests, you can immediately notify local authorities.
Another useful application of the motion sensors is to alert you to any possible home disasters. Sensors fitted at floor level can provide you with early warnings of flooding or leaks in your home. Perhaps you accidentally left a faucet on before you went out or maybe your pipes burst. Having an early warning of such problems sent to your smartphone means you can immediately call someone to sort out the problem before it becomes a full-scale disaster.
Access to a Detailed Report History
With the alarm system linked to your smartphone, you can have access to an event history that includes all arming, disarming, sensor activations and alerts you have received. It's simple to play back video clips and look through a history of your home security system at just the touch of a button. The feature is very valuable in the event that you ever have to complete a police report since you'll have all the details of when and how your home was accessed. Such information can prove extremely useful to the police when tracking down and prosecuting intruders.
