THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO...Smart home security

If you want to keep your home safe, secure and fully protected, then you need to invest in smart home security

- Beth Girdler-Maslen

It seems like almost every household today has some kind of smart home device inside it. Whether that’s in the form of a smart speaker that plays music when you ask it to or a full ecosystem that connects your lights, cameras and even vacuum cleaner together, smart gadgets have taken over the home to make our lives easier.

One area that smart home gadgets have made significant improvements is security. Catering for flats, rented accommodation, houses and larger properties, smart home security has come on leaps and bounds, and has also become an extremely easy way to protect your property, regardless of its size or location.

HOW HAS SMART SECURITY DEVELOPED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS?

Before smart home security became popular and increasingly adopted, security systems were typically hardwired and relied heavily upon physical connections. They were quite expensive and hard to install,

which is why most older security systems were only really seen in offices and larger properties. This type of security was also difficult to upgrade and due to the presence of physical lines, it was much easier to tamper with them.

This all changed when smart home devices hit the market. Long gone were the complicated, bulky and 'too many wires' systems, and instead, we saw more compact, wireless and easy to install gadgets that catered to a wider audience. While there may still be some sceptics around today, it has to be said that the emergence of smart home devices has undoubtedly made homes safer.

First, there’s installation. Before smart home devices, installing a security system required external help which added an extra expense on top of an already expensive purchase. But most security devices, particularly indoor and outdoor security cameras, can easily be installed with just a little DIY.