Home Security Checklist before Going on a Trip

Everyone needs to get away every once in a while. Leaving home for a few days to change your surroundings and have new experiences can be quite refreshing, but as a homeowner, it may worry you to leave your home behind unattended. There is a lot that could go wrong in your absence, which is why having reassurance regarding your home’s safety can help you be more carefree on your trip.

While a smart home can contribute a lot to ensuring your home’s safety, there are certain things you can do manually around your home to make it safer as well. From installing security cameras to improving your home’s lighting using the Ohio Edison FirstEnergy kit, there are quite a few things you can do. The following is a home security checklist for any homeowner planning on going away on a trip, so that the experience can be as relaxing as possible.

Secure the entrances

The entrances to your home are the most important to consider when leaving for a few days. When going away, securing the entrances will ensure peace of mind for you as you go on the trip, since it is the most vulnerable part of your home. Entrances include any windows and doors, including the garage and back entrance. You can do this by a few different ways.

• Installing security cameras around your home’s entrances will ensure that you have some kind of access to it, even when you are away. You can even leave monitoring through cameras to someone around your home who you trust.
• A smart lock will ensure that no one can break in during your absence. You will have complete control over whoever enters or leaves your home at any given time using features like personalized access codes.
• Adding an automatic garage door opener will give your features that will make your garage impenetrable, securing one of the most important entrances to your home.

Install smart lights

Lighting serves more than just one purpose in your home. Along with creating a beautiful ambience, good lighting can help make your home more secure by illuminating all parts of it. Indoor smart lighting can protect your home with features like learning patterns, so when it turns on or off during your absence, it will give the impression that the house is still occupied.

Outdoor security lighting includes solar-powered LED lights, which require no electricity and will automatically turn on when it gets dark outside. You can light your backyard and any seating area(s) present around your home. Not only will this eliminate any hiding spots for intruders, it will also significantly increase your home’s value.

Manage access

When you are away from home, you will most likely have to leave someone else in charge. You home may need to be watched or maintained, and your plants may need to be watered. A lot of people tend to do this by leaving behind keys, handing them out to relatives or neighbors. This is not always the safest option, since keys can get lost or stolen quite easily. Fortunately, there is a smart-home solution to this problem.

Since having a physical key can be risky, a smart lock will give you complete access to who enters your home, as mentioned previously. Try to go for this option, if you can. It is much safer, and will allow you to enjoy your trip stress-free.

Check smoke and leak detectors

You don’t need to secure your home from external threats only. There are a lot of internal issues that can result in devastating damage to your home while you’re away, which is why it is important to consider these risks as well.

Any home with a working electrical system is at risk of some sort of electrical disaster, which may lead to a fire if not tended to at once. Smoke detectors can be helpful in this matter. As long as someone is watching over your home, this device will notify of any such hazard immediately, protecting your home from any further damage. To protect your home from water damage, leak detectors are a good option. While this accident is much less likely to occur, the damage from it may end up costing you a lot of money through repair costs.

Make sure someone collects the mail

If mail keeps on piling up outside your home, it will give any potential intruders the idea that your home is not being watched or taken care of. This may seem like an opening for a break-in. Make sure that someone regularly collects the mail from your front door so that it doesn’t seem like your home has been abandoned the whole time you are on the trip. This may seem like a small detail, but it could go a long way when trying to protect your home.

A Safer Home Ensures a Better Trip

Your home is where you keep all of your valuables. It is meant to be the most comfortable space for you, where you can easily leave everything you hold dear without worrying about any harm coming to it. When going on a trip, one needs to know that all their belongings will be exactly the same when they return, which is why having a way to monitor things remotely can be very helpful. Regardless of whether or not you have remote access to your home, this checklist will certainly make your home safer while you are away.