New High-Tech Systems
Offer More Home Control
Jan. 30, 2003 -- Even when he's not home, Derek Jacobs can see who is pulling into his driveway, turn on the lawn sprinkler and flip on the floodlights in the backyard of his home in Connecticut.
Mr. Jacobs can stay connected to his home from a personal computer hooked up to the Internet, used in conjunction with a home-automation system and a collection of Web cameras. A secure Web site acts as a mini-control center where, at the click of a mouse, he can check the status of motion detectors as well as view real-time video of his home.
"It's extremely addictive," says Mr. Jacobs, a 47-year-old employee at a computer retailer who finds himself taking a peek at his home about a dozen times daily from his office.
Lights, Motion, the Web
Looking for ways to enhance home security, a growing number of travelers and second-home owners are installing high-tech monitoring systems. Much of the home-automation equipment has been around for years, but connecting it to the Web to allow remote home control is a relatively new application.
The technology does come with some challenges. For one, there aren't many inexpensive, prepackaged solutions that allow users to do both remote home automation and monitoring simultaneously via the Web. So a comprehensive system like the one used by Mr. Jacobs would likely have to be pieced together with offerings from different providers -- a tedious process that isn't for the technology neophyte.
Of course, you can hire an installer to take the challenge off your hands, but the products will still come from various providers, making repair difficult if something goes wrong.
Some of the systems also require placing sensitive information on the Internet, particularly the view of your home picked up by the Web cameras. Since most of the systems operate by means of a personal computer, your home PC will have to stay on all day, so your security will be only as dependable as your computer.
Indeed, home-automation appeals largely to people who like to tinker with new technologies, according to Mike Wolf, an analyst with In-Stat/NDR, a technology market-research firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. Still, as prices drop and the technology becomes easier to use, the systems may find their way into more American homes, he adds.
If you're considering adding security measures to your home, here's a look at some of the gear that's available.
You can piece together your own home-monitoring system by connecting Web cameras and home-automation technologies from companies such as X10 Wireless Technology Inc., based in Seattle. X10 makes products that turn your home's existing electrical wiring into a "smart" remote-controlled network.
By connecting your lights and appliances to X10 modules (small switches that cost about $13 each) and connecting the modules to a wall jack, you can use X10 software to tell your appliances to turn on at programmed times -- useful if you want to make it appear as though someone is home when you're away. Additional software will allow you to send commands from a remote Web-connected computer.
To see what's going on at your house from a remote site, you can attach X10 wireless cameras ($79.99 each) to your home computer with the company's WebView software ($59.99). But, again, keep in mind that for this solution to work, your computer must remain on and connected to the Internet.
Software providers like HomeSeer Technologies LLC, Bedford, N.H., also offer do-it-yourself programs that allow you to write commands yourself for remote control of home systems. The software starts at $99.95. With the program, your system can be as elaborate as you have the time, money and inclination to make it.
Speaking to Sprinklers
Using software from HomeSeer and automation hardware from X10 and other providers, George Photakis, a 47-year-old Columbus, Ohio, resident has spent about $15,000 during the past three years automating his 4,000 square-foot home. Automated systems include the lighting in all 12 rooms, the outdoor sprinkler system, heating and air conditioning and ceiling fans, as well as motion detectors on fencing surrounding the home.
But instead of using the Internet to control his system when traveling, Mr. Photakis has set up controls over telephone lines to activate the system by voice. With a phone call, he can turn the security system and lights in his home on and off. An audible voice alert lets him know if he has left a backyard gate open. He also has programmed the sprinkler system to turn on and off based on a seasonal schedule. "It's a hobby that never ends," Mr. Photakis says. "You're constantly tinkering."
If you want to leave the wiring to the techies, you can go with a more expensive system such as ADT Security Services Inc.'s Safewatch iCenter. ADT, a Boca Raton, Fla., unit of Tyco International Ltd., last year launched iCenter, which offers Web-based camera monitoring as well as remote control of home systems such as lighting and temperature. The system starts at about $2,500 with monthly monitoring fees of $49.99.
New York-based Xanboo Inc. and Security Broadband Corp. in Austin, Texas, offer monitoring systems that use Web cameras. Both plans include software and Web cameras, carry starting costs of less than $200 and charge a monthly subscription fee. Xanboo works best with a constant Internet link to the home, such as DSL (digital subscriber line) or a cable modem. Security Broadband works over a cable connection.
Security Broadband's SafeVillage system -- operating in Sarasota, Fla., and Las Vegas, and expected to be introduced in other large markets during the next two years -- uses a two-way audio connection and Web cameras to enable users to view and listen in on their home from a remote location.
Installation of the system starts at $199. It comes with four cameras that can be set up inside or outside the home. When the alarm is tripped by a motion sensor, the camera turns on and starts taking video, which is then stored on the system's "gateway," essentially a small computer -- separate from your personal computer -- that runs the system. The video and audio from the home is also sent to a staffed monitoring station that can then dispatch the police to your home.
Users can also log on to a secure Web site (from any computer with an Internet connection) to get into the gateway and view a list of alarm events recorded from the cameras. For example, a log entry might read "motion was detected at 3:45 p.m."; users can then click on the log entry to see a recorded video clip of what happened after the camera was turned on.
Live Feeds
The site can also be used to see live video and hear audio of what's happening in the home.
Because it runs on a separate computer, your home security isn't dependent on your PC. Monitoring fees start at about $35 a month.
Preston Clement, a 72-year-old retiree in Sarasota, and his wife, Deborah, say they enjoy the added security of Security Broadband cameras and plan to use them to look in on their home during a coming vacation. The cameras have already helped the couple solve a recent mystery: Who returned one of the family dogs after it escaped through an open door? (The cameras recorded the good Samaritan neighbor in action.)
With the Xanboo system, users get software, hardware, and four Web cameras for $150. You can add on motion and temperature sensors that send e-mail notifications to your cellphone or pager. The temperature sensors can be programmed, for example, to alert you by e-mail if the temperature in your home falls below 30 degrees, a useful feature if you're traveling and don't want to return home to frozen pipes.
But currently, Xanboo allows you to monitor only such preprogrammed events. It doesn't allow you to turn the heat on remotely, so you might have to send a neighbor over to deal with that issue. Bill Diamond, Xanboo's president, says the control applications are coming soon. Meanwhile, you can use X10 products with the Xanboo system to do home automation.
To get a firsthand look at some of these systems, I recently tested the Xanboo product and found installation to be easy. Xanboo comes with a small communication device that connects to your personal computer through a USB port. Using the color-coded wires, I simply connected two cameras to the device, loaded the software on my home computer and was ready to view my apartment from any Internet-connected computer.
Using the password-protected Web site, I was able to view real-time video of my living room and kitchen from work at my office computer. However, I found the Web pictures to be dark and unclear. I also didn't like having to keep my PC on all day to run the system.
An additional annoyance: Because the cameras have to be connected to the communication device on your PC at home, you can be faced with unsightly wires everywhere. (Xanboo notes that you can use wireless cameras, though they cost more than the cameras that come with the system -- about $119 each.) I would have preferred a view from the location of my front window rather than the footage showing my empty living room, but I didn't want wires going from my PC all the way across the room to a camera near the window.
One-Stop Shopping
On the plus side, I liked the fact that I didn't have to shop around for different pieces from competing providers to assemble the monitoring system. One big box contained all I needed to view my home remotely.
Security experts say it's important to thoroughly plan what you'd like your system to do before jumping into any of the latest offerings. When considering home automation, for example, choose to automate only systems that you use daily, like lighting and TV sets, says Richard Helmke, president of HomeSeer Technologies, the home-automation software firm.
As for putting sensitive information on the Web, providers say their Web sites are just as secure as those of banks. Dave Saddler, associate executive director of the Security Industry Association, a trade organization in Alexandria, Va., advises consumers to closely scrutinize the companies offering the service. "You'll want to know what your provider is doing to prevent hacks," he says.
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