Quote:
Originally Posted by Northendzone
given some of the camera options out there, it might be somewhat easy to set up a system to be able to watch over parts of your house, and send motion alerts to your phone. I'd imagine you be looking at something like $800 to $1,000 or so to get three cameras, some remote door locks, something to monitor your garage door opening, an possibly a nest type thermostat, and then you would not have to pay a fee - but that would have to be balanced against the discount that an alarm system would give you on your home insurance.
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If you're technically inclined, I think this is a good way of doing it. Forget paying some insurance company $30 a month to call the police. Waste of time. Get a home automation kit (Insteon is supposedly a pretty good set in terms of ease of setup/use), set up open/close sensors for all the doors/windows you want, motion sensors for whichever rooms you want, and have the system text/message you whenever a sensor is tripped when you're not home. If you want to take it a step further you can include an alarm if you're worried about intrusions at night too.
I'm in the process of automating my home, and it's been great so far. I get a notice on my phone whenever a door opens (so my future daughter won't be able to sneak out!), I can tweak my thermostat, etc. etc.
My system is still in its infancy though, so there is plenty more I would like to do with it.