Category Archives: Smart Homes

Proven Home Security Ideas

Is your home as safe as you think? We all like to adapt a “it won’t happen to me” mentality, but the reality isn’t always that secure and if you follow these safer home concepts, they will offer a great deal of peace of mind for you and your family. For instance, there are an average of 3.7 million burglaries each year according to the Bureau of Justice. This means home invasions and intrusions happen just about everywhere, no matter how safe you think your home is. Here are 6 great ideas for proven home security ideas that will you let go of some of that stress.

Proven Home Security Ideas

Proven Home Security Ideas and Apps

6 Proven Home Security Ideas

ONEUnderstand How Criminals Think
When considering safer home concepts, we all have a big misunderstanding of how criminals think and work. We can blame Hollywood for this. In the action movies criminals, all think and act a certain way. They’re always dressed in black, they look suspicious, and they act out their crimes under the cover of darkness.

Proven home security ideas have revealed that in reality, home invasions don’t always look like this. Criminals often dress in street clothes, sometimes even posing as service workers. They usually scope out the area of the crime before the actual invasion, and they almost always act during the daytime. That’s right, they invade homes in the daylight. Why’s this? Because they know most people are away during the day and there will be fewer people to spot them. With over 4,500 home burglaries a day in the United States, that’s a lot to keep an eye on.

TWO – Invest in an Alarm System
One of the best proven home security ideas is an alarm system, they are literal lifesavers. An alarm system shows criminals you take your safety seriously, and it will deter anyone who might be looking for an easy target. Even better, these systems have advanced features that help you monitor your home even when you’re away. This is a peace of mind we all need. Read this blog article from Alarm Grid for more information about alarm systems and how it will apply to safer home concepts.

THREE – Be Careful on Social Media
Social media is a great way to communicate with loved ones, but it can also be a dangerous place if you aren’t careful. Do you like to post when you’re on vacation or away from home? What about your new fancy purchases? Posting these things might seem like harmless fun, but you’re actually alerting criminals that your home is empty and that there are expensive belongings waiting to be grabbed.

FOUR – Light Your Home
One of the easiest of the proven home security ideas is lighting. Lighting will go a long way to protect your home. Not only should your home be well lit when you’re away and at night to alert criminals that you’re home, but you should also install lights in your yard. Why’s that? Once again, it comes down to making yourself a difficult target. If criminals can’t get close to your home without being spotted, they’ll move on.

FIVE – Watch Your Trash
Do you throw away boxes and other items without a second thought? You should probably take a closer look at your trash before you throw it away. When you throw away boxes for expensive devices or equipment, you’re letting criminals know there’s something in your home worth taking. Instead, destroy these boxes or take them directly to a recycling facility.

SIX – Talk to Your Neighbors
It’s easy to feel like you’re in this alone, but your neighbors probably have all the same fears you have about intruders. Talking to your neighbors and looking out for each other is the best of the proven home security ideas. It’s a great way to protect your own home and make your community a safer place.

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Final Thoughts for Safer Home Concepts

A small bit of know-how will go a long way to keeping your home and family safe. We would also like to suggest some of the top rated home security apps and products that are proven home security ideas for you and your family.

Safer Home Concepts

Safer Home Concepts and Apps

Popular Home Security Apps

Our team has put together some links of popular home security products for your review.

Design Your Own Home Security Plans

CAD Pro has helped thousands of real estate agents, remodeling professionals, builders and contractors plan and design all types of home design ideas and projects. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors.

CAD Pro allows you to share your ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive home design and remodeling software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

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Popular Home Design Apps

Instagram and Pinterest have long been go-to places for homeowners to search for design inspirations for their homes. Now, several more popular home design apps for smartphones or tablets have emerged that allow homeowners to search for, find, and purchase products directly and design their spaces. The home design apps market and your smart phone has created a pocket-sized interior designer that’s portable. These apps are setting out to simplify processes for homeowners and disrupt the market in the process.

Popular Home Design Apps

New and Popular Home Design Apps

Four Popular Home Design Apps

Havenly
Havenly is one of the new popular home design apps that allows users to design rooms from their phones with the help of a professional interior designer. Users and designers are matched up through a quick quiz, so everyone is on the same page that the room is going for a mod look and not rustic farm fresh. This product has really accelerated the home design apps market for interior design.

Hutch
Using 3D technology, Hutch allows you to shop and drop to-scale images of that bed frame you’re on the fence about into a picture of your space. This way you can dress up your room without committing to a particular product before seeing it in your space.

Chairish
Charish is one of the popular home design apps that allows those of us looking for the most noteworthy pieces, the kind that will be forever cherished in your space and to browse through the most stocked digital marketplace. From chairs to rugs, you’ll stumble upon all the sorts of pieces that make a house a home. You can even see what’s available in your local area for pick up instead of having that antique French chair shipped.

BrightNest
BrightNest is new to the home design apps market and is an app that helps you prioritize what needs to get done while also dishing out interior design inspiration. Need to paint your walls? Hang up floating shelves? BrightNest can help remind you of all these things before you fluff the pillows.

Popular Home Design Apps and Home Design Software
As we stated earlier in this article Instagram and Pinterest have long been go-to places for homeowners. But sometimes it’s necessary to have a software program that provides precision. CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, remodeling professionals, builders and contractors plan and design all types of home design ideas and projects. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors.

CAD Pro allows you to share your popular home design apps and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

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CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and integrate all types of smart home design apps for home designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors as well as the National Association of Landscape professionals.

Voice Controlled Smart Locks

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Smart Home Technologies Improving Senior Care

Smart Home Technologies Improving Senior Care – A pilot program at Masonic Homes of California tests how sensors, mobile devices and software can impact the quality of care for seniors.

In 2014, 46.2 million Americans, or 14.5 percent of the population, were 65 or older, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By 2040, that number is projected to grow to 21.7 percent.

In partnership with CDW Healthcare, Masonic Homes of California has launched a smart home technologies pilot program to demonstrate the potential impact of technology on senior care. MHC operates several senior care communities that range from independent and assisted living to dementia and hospice care.

MHC created technology-enabled residential units in its Union City and Covina locations to assess how the combination of sensors, mobile devices, and software can meet the diverse needs of seniors and their families, whether they live at an MHC facility or not.

Smart Home Technologies Improving Senior Care, include:

  • Environmental controls and sensors: These include remotely programmable thermostats and temperature/humidity sensors in multiple locations throughout residents’ apartments. These devices keep the living space comfortable while controlling utility costs. Sensors also improve safety by detecting windows left open or high humidity, factors that may increase the risk of a fall on an overly damp floor.
  • Visual doorbell: Doorbells in MHC pilot units are linked to apartment lighting so that selected lights can flash when a visitor rings the doorbell, providing a visual alert for a resident who is hard of hearing. A camera and microphone at the door let residents launch video chats with an arriving visitor from their smartphone or tablet, even when residents are away from home. This capability enhances both security and social connectedness.
  • Bed sensors: Sensors embedded in residents’ mattresses or in a “smart mat” added to their bedding can track respiration rate, heart rate, sleep duration, motion during sleep, and the number of times a resident gets in and out of bed during the night.
  • Digital medication dispensers: These devices help seniors manage their often complex medication regimens, alerting them if they forget to take a pill at the appropriate time. Devices hold a 90-day supply of up to 15 medications, alerting both users and caregivers via text and email when it’s time to reorder. Authorized users can also change or discontinue dosages from a browser or mobile app.
  • Additional sensors: MHC is also experimenting with sensors on stoves, in refrigerator doors, under sinks and elsewhere to track resident activity and help prevent accidents. Caregivers can also monitor a resident’s presence in his or her apartment using a key fob or smartphone.

In the future, smart home technologies and these types of sensors can be integrated with personal health monitors — digital scales, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors and wearables such as Fitbit — that can transmit wireless data and generate the insight caregivers need to provide more attentive care.

smart home technologies

Townhouse Condo Floor Plan

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Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, deck plans and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Wi-Fi Smart Home Technology

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