About 1.5 million incidents of housebreaking happened in South Africa in 2023/24, according to Statistics South Africa. An estimated 1.1 million households, or 5.9% of all households in the country, were affected by these crimes. Home security remains a priority for everybody.
There are a few things you can do to deter burglars. You could get a security gate, install a burglar alarm system, set up security cameras, and even hire an armed response team to rush to your rescue. But while those solutions will certainly help, there’s a new and better way to protect your home and family: a smart home security system.
How Smart Home Security Systems Work
Smart home security is powered by AI-enabled fast Home Internet solutions, using connected devices to create an integrated system.
Take the security cameras we mentioned previously. Normal security cameras will record hours and hours of nothing happening and if your home is broken into, all they’ll really give you is a few seconds’ worth of grainy footage showing burglars smashing a window and stuffing your belongings into a bag.
Smart cameras are more useful. Using AI and machine learning, smart cameras know when to record and what to record – and instead of just standing there and watching, they will automatically send a signal to your central home security system, alerting the armed response team and helping them to catch the burglars.
Smart CCTV cameras can recognise friendly faces and are able to tell the difference between your family and actual intruders. While the technology is still in its early stages, AI-assisted security systems are already learning how to pick up behavioural patterns. So even if you forget to arm your alarm system, it will be smart enough to arm itself.
But a smart home isn’t about one gadget or a single network of cameras. It’s about the Internet of Things (IoT), where many devices connect and communicate with each other in service of us lucky humans.
Integrating Devices For An All Round IoT Security System
So in a smart home security system, your doorbell has a video camera that lets you see, hear and speak to visitors at your gate or doorstep (whether you’re at home or away), and that video doorbell connects to an app on your smartphone that also connects to your smart security cameras and the security beams around your home. The system springs into action at the first sign of an intruder, alerting you and immediately contacting armed response. If the beam is triggered by the neighbour’s cat or your teenage son who’s lost his keys again, you’ll get a notification but not an alarm.
Smart homes are easily available in South Africa and are becoming less of a luxury and more of a standard feature on new properties. Plus, insurance companies love them – if not because of your lower premiums, then because of the lower risk of break-ins and burglaries.
It’s important to have a stable and secure internet connection to set up an effective smart home security system. Check out these Vodacom Home Internet solutions for the best option for your home.
