MONITOR YOUR HOME FROM ANYWHERE WITH SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY
Being away from home doesn't mean you can't stay abreast of what’s happening while you’re gone. Thanks to innovative technology from Control4, you’ll know the second someone rings the doorbell, if there’s someone strolling across your backyard, or if your trusty neighbor remembered to water your plants. All you need to stay connected is a Control4 mobile app on your smartphone and an Internet-enabled monitoring device at your home. The monitoring device can be an intercom, like the new Control4 Intercom Anywhere feature, surveillance camera, electronic door lock, or a combination of all three. Linked to your smartphone via the Internet, these devices can be actively monitored and managed whether you’re at the ball field down the street or hundreds of miles away at another residence. You can see and hear what’s happening and even create the illusion that you’re home even when you’re not.
Intercom Anywhere, for example, resembles a standard intercom station, but rather than ring a special device installed inside your home, it rings your smartphone. When a visitor presses the button on the intercom door station, a built-in camera instantly sends a snapshot to your phone. After identifying the guest, you can speak with him or her via a two-way connection between the microphone in your phone and the door station. When paired with a Control4 home automation system, you can use the intercom to engage a home scene, like switching on the porch lights. Your guest will never guess that you’re miles away from home. And if you’d like to let the visitor inside—to drop off a package, for example, you can instruct the Intercom Anywhere to disengage the electronic door lock. When the visitor departs you can lock up the house once again.
Surveillance cameras from Control4 are equally as vigilant. Equipped with built-in motion sensors, they can send an alert to your smartphone whenever they detect that someone has entered your property. From the Control4 app you can then view the footage in real time, verifying what triggered the camera—at stray cat, the gardener, or an unwanted visitor. You can watch what happens, let the video record to view later, or take action like instructing your Control4 home automation system to flash an exterior light or activate a siren.
Electronic door locks are another way to keep tabs on your home while you’re away. In this case, the visitor is typically expected, as they are able to gain access to your home by entering a special code into the keypad of the lock. These codes can be given to family members, trusted friends, babysitters, your handyman … whoever. When a code is entered, the lock adds it to a log that’s accessible via your smartphone. You can see who entered you home and when, as well as what time they left and locked your house back up. Connected to a Control4 system, the lock can also trigger a custom scene, like turning on the lights when the kids enter their code or opening the motorized drapes when your housekeeper pays a visit.
With remote monitoring devices like these, and tied to a Control4 home automation system, you’ll never wonder about the well-being of your home ever again. You’ll be able to track the comings and goings of guests, visually inspect important areas of your property and communicate with visitors from anywhere in the world. All it takes is the right equipment, and Internet connection and a smartphone app to keep you connected to your home at all times.
