Total Connect for your Second Home
A Total Connect for your Second Home or Vacation Home?
Purchasing a Vacation home can be a dream come true for some people. They can shed high rental costs and put down permanent roots in their dream location. However, this euphoria can quickly turn into stress and extra work with having to manage the upkeep of these properties. The main problem is that vacation homes are often only seasonal and sit idle for much of the year. Luckily, with new technology many of the worries of leaving a property idle can be laid to rest with remote services. Honeywell has long been a leader in the security industry and has leveraged their expertise into integrating security with home management through their innovative Total Connect app, which is free. Total Connect allows a customer to remotely monitor their vacation home and even control heating, lights and locks through z wave technology.
The first benefit to using Total Connect with your vacation home is of course security. Seasonal properties have long been the targets of home invaders looking for an easy score. Burglars will often stake out these properties to see if anyone is using it in the off season months. Additionally, if you rent the property you can disarm the system remotely without having to give out your personal security code to renters whom you know nothing about. If you paired Total Connect with a z wave keypad and lock you would have the ability to unlock the door and disarm the security system to allow a maintenance worker or cleaning lady into the property without ever compromising your security. Total Connect cameras would allow you to access live streams of what is going on in and around your house.
While security should be a concern for any owner of a vacation property, there are other everyday worries which can be solved with the remote access the Total Connect app provides. Owners of vacation homes in ski areas have the very legitimate concern of freezing pipes. Frozen and burst pipes can cost thousands in repairs and until now the owner had very few options for preventing such a catastrophe. First, they could leave their heat on a low level and heat an empty home as they watch their energy costs rise. Second, they could keep a close eye on the weather report and ask neighbors to adjust their thermostats. Neither of these options are practical.
Now with Total Connect and z wave you can adjust your thermostat from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. If you paired total connect with a low temperature sensor you could receive email and texts alerts that the home was approaching freezing and the temperature needs to be raised.
What makes Total Connect so convenient is its real time alerts and the seemingly countless things you could monitor while your away. “Water bugs” can alert you to flooding in the house before damage mounts. Sensors can alert you if a liquor or gun cabinet has been opened. Sensors can even tell you if a valuable item such as an expensive vase was moved while you were away. All of these features coupled with Z wave control of the thermostats, lights and locks allow a person thousands of miles away feel like they are sitting in their vacation home.
If you would like more information, give us a call at the office. ATP Alarms is a Honeywell authorized security dealer and would like to wish you a very Happy New Year in 2014 !
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