Home, by definition, is a place where your can feel safe. A place to relax and unwind without being worried or stressed by the everyday troubles of the outside world.Coming home and relaxing isn’t always possible though. There are always safety concerns that it would be remiss to ignore. In the UK there are an average of 2.7 million visits to Accident and Emergency and 6,000 deaths due to accidents. Along with these accidents there are 650,000 break-ins each year. That means that 2% of homes every year have intruders break in and damage or steal goods from the householders.
Some groups are more vulnerable than others. The elderly and infirm are prone to accidents and it’s important that if you take extra special care of your home security and personal safety. These safety home measures needs help from a professional locksmith.
People who wish to ‘age in place’ have a number of options today which weren’t available until very recently. Sheltered housing may have had call buttons and alarms in the bathroom in case of slips or falls, but adaptations for the home were normally restricted to additional handrails and ramps for people who had trouble with steps. Personal alerts in the form of a fob worn around the neck were available, but if you weren’t wearing it when you slipped they weren’t much use.
Today every householder has the option to install a huge range of personal safety and security devices which, unintrusively and efficiently, ensure that whatever your needs, you can be safe and secure in your home. Home cameras, which are marketed as a handy way to talk to your pets and the kids while you’re not home are actually a godsend to people with elderly parents or other vulnerable relatives who wish to live in their own homes for as long as possible.
Not only can carers see and hear what’s happening, the householder can also use the camera to call for help if they have a fall and can’t get up. Moreover, there are ‘Skills’ which you can download which will detect an emergency, such as breaking glass or a sudden thud, and send an alert to all the phones, computers and tablets which are connected.
Smart Devices Give Seniors The Security To Age In Place
If you want the monitoring plus a vast range of other options, but you don’t want the camera watching you all day, a Smart Speaker can do the same job. It can detect falls, break-ins et cetera, and, of course if you get into difficulties but are still able to speak, you can simply ask it to alert carers and family members.
The other options a Smart Speaker can offer are alerts and reminders to take medication, radio, weather reports, make calls to people on your contacts list, and so much more.
ROSPA, the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents lists the lists the main accidents which lead to personal injury as trips and falls, fire, scalds and burns, cuts caused by broken glass, poisoning (such as food poisoning and ingesting hazardous chemicals), choking and strangling, often when children get tangled in blind cords, and drowning.
Another problem facing those who don’t have the mobility and energy they once had is that of household security. Home security should be a concern for everyone, but people who aren’t so active should be especially aware.
If you’re young and vital keeping then home security isn’t as big a problem as it is for a senior citizen. However, making sure all the windows and doors are securely locked each night, the curtains closed and your garage or shed is locked, and all the tools and equipment within are properly locked up is a job we all need to make sure we take care of.
CCTV And Access Control Helps You Keep The Baddies Out
Additional security such as CCTV cameras are a great visible deterrent and with the technology available today you are able to talk to anyone who comes onto your property via the CCTV system, so there can be no mistake that the cameras aren’t dummies. Along with cameras which can detect movement, door and window sensors can alert you to windows and doors being opened, or left open for too long. Access controls allow you to see and speak to anyone who comes to the door before letting them in, but additionally allows you to give automatic access to anyone who you want coming onto your property, and to give pre-recorded announcements to visitors you don’t wish to see.
It’s a fact that many break-ins are carried out during the day and, contrary to popular belief, burglars don’t smash windows to gain access, they are far more likely to pry open a window which hasn’t been properly closed or force open a door which sits in a frame which is old, damaged or poorly maintained. So while it’s only sensible to keep your window and door frames in tip top condition, sensors which will let you know if they are opened add another level of protection.
Protect Yourself From Emergencies Such As Fire And Flood As Well As Theft
A complete security array wouldn’t be complete without fire, smoke and flood detectors. Whereas the analogue versions of these would make an audible sound and flash lights for the profoundly deaf Smart Alarms and detectors are able to do much more. As well as making a sound which can be heard all over the house, they will also send alerts to your phone wherever you are, so even if you’re not in you will know there is an emergency, and deal with it appropriately. They will not only tell you there is a problem, they will tell you what the problem is, where it is in the house and, if you have smart locks, ensure the doors are open so you can escape and the emergency services can get in if necessary.
Of course, if there is a fire the electrics will often be knocked out, meaning that your Wifi won’t be working. In that event the Smart alarms fall back on battery power and continue to sound and use Bluetooth to connect to your Smart Home system. It’s this which then uses the GSM (mobile phone) network to connect to your phone or tablet. If that fails the alarm will simply sound.
Don’t Interrupt
Electrical failures can be a problem for any security system, and batteries will generally take over in the event of a power failure. If you’re prone to an unreliable power supply or you feel there is a risk, either through fire or deliberate tampering, that your electricity will be interrupted, ensure you find a security system which has battery back-up and that footage will be captured by CCTV cameras and stored onboard if it can’t be uploaded to the cloud via a Smart hub or computer. A USP, or Uninterruptable Power Supply, is a wise purchase too. Plug it into the mains, and plug your computer into it, and should there be a power outage your computer will continue to function for a certain period of time, ensuring that any footage captured shortly after the power goes off is captured and sent to cloud storage. It also allows you to save any unsaved data, & close down your computer safely should you have a power cut while you’re working.