A Busy Life Needs A Hard Working Home

At every juncture in history where technological advancements have happened rapidly, society has thought that humans will end up having more leisure time as more things become done by machine.  It’s a stance that doesn’t always work out in reality, with many of us busier than ever before trying to keep up with the demands of modern life.  Sometimes it seems like the more processes are automated for us, and the more time this theoretically frees up, the more activities and responsibilities appear to take their place instead.  This is one of the major drivers causing people to automate their homes.

Home automation is something that has developed so rapidly that it can be hard to keep up.  Indeed, when we watched old clips of Dragon’s Den, and the TV simulator that was touted as a burglar deterrent, it was a surprise to find that was 15 years ago.  Back then, you’d have had to use a timer plug to turn your TV on and off and depending on your set up this might only have caused an un-tuned TV to turn on, fooling no burglars.

Nowadays with smart automation and mobile enabled devices you can do so many things that 15 years ago were just a pipe dream for the average homeowner.  If you went on holiday you’d need to use timer plugs to manage lights coming on and off, and run the risk of a burglar noticing the same pattern every day.  You could also easily forget to turn the heating off and return to a high bill, or even forget to set your home alarm system and ruin your relaxing holiday by worrying about it for a week.

Times have changed a lot, and it’s now quite common for people to have a smart thermostat that they can control from their mobile phone.  Smart lights and plug sockets mean you can turn appliances on and off easily, and if you have certain devices you can check the contents of your fridge from the supermarket, turn the oven on to preheat on your way back from work and even make sure you return to a pre-filled bath at the perfect temperature. (The PerfectFill product was launched in the US in 2022).

These facilities are becoming vital in the management of a busy family home, with home security products also providing useful information and peace of mind for parents and people caring for elderly relatives.  Video doorbells and home CCTV provide instant oversight to comings and goings at the front door, and some even let you speak to the caller. 

Domestic alarm systems can be controlled from your phone, so you can set the downstairs alarm from the comfort of your bed with no need to race up the stairs.  This function is also very handy for parents of teenagers, who might come home after their parents’ bedtime.  Now the parent can set the downstairs alarm without having to wait up in the living room.

It’s also possible to automate the arming and disarming of your home alarm system based on your proximity to the house, an ideal option for people who are forgetful, or who have to corral several kids out of the door and into the car for the school run.  When returning to the home, the alarm will automatically disarm when you approach, meaning you don’t need to juggle bags of shopping, keys, kids and anything else you bring home just to turn the alarm off.

We design every domestic security system around the needs and lifestyles of our customers, whether you need sensors on all doors and windows due to being in a high crime area, environmental monitoring to alert you to smoke alarms going off, or separate upstairs and downstairs systems, P&R Alarms can build your perfect package.