Tag Archive for: smart home

What Does Dad Really Want? Home Automation

Men love their man caves, and now is the perfect time to give those rooms an upgrade. Rather than wood paneling a wall or buying another pricey beer light, we recommend giving the man cave a boost with the benefits of a smart home upgrade. Here’s what home automation can mean for your man cave.

Smart Sensors: Protection for Sensitive Areas

The man cave may be the home’s party room, but that doesn’t mean guests should have access to everything in it. If you have a bar and you like being your own bartender, then one way to keep it secure is to place a sensor in the behind-the-bar area. That way, you receive a smartphone alert the moment a guest goes into your sacred territory. It’s a great way to manage the flow of liquor, saving you money and protecting you from liability during parties.

Smart Locks for Home Access 

Is there anything more distracting during a party than getting up to answer the door? With a smart home upgrade to the security system, smart locks can be opened with a tap of the app; that way, you never have to leave the man cave, barbeque, or party game while there’s activity in progress. Guests will be impressed when you talk to them through the speaker, and even more impressed when you unlock the door remotely.

Smart Lighting & Thermostats

Home automation is a great trend, but it’s an even greater home improvement. Now, homeowners can automate the lights, locks, thermostats and even window shades with a simple smart home upgrade to their security systems. It’s no longer a massive undertaking or financial investment; it’s manageable for the average security system owner. And there are few rooms in the home that will benefit from this improvement more than the man cave, especially for homeowners who do a lot of entertaining.

About All Action Alarm

All Action Alarm has been a relationship-driven security company that provides superior customer service, quality installations and state-of-the-art monitoring – and now, our services include smart home upgrades. We are proud that one of the top security companies on Staten Island. Contact All Action Alarm today at (631) 549-7225.

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Smart Security Cameras vs. DIY: Which is Better?

Connected home security cameras are among the best electronic investments a homeowner can make, especially as a first step into home security. As most people know, many criminals avoid targeting a home if they see a camera mounted outside; plus, connected cameras can be incredibly useful for household management.

Unfortunately, some beginners to home security start out believing that all home security cameras are the same. This is not true at all; as a matter of fact, many of the cameras you encounter at retail stores are standalone camera sets that are not connectable to a security system. What’s the difference between those and true security cameras? The latter is fully connectable to your home security system. This means they give you:  

Important Notifications

Connected home security cameras have exclusive features and intelligence that standalone cameras don’t have. One of those is the ability to notify the homeowner when there’s a person at the door, or motion captured on one of the cameras; this is done via an alert to the homeowner’s smartphone. Because the homeowner receives an alert whenever these events happen, it’s possible to stay on top of home security from anywhere.

Unique Intelligence

Of course, not everything captured on the cameras will be a legitimate security threat. Sometimes, it could be your own loved ones coming and going from the house. That’s where a connected camera’s unique intelligence becomes very valuable. Using the home security app that enables you to control the entire system from the palm of your hand, you can choose the specific video events that warrant a notification.

For example: Do you really want a notification every time your spouse or kids move into camera view? Probably not – so to prevent this, you can customize the motion-triggered notifications you will receive for each camera. You can even filter your notifications by time of day or alarm activation status. This will greatly reduce the number of notifications you get, which means you’ll know that the alerts you receive warrant your attention.

Household Management

Of course, there may be some common household events that you do want to be notified: for instance, when the kids come home from school. When your cameras are connected to your security system, you can use your app to enable a video notification when the kids arrive.

Likewise, you’ll receive a video notification when there’s an alarm event – like if the alarm is ever triggered by a possible break-in. The alarm event prompts your cameras to begin recording automatically, which means you’ll see everything going on during a true home security event. And because the video clips are sharable, you’ll be able to send them to law enforcement or post on social media to caution others.

These are some of the differences cameras purchased off the shelf and connected cameras for home security. Long Island homeowners who would like to learn more can contact All Action Alarm.

About All Action Alarm

We have experience in the electronic security industry and experts in home automation technologies. If you are looking for ways to simplify your life, give us a call.

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Integrating Smart Speakers and Smart Home Security

Are you arriving late to the smart speaker device craze? That’s okay, because these home management devices are still popular and can do more than they could when they first hit the scene. So if your household is just now getting its first Alexa, Google Home or Amazon Echo and you already have a home security system powered by smart home technology, you’ll be able to do even more with your new device than your friends who got theirs last year. Sometimes, it does pay to wait out a trend. Here’s what integrating your smart speakers and home security system can do.

Make Home Simpler and Safer

Your smart speakers are great for playing music on command, checking the weather or finding out what time the movie is playing. But what about activating your alarm? Let’s say your security system is disarmed and you need to turn it on for the night – only problem is, you don’t feel like getting out of bed to do it. That’s no problem if your smart speaker is at your bedside. Just give it a voice command to arm the alarm and turn off the lamp. Now, you can relax more securely for the night.

Throw a Better Party for Friends

Last year, your friends used their smart speakers to do party tricks (and show off a little, of course). But this year, your party will be even better because your Alexa, Echo or Google Home is connected to your security system with smart home technology.

Need things to feel more cozy as the night gets colder? Command your smart speaker to turn up the heat and turn down the lights; it will communicate with your connected security system to make both happen immediately. It makes hosting the party easier, your guests are impressed, and the ambiance is exactly the way you want it without you lifting a finger.

Find Out More 

If you already own a security system powered by smart home technology, you can get even more benefits by integrating it with your smart speaker device. For more information on connecting your home security systems to your Alexa, Echo or Google Home, contact All Action Alarm. We’ll be happy to answer your questions about this and other home automation technologies. 

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Smart Solutions for Dealing with Bad Weather

Hard rains, snow storms, wind gusts, power outages…the weather phenomenons of winter and their impact on our communities are more than an inconvenience. In many cases, these things can be very dangerous. And even in this season of transition from summer to fall, power outages can still occur during heat waves. All things considered, weather risks are present all year round. What if your household has members who are especially sensitive to weather changes, like infants or elderly loved ones? You need to know ahead of time in order to get everyone to a safer, more comfortable place. And since undergoing a temporary relocation is no small decision, you need to know as quickly as possible.

Here’s How We Can Help

Fortunately, we have something that can help: smart home alarm systems. Homeowners who choose to protect their homes with these advanced security systems have access to real-time weather alerts from the most reliable source possible, the National Weather Service. When the situation is a power outage, our customers have access to an interactive map that shows how widespread the outage is. It all starts with an alert to the customer’s smartphone, so it’s easy to check out quickly.

Immediate Action for Informed Decisions

As soon as we receive National Weather Service information regarding the inclement weather alert, we send a signal to the security systems of homes that are at risk. Our customers know about the weather as soon as we do, so families can make quick, informed decisions regarding how to proceed. If you happen to be away from home, you can ask someone to check on your pets, turn off your power, or secure your home in some other way. Whatever other fortification may be appropriate, you’ll be able to make a decision about it.

Other Ways of Protecting the Home

Smart home security systems are designed for more than safety. To help homeowners spare their property from the expensive results of flood damage due to burst pipes in the winter – or, when leaky roofs cause flooding on the floor – smart home security systems feature flood detection and low temperature threshold alerts. When you receive an alert for these conditions, you can do what you need to stop the situation before it gets out of control.

About All Action Alarm

We have experience in the electronic security industry and experts in home automation technologies. If you are looking for ways to simplify your life, give us a call.

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Smart Security Technology = A Simpler Summer Break

In the month of July, most families are knee deep in summer vacation. There are pros and cons to summer break, and most of the cons have to do with the upended schedules parents deal with this time of year. Fortunately, today’s parents can turn to technology to help them cope. If your smartphone is already a personal assistant, then going one step further by linking it to your home security system can be just the thing you need to help your family get through summer a little more easily. For example, utilizing smart home security can help you do the following.

Circumvent Scheduling Issues

Summer is busy enough for a young family – and if you’re a parent who relies on coaches, tutors, lesson givers and other parents to help keep your small kids busy on long summer days, then you have to work with all of those people’s scheduling issues as well. When appointment times, practices and events with these providers get changed, you may need to find new rides, backup caregivers and other support.

To make this simpler, your smart security system can help with the keyless entry function of smart locks. Rather than giving a house key to everyone who picks up your kids, comes in the house to teach them or offers some other support while you’re at work in the summer, you can give out a temporary access code that can be activated and deactivated as needed. You can even generate an alert on your phone when the code is used, so you can be aware when these trusted adults arrive.

Managing Your Teen’s Time Out

For parents of teens, a whole new set of challenges emerges in the summer. When teenagers see the start of summer vacation as a signal that they can stay out late at night, parents need support with enforcing curfews and keeping the house secure after everyone else in the family goes to bed (after all, you still have work in the morning!).

Using the smart technology of your home security system, you can program the system to trigger an alert when kids get home at night. That way, you’ll always know exactly what time they walked in the door. You can also create alerts for the kids’ phones, including one that reminds them when curfew is approaching and it’s time to leave.

These are just a couple of key ways that upgrading your home security system to smart home technology can make your family’s life easier in the summer. For questions on this easy upgrade, contact Park Security Systems. We will be glad to help.

About All Action Alarm

All Action Alarm is a full-service Long Island home security company that is locally owned and operated. Our certified expert technicians offer residential and commercial security solutions to Long Island, NY homes and businesses.

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Your First Smart Home: Security for Young Homeowners

Whether it’s college graduation, weddings or the moving season in general, summer is a time when young adults tend to make big life changes. Sometimes, those big steps include the plunge into first-time homeownership.

Many young homeowners are curious about the smart home movement, and the appeal goes far beyond technical allure. At the end of the day, intelligent young homeowners are like everyone else: They like technology that makes life simpler. At the same time, they also like the idea of having security systems that help them protect their first big investment – their homes. The good news is, they don’t have to choose between the two. For young homeowners on Long Island, NY, smart home technology can fill both roles: home automation and home security.

Smart Home Security is the Total Package

With a smart home security system, young homeowners can bundle equipment that:

  • Detects potential home intrusion threats. This happens by way of motion sensors, glass break detection and connected home security cameras, all of which is designed to work together. When a potential threat is detected, the homeowners can receive an alert on their smartphones.
  • Helps them enter their homes quickly and securely. Coming home after a night out is safer with keyless entry powered by smart locks that are connected to the security system. They can disarm the alarm, unlock the door and even turn on the inside lights from their phones as they pull into the driveway. This reduces time spent at the door.
  • Help trusted friends and family feel more welcome, by allowing them to have a temporary code for the security system. Overnight guests can come and go as needed without a key, and the homeowner controls when the code is activated and deactivated with a tap of the home security app.

With this technology installed, your first home can also be your first smart home.

For ambitious young professionals purchasing their first home, smart home security just makes sense. If you’re a young homeowner interested in learning more, contact All Action Alarm today. We would love to provide a free home security consultation.

About All Action Alarm

All Action Alarm has been a relationship-driven security company that provides superior customer service, quality installations and state-of-the-art monitoring – and now, our services include smart home upgrades. We are proud that one of the top security companies on Staten Island. 

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