Home Monitoring for Extended Absence

[harley]

There's a lot of interesting information out there. I like the La Crosse system. But looking at the LiveWatch cell based home monitoring system, I'll have a bigger up front cost but a slightly lower monthly cost as opposed to keeping an internet connection active. And this way I won't have to worry about power outages and rebooting remotely and such.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhoferp Not sure if this is available where you are, but our county sheriff's office will do a daily residence check (for free) when requested. They walked the exterior of our house every day for about 2 months. The neighbors kept an eye out, too, and investigated when Animal Control did the residence check instead of the regular deputies. We just turned off the water and drained all the pipes and lowered the thermostat.

I contacted the police where we're going to be before we bought the house, and they basically laughed. Florida Gulf Coast area, they said if they did this for all the snowbirds they'd need 5 times the staff and still wouldn't be able to respond to real calls. So, no go for me.

[jim747]

Here is a link from another forum with discussion about remote cameras. A friend snowbirds and has a couple cameras set up. He places a large thermometer in each room so he can check the temperature.

Who's minding the store (Home security camera related) • Class B RV and Camper Van Discussion Forum

[brett]

You may want to check with you home insurer to determine what their expectation is and/or what is written into their policy.

It is my understanding that some policies have specifics about physical monitoring during homeowner extended periods of absence.

If you do install a remote monitoring system, you should ask your insurer if you qualify for an additional discount.

[RonBoyd]

Here is a website that was quite helpful to me during my research several years ago:

Home-Surveillance-Guide Helps You Build Your Home Security

Quote:

What is Home Surveillance all about? The need to observe a scene is generally a consequence of worry about suspected dangers. We are going to talk in this Website only of the private use of Video Home Surveillance camera systems, set up by ordinary citizens like you and me. The purpose is to control any objectionable act or occurrence that could happen in or around our most cherished and protected home location. A recent survey, reported by PR Newswire, found that 19 percent of American adults own already a home surveillance system. And the percentage is increasing rapidly. Surveillance is the first step in the process of providing Security. In fact it would be difficult to implement security without being alert to the dangers. We should first define the purpose of a home surveillance system from the point of view of the home owner. We should also consider how to use such a system, and by which means. A few Home-Surveillance-Guide aims can be accomplished by such provisions as follows, based on video camera home surveillance. Video surveillance is any selection of significant images that can be scanned and examined using a monitor. The sequence may be viewed live, at the time of occurrence, or may be played back from any kind of suitable recording system. Deterring: the system as described in the Home-Surveillance-Guide is mainly intended to discourage any criminal from trying to perpetrate a crime against property or persons. Nobody likes to be on the record while making a crime. The mere notion of being observed and video recorded will urge burglars to seek their chance elsewhere. That is why prominent signs alerting on video surveillance are displayed in sensitive spots. The deterrence factor is even more important than the actual equipment operation. Live Monitoring: the system per Home-Surveillance-Guide is designed to permit the immediate intervention of whomever could help. Rescuing people from natural disasters, saving elder patients from life threatening health conditions or catching the wrongdoers. The benefit of being informed in real time of any dangerous occurrence is invaluable, if one can do something about. Parents may wish to monitor their children in or around the house. A medical institution or a large neighborhood complex may set up a centralized monitoring service to help all the residents in the area. Alerting: the Home-Surveillance-Guide system can sound an alarm after having detected suspicious movements and/or aggressive behavior. Unless quite sure to have plenty of time, burglars will mostly abandon their attempts if neighbors are coming to inquire about the alarm. Documenting: if the inevitable cannot be prevented, at least an acceptable record may help identifying and catching the perpetrators and providing evidence for their incrimination and prosecution.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett You may want to check with you home insurer to determine what their expectation is and/or what is written into their policy. It is my understanding that some policies have specifics about physical monitoring during homeowner extended periods of absence. If you do install a remote monitoring system, you should ask your insurer if you qualify for an additional discount.

We are definitely getting a discount for having the monitoring system, which is a good thing in Florida, because their insurance premiums are incredibly high. I'll take it, even though I'm not monitoring for crime prevention, I'm monitoring for AC failure resulting in thick, luxuriant growths of mold and mildew while we're gone during the summer. As a matter of fact, I'm not even getting the door and window sensors, just a couple of motion detectors with picture taking capabilities. Just enough to satisfy the insurance company for the discount. We're not going to have anything much in the house worth stealing when we're not there, maybe a couple of bikes and a really old CRT TV. I just don't want our house ruined if the old AC system goes south.