With today’s smart home technology, you don’t have to worry about leaving your home standing empty when you’re on vacation: The right security devices and a few important settings changes will make a huge difference in how your is protected — and if it’s a tempting target for burglars.
When we asked Batten home security expert Kirk MacDowell about vacation security for times like Spring Break, he mentioned, “Try to make it look like someone is home. Have a neighbor grab your mail, water your plants and take out the trash while you’re gone. Simple things like that can make a big difference.” That’s an excellent start (if you have kind neighbors), but smart tech can make things even easier: Here are our top recommendations.
Set up Away or Vacation modes
Many smart devices have vacation or away modes you can set up to simulate a lived-in house.
Today’s smart home and home security settings don’t just have Away modes, they also frequently have a Vacation mode. That’s a routine you can set up to work while you’re away for several days or more (if your home app doesn’t have a vacation mode, you can tweak your Away or Eco mode, or set a whole new routine). Devices like Philips Hue lights and platforms like IFTTT make it easy to create full routines that cover multiple devices.
Vacation routines can switch smart lights on and off, indoors and out, to make it look like someone is still home. They can also operate other compatible devices, such as managing smart irrigation systems, arming smart cameras and more. Set a routine like this once, and you can use it over and over for trips.
Check the motion detection settings for your video doorbell
Aqara’s smart lock deadbolt replacement looks and feels great.
Smart locks don’t just let you know if you forget to lock the door. They also autolock for you under certain conditions and support a variety of scheduling options.
Most useful smart locks, like the Aqara U100 or the Schlage Smart Lever, allow you to create passes or temporary codes to give to visitors. That lets you arrange checkups for pet sitters, plant waterers, helpful neighbors and others you might want to let inside, but only at certain times. Smart locks combine especially well with video doorbells — just make sure you’re in an area with a reliable Wi-Fi connection to use them remotely.
Adjust your heating and cooling
Alexa’s emergency assistant is an affordable listening and contact service.
Listening features use simple algorithms to identify “uh-oh” noises like breaking glass, smoke detector alarms and even dogs barking loudly. Home security systems like Abode or Ring offer listening options, but you don’t always need a home security device to enable it.
Amazon’s Alexa smart speakers and smart displays, for example, have the Alexa Emergency Assist service, the successor to Alexa Guard. It costs around $6 monthly, and gives you access to sound detection as well as 24/7 emergency response services and emergency contacts for family. That’s a nice deal to enable for a few months if you’re going on plenty of vacations for a season, and the two-way audio on all Alexa speakers means you can talk through them live whenever you want.
Keep watch with an armed security system
If your home doesn’t have a whole house security system that can monitor multiple access points like windows and doors, this is a fine time to consider one. Today’s home security systems don’t need professional installation, or even a monthly subscription, to guard your home — and many work with third-party smart devices, too.
Take a look at our guides on the best DIY home security systems, the best cheap security systems and the best systems overall for your home to learn a whole lot more about your choices.
Add a leak detector to vulnerable home spots
Vacations are awesome, but be wary about posting too much info on social media.
We know it’s tempting to post about your vacation plans on social media, but this can also be an invitation for burglars or trespassers to make a visit. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know and trust everyone on your friends list, or friends of their friends who may see status updates as well.
To stay safe, avoid posting info and pics about your trips until they are finished. Then you can cut loose and unleash all those perfect shots on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook.
Bonus tip: If you’re renting, look at your lease
Some leases require tenants to let landlords know if they’ll be going on vacation for a certain amount of time, like longer than a week. Others don’t mention it at all. Check your lease for details. Even if you don’t have to alert anyone, you may find additional requests like shutting off water mains, setting the temperature to a certain level, arranging pet sitter access and so on.
Finally, now is the perfect time to stop by our guide on how to deter burglars from every trying your house in the first place, information on if thieves are actually using Wi-Fi jammers on smart homes, and the all-around security cheat sheet for setting up different parts of home security.
