Home Security When Traveling

Last updated on October 11th, 2020 at 01:11 pm

Home security when traveling has always been a concern, and even more so now days.

We’ve already talked about ways to prevent break-ins on the road in your RV but not it’s time to talk about how you protect your home while you’re on the road.

Depending on where you live, home break-ins can be a non-existent to a serious issue.  And while it can seem like these times of crimes are on an uptick, technology gives us so many new ways to secure our homes.  So how do you like to secure your home when you’re away?

I recently purchased a WeMo light switch for my home.  It isn’t for security, since it’s for some exterior lights.  I have a problem with having to traverse a long, dark pathway when arriving home at night.  And of course we can’t get our motion sense lights to turn on until we’re halfway to the house.  So I figured purchasing a WeMo switch could help our situation, especially when combined with IFTT and geo-fencing.  When I was looking for the “IFTT recipe” I need, though, I ran across a bunch of recipes that looked like they’re for security.  Basically there’s a variety of recipes to turn your lights on at night and off during the day.  Or you can even set them based on what your normal schedule would be.

You could also turn your light on and off manually (and remotely) with your mobile device.  I’m sure you could even find a recipe that let you vary the times daily, too.  So of course these switches has become popular for their convenience.  But, I’m sure that these switches are becoming (if not already) popular ways to help deter would-be-thieves.  Heck, you could even buy the WeMo switch and have it turn your audio system on and off on a schedule.

Will these smart devices keep thieves away from your home?  Maybe, maybe not.  Nothing really replaces a good alarm system.  Every little bit helps, though, and these things are fairly inexpensive, so it isn’t hard to give it a try.  Unfortunately, if you’re like me and you live an older home, then these switches might not be compatible with your electrical system.  The switches require a neutral wire to work, which most of my existing light switches don’t have.  Oddly enough, our exterior spotlight’s switch has the required wiring, so it’ll be the only one that get’s it in the house.  If you’re able to install these switches, though, would you or do you use them to help secure your home when traveling?  What other security strategies do you use?