Safe & Secure

For Minneapolis homeowner Ashok Dhariwal, having an automated, customized home security system is about one thing: ease.

“Our automation is lifestyle-based. We focused it on how we live—what’s important and what we do,” Dhariwal says. “You can get the fanciest remote control but if you don’t know how to use it, it’s not useful.”

As technology becomes more sophisticated, home security has followed suit. From lights programmed to turn off and on with the sunrise and sunset to motion-sensing cameras, more Twin Cities homeowners are adding automated features to their security systems. Sure, glass-break detectors and motion sensors are still part of the security equation, but those are just the beginning. Layering traditional security features with high-tech tools creates a home-management system that keeps a residence safe, secure, and comfortable.

Wireless technology allows for pre-existing homes to have all the capability that most of the new houses have.

But as Dhariwal noted, that system must be user-friendly. “You just want a one-button situation for any series of things that are going to happen,” says Dallas Dingle, founder of Supercalibrations, Inc., in White Bear Lake, a home-technology company. “That’s what automation is all about—the less activity, the better.”

Automated Design

Virtually everything in a house can be automated, from lights to the coffee pot to the dog-kennel door. Furnaces equipped with sensors can notify a homeowner if the temperature drops or carbon monoxide detectors can send a message if a reading goes beyond normal; these messages can be sent via phone, e-mail, or pager. The smoke detector can notify the fire department directly, and electric floor heat can be programmed to turn on and off as the seasons change.

But that doesn’t mean everything should be automated. Automation should work with how a family functions in a house. Homeowners should invest in a security system that’s designed for them, ensuring that their individual needs are met.