Self-Monitoring vs. Professional Monitoring

Before we dive into why you should get a home security system, first, you'll need to decide whether you want to monitor the system yourself or pay extra for a professional service. While self-monitoring is cheaper, you won't be able to monitor your system 24 hours a day actively — it's too easy to miss something, especially if you're sleeping.

With professional monitoring, the service works round the clock and constantly keeps track of your home's alerts. If an emergency does occur, these trained professionals know exactly how to respond, including which emergency service to contact. And since these alerts come from a professional source, the emergency response times are faster.

Bye Bye, Burglars

Of course, one of the main reasons to get a home security system is if you're worried about a burglary. But did you know that burglars are less likely to invade your home when there are obvious signs of a security system, like yard signs, outdoor cameras, etc.?

Eighty-three percent of burglars look for signs you have an alarm, and over half say they will give up their plans when they see one. And if they do attempt to enter your home, with security motion sensors on the windows and doors, you'll know the instant someone tries.

Pro Tip: For an even more significant burglary deterrent, tie in bright lights and loud alarms whenever a security alert goes off.

1. Begin with a Consult

The first step towards your custom solution is a consult outlining the scope of your project. This is where you discuss what you want out of your smart home. Do you want the lights to be location or motion activated? Do you want never to have to worry about locking your front door?

During this process, you'll figure out how many rooms to include in your custom solution, what technology you'll need, and which smart home solution is ideal for your family and budget.

2. Designing the System

Once your custom installers have an idea of what you want out of your smart home, that's when the real work starts with professional designers and engineers. They come together to formulate a system that includes the technology you want with budget and time frames.

Every custom solution needs a well-thought-out design and plan as it makes the rest of the process easier. This plan includes the wiring infrastructure, hardware location, user interface management, and how to blend the equipment with your home design.

3. Managing the Project

With the initial plan in place, the next step is probably one of the more important ones: managing the project. This involves setting clearly defined parameters for all those involved in your custom solution, such as architects, engineers, designers, and contractors. That's a lot of people and components to keep track of!

Lifestyle & Goals

One way to start thinking about what you need in your smart home is to consider your overall lifestyle and goals. Walk through your house, take notes about your daily routine and figure out what can be automated. It will give you a better sense of what your home can look like, fully automated. Do you want to never have to worry about house keys or codes? Do you want your home's thermostat to always be optimized? Have complete surveillance both in and out of your home? You may want all of those things. However, just because there are dozens of options for automation doesn't mean you'll need or want to use them all right away.

Rather than starting with a whole system, you can start with one that controls only a specific home feature like your security, entertainment, thermostats, etc. And that way, you can get scalable home automation systems that let you expand on the system when you want to. But, identifying your overall goal will guide you in effectively selecting your home automation system. This is also the time to establish your budgets.

Functions & Controls

Next, you'll want to choose a home automation setup with controls that are suitable for you. Hardware-based, software-based, or a combination of the two are the three primary types of home automation control centers.

• Software is designed for people with more complex home automation needs.
• Hardware is best for simple systems with manual controls.
• Hybrid systems are ideal if you want to utilize triggers to automate events such as motion-activated sensors and conditional events such as a thermostat that sets a room temperature at a specific time of day.

From there, you can pick a system that has the new innovative functions and includes all of the exciting, high-tech features, such as remote control, smartphone app, and voice control, among other things. If a system requires an app, you should also check if it is compatible with your devices.

After finding a compatible system, double-check that it has all of the features that assure ease of use and efficiency.

Have a Geek Meet

If you’re more on the anti-social side, maybe going out to a geek-fest isn’t your thing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun! Play nerdy games with your fellow geeks or online. This might be a perfect day to go back to a good old game of “Dungeons and Dragons.” Or join the relevant Watch party on Facebook or any other nerdy event you are interested in. You could also join an online discussion about your latest movie or show obsession with your fellow geeks.

And if you want an in-person meet-up with some friends, you can do that too. Maybe you’ll binge-watch your favorite anime or watch a marathon of Marvel films. Alternatively, you might spend the entire day playing your favorite video game. And if you can’t spend the whole day geeking, you can still take some time to show off your new projector or your home audio system you just added.

Geekify Your Home

Don’t feel like your home really showcases your inner or outer geek? Take the chance on this Geek Pride day to rectify that. So if you’ve been thinking your video game setup needs some work, it’s time to go for an upgrade! And while you’re at it, you can completely transform your home theater experience with a custom solution that matches your geeky soul. You can even take the opportunity to geekify your backyard patio with an outdoor theater setup—the choice is yours!

Perhaps you’d want to use your creativity and set up some home automation lights to recreate Harry Potter scenes or as the backdrop for your next cosplay. It is Geek Pride Day, so why not get techy with it!

Get Creative

If you’re a sci-fi lover, you know what a tricorder is, but did you know that with home automation, you can almost have the real thing? The tricorder was the pinnacle of efficiency and simplicity. It was a small machine that allowed access to an almost infinite amount of sensor data and automation. Like how a smart home hub or app is, nifty isn't it?