Rogers Smart Home Monitoring

I live in a small condo where the building has a complete set of security features, including closed-circuit cameras, security guards, door locks that open with electronic key fobs and the most effective measure of them all: a bevy of retired insomniac busybodies whose hobby seems to be watching the live camera feeds. I once tried to bring in a large IKEA package without booking the elevator for furniture-moving purposes, so I did it at two in the morning and still got caught by three retirees who were watching the lobby cam. If this building were any more secure, it would be a military base.

When the day comes for me to move out of this building and into a proper house, I’ll probably need something to replace the security-on-steroids to which I have become accustomed. I’d probably also like something with a high-tech twist, gadgetophile that I am. Rogers Smart Home Monitoring looks pretty tempting, as it’s got all the security angles covered, plus extra home control and monitoring goodies thrown in as a bonus.

Among the available features are:

• Control touchpad that acts as the master control for the whole system
• 24/7 central monitoring by a team that will notify first responders even when you can’t
• Door and window sensors to detect when they’re open
• Motion detectors
• “Virtual curtain” threshold detectors – kind of like those laser sensors in spy thriller movies
• Day/night vision cameras with live video streams that give you eyes on your property via a browser or mobile app
• Smoke/fire sensors with monitoring service
• Carbon monoxide sensors with monitoring service
• Water leak sensors with monitoring service
• Smart thermostats
• Lighting and small appliance controls to manage lights and other household devices remotely via computer or mobile device
• Stored still and video service

You can select a combination of these features or go for the gusto with the “everything plan”, which goes for a very reasonable $49.99 a month.

The system is connected via both broadband and wireless networks, so that if one network goes down, it can fall back on the other. It can be controlled by a control touchpad or via your computer, tablet, or smartphone (a screenshot from the iPhone app is pictured above). It’s the next best thing to being at home, what with the camera feeds, email and text notifications of events, and remote control over house appliances. It’d be worth it just for the ability to turn on the air conditioning a half-hour before I arrive from my bike ride home from work.

If you live in Canada and are looking for a home security system that also gives you control over climate control, lights and appliances, give Rogers Smart Home Monitoring a look.