Having security in Broward is essential to protect your property. But most people don’t know that a security system can be fun. These features are normally referred to as Residential Interactive Services and it’s a way to take advantage of smart home tools. Think convenience!
Not everyone understands what smart home features are or residential interactive services are. It’s still relatively new. They allow us to do super cool things like control our home with our phones and tablets.
Customizing your house has never been easier. Let’s dive in.
What is a Residential Interactive Service?
Residential interactive services give homeowners complete control over all of their home systems with just a touch of the finger. It responds to your apps on phones, tablets, or other hubs. Sometimes we can even use voice control. Want the lights to turn off? Just say so!
This is something maybe we are more familiar with like Amazon Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. Anything capable of listening to voice commands is a part of your residential interactive services.
Benefits of Residential Interactive Services in Broward
There are so many benefits to think about when using residential interactive services in Broward. For starters, convenience comes to mind. But we can’t limit it to that as it also provides safety among other things to take advantage of. Let’s take a closer look.
Security
A residential interactive system will improve your home security by allowing your phone to hook up to all of the security systems. This allows you to monitor the house when you aren’t there and also ensure that you have all the presets turned on like when to lock the doors and when not to.
It also can help authorities crack a case if something does go wrong. When you have a residential interactive system there is a good chance that you can obtain all the footage from a break-in right on your phone. Handing this over to the police can help solve who the criminal is.
Communication Methods
When you have a residential interactive system you can also communicate with whoever is home when you are not. If you have kids coming home from school and you want to let them know where you left the dog leash, no problem.
It’s also super handy if you are letting contractors to your home when you are not there. If they don’t know how to get to the basement you can easily guide them from voice activation. How futuristic.
Efficiency
This type of system provides extreme efficiency to your life. Have you rushed out of your home before and forgot to lock the doors or just couldn’t remember if you did or didn’t? We all do. That’s why a residential interactive system allows you to do it straight from your phone so you don’t have to go all the way home.
But this is just one of many examples. You can also turn on and off your alarms systems as well as check on the maintenance of your fire alarms and turn the light out all right there on your phone.
How Do Residential Interactive Services Work?
A residential interactive system is meant to be customized to your house which is why you won’t see two the same. However, you will notice that the general ideas and themes likely are recognizable. There are a few different levels of intensity as well. You could have the basics or have a smart home.
Let’s talk about how these different models can look while understanding they all run through the connection of WIFI and your home network.
Basic Interactive Services
This is the most basic form of residential interactive services and the one we are referencing the most. This includes things like surveillance cameras, alarms, Bluetooth access control, and more.
Interactive Services with Automation
But you can get into residential interactive services with things beyond home security. This looks into the convenience factor much more. This includes things like:
- Garages: Being able to control your garage from your system is a great feature.
- Temperature control: Setting thermostats from near or far are a great way to keep the house cool or warm when you need to.
- Lights: Set your lights on or off at specific times. You can also create automated schedules.
- Notifications on house status.
There are many options constantly developing and presenting themselves as technology continues to evolve.
How to Install Residential Interactive Services
Residential interactive services aren’t short on technology. This means that the more home automation you want then the more assistance you are going to need from tech specialists. When it comes to wiring or even configuring your network and data plans to your home security, you will need a specialized security team to help. Don’t run the risk of having any security issues.
While you won’t be doing the installation here is a step-by-step guide so you know how to follow along.
- The first step is yours as you want to research and find out who is qualified to do that job in the first place. Look for certifications.
- Once you figure out who is going to be the best match for you, you’ll want to discuss what your home needs are. They can make suggestions and talk about what is within your price range.
- Once both parties are on the same page about what is the general idea for the residential interactive services, the security employee should arrange for staff to come out to the property and look at how the devices will fit and work into the layout.
- Once the mapping is done a finalized plan can be drawn out as well as any adjustments that need to be made during these stages. A final contract will be signed.
- Now the installation process can begin. Depending on the complexity of the job will depend on how many employees come out to work on it.
Risks of Having a Residential Interactive Service
Having an automated home is a great and convenient thing to have. Suddenly you don’t have to worry anymore about locking the doors because if you forget, you can always do it on the run. But there are some associated risks when you put everything online and it’s worth knowing about them. Even if the risks don’t outweigh the benefits it’s important to consider.
Security Hacking
Something that we see a lot of in general is cyberhacking. While it is unlikely that your residential interactive system is hacked it’s also a possibility. This is why it is important to have a good security team do the installation right with high-quality products. It protects you and your family from these kinds of things.
Kids’ Safety
Having your kid’s safety features turned on is important. This keeps kids from playing with the technology when they think it’s a game. Maybe it’s funny to switch on and off the lights or talk with Alexa, but the security of your home should always be childproof.
Residential Interactive Service FAQs
You may be feeling excited about getting your home set up with residential interactive services or you may be feeling a little nervous and apprehensive. Either way, you are bound to have questions just like the rest of us. That’s why this section is dedicated to the most frequently asked questions regarding residential interactive services.
Do residential interactive services work with existing home automation companies?
Most of the time yes! If you have relatively recent home automation services then chances are any new residential interactive services will be compatible via Bluetooth. There is no guarantee that every device or installation will pair smoothly with another. To fully know if your devices will work together you will need to ask the manufacturer or the security company you are working with.
Do insurance companies cover residential interactive services?
You will need to work with your insurance company and security provider to get the answer on this one. The reason why there is no cement answer is that certain security services are covered sometimes by certain insurance companies. When it comes to having your lights turn on and off when you clap, that is a different story. Insurance companies usually pay for safety features but not convenience features.
Can you have a monitoring service with your residential interactive services?
Definitely! Monitoring services is one of the best features of having a surveillance camera and safety features. Understanding that having a monitoring service is slightly different from the residential interactive services is key. However, they can tie into your home surveillance system and provide a lot of safety and prevention measures. Choosing the right company for this is super important as you want to work with someone trusted.
We mentioned that you want to work with a provider that is trusted and experienced. These systems are only as good as they are installed. It’s also true that these systems are only going to work well if you have the right products that work for your home and your lifestyle.
That’s why when you work with Helios Security you can guarantee you are getting the best products on the market that also work with your budget. Helios ensures that those products are installed correctly while providing whatever maintenance that needs to follow. This includes any monitoring services!
Jumping In
Residential interactive services are still a very futuristic thing for most. Millennials and younger generations are starting to expect it but not all of them are quite homeowners yet. Jumping in with the idea that residential interactive services can make your life a lot easier and in most cases even safer.
Residential interactive services can mean a lot of different things from surveillance cameras to have an automated garage opener. And while there aren’t many risks you’ll want to remember that you should childproof certain things so that you aren’t leaving your doors unlocked by accident.
Just remember that regardless of what kind of automation you have you want a trusted provider to help you do the installation to ensure it runs correctly! That’s why you should call Helios Security today.
