If you are always wondering what is happening at your house when you’re away, put your mind at ease with a home automation system. Since you can’t be at two places at the same time, home automation allows you to monitor things around your home even when you are not there. If you travel often and worry about your home’s security, then home automation is for you.

As with any system, there are pros and cons associated with home automation security systems. Let’s take a look at them so you can be the judge whether the system is helping or hurting your home security.

Because you can view your home at any time, home automation can make your home safer. Installed cameras and motion detectors allow you to monitor your home from wherever you are, be it on a different continent, at work, or sitting in traffic. You can switch lights on or off, check locks, and adjust the temperature with the touch of a button. Combined with an automated security system, the risk of intrusions can be greatly reduced.

You can even “answer” the door, sending a message to the visitor that someone is home, while you are sitting at your office miles away.

However, automated security systems have their own security concerns. Hackers who can find a way to access your network can turn your lights and alarm systems off, thus leaving your home vulnerable. Hackers can also gain access to information regarding your space and behavioral patterns. Just to cause mischief, they can mess with your devices, turning them on and off rapidly and ruining the electronics. Worse still, they can even cause a fire. Another factor to consider is that the reliability of smart home security depends on your internet connection.

After weighing the pros and cons as to whether home automation is helping or hurting your security, you should ultimately decide what matters most to you.

Sources: Clickatell, Improvenet