Spring Break/Vacation Safety: Securing Your Home During Travel

Essential Tips for a Stress-Free Vacation

Unlock the secrets to stress-free travel by ensuring the security of your home during vacations. Discover how planning and anticipation contribute to a happier vacation experience.

What Burglars Look For

Explore the factors burglars consider and arm yourself with practical tips to safeguard your home during vacations. Learn how to minimize risk, secure entry points, and eliminate opportunities for potential break-ins.

For example, if they look through your back sliding door and see an iPad on your kitchen table, they then look for the easiest way to gain entry. If the door is unlocked, it’s a quick grab-and-go by the burglar. If the door is locked, they look for something close to use to break the glass – like a flowerpot, a patio chair or even landscaping pavers.

Pre-Vacation Safety Tips:

1. Enhance security by avoiding leaving valuable items within the line of sight from outside your home.
2. Ensure home security by consistently locking doors and windows, and closing curtains or blinds.
3. Minimize risks by avoiding leaving spare keys under doormats or in planters.
4. Minimize risks by avoiding leaving spare keys under doormats or in planters.
5. Manage mail during longer trips by either forwarding it or seeking assistance from a neighbor.
6. Arm your security system and alert your Central Monitoring Station of any travel plans because in the event of an actual alarm, they can provide responding authorities with this information.

Choosing a Security System

Selecting the right security system is crucial for travelers. Answer these questions to find a system that meets your specific needs

1. Does the system’s app allow for easy camera viewing or camera-triggered alerts? Not all apps and cameras are created equal. You can look in on your home via cameras using Resideo’s Total Connect App. You can position the cameras in a way that can see the status of your lawn care, the water level of the pool and any mail accumulating outside the front door.
2. Do you want your security system to help save energy? Home automation and energy consumption are two key trends emerging in the home security space as the smart home becomes more mainstream. Homeowners want a system that offers the ability to control lighting to ensure the home looks occupied and to also time interior and exterior lights to save energy. Connected thermostats are another way you can keep an eye on your home while managing energy consumption. A Honeywell Home smart thermostat with Resideo Energy Care can learn how your home reacts to changes in weather, and can automatically adjust your temperature to optimize comfort – whether you’re home or away.
3. Do you want an awareness system or one that takes action for you? In an emergency, seconds make a difference. With professional monitoring, dispatchers are trained to manage the alarm process: from receiving the signal, verification of the alarm and when needed, dispatching the authorities. With the new ProSeries Indoor MotionViewer, homeowners can view a video clip to check on an alarm and help prevent false dispatches. The MotionViewers are perfect for those who travel because they provide valuable images and really make a difference in false dispatch Reduction.
4. Does the security system integrate with my existing smart solutions? The ProSeries Platform is a game changer because of its ability to connect to other Z-wave solutions – like locks, lights and garage doors.
5. What is the safety of your home and family worth? DIY systems can give you false sense of security. The benefits of professional monitoring are especially important when you are away from home. For example, if you are on a flight traveling to your vacation and your DIY system is triggered, what happens? How are you going to call the police from 40,000 feet? Do you even know what number you would call once you leave home?