With the end of the year among us, a lot of people are beginning to plan on taking time off from work and visiting family for the Holidays. So naturally you’ll want to keep your home as safe as possible while you are away. Nothing can spoil the Christmas season like a home burglary! Here are some quick tips just to make sure you cover the basics:
- Have an alarm system! As a security company, we know this looks like either obvious or a shameless plug. And it is. Research is very clear that an alarm system is a huge deterrent. If you haven’t implemented even a basic DIY alarm system, please give us a call and we would love to surprise you with how affordable it can be.
- Use light timers to turn on lights in and around the home at night to keep the appearance that someone is at home. Nothing deters burglars like having people home that they have to work around. This becomes a little easier during the holidays because in most cases you are setting exterior timers for your Christmas lights.
- DO NOT announce that you are going out of town on Social Media platforms. Research has shown that this can very easily become knowledge to those looking to break into a home who know for certain you will not be there. While your very immediate friend group might be trustworthy enough to know you’ll be gone, by broadcasting it on Social Media, you are also broadcasting it potentially to anyone that is connected to your friends who may not be savory characters.
- Build a relationship with a neighbor to check in and let you know if something is amiss. Even if you don’t have a neighborhood watch, having trusted neighbors keeping an eye out is invaluable. If you haven’t built a relationship you can trade keeping an eye on your home with a neighbor, now is the time to make some new friends!
- Power Surges – this isn’t so much a safety concern as it’s just a good practice. We have been known to get winter storms in Tucson in December. If you don’t have adequate power surge protection, it’s a good idea to disconnect computers, TV’s, high end stereos and other electronics.
- Use remote HVAC settings, or at the very least use timers, to ensure that your system is running efficiently since no one will be home.
Make a list – and check it twice! Putting a list together of things to handle, such as locking the back door, closing and locking the windows, setting the alarm, turning on the light timers, closing the garage door, etc can go a long way to making sure you handle all the small details in the hussle of leaving town.
Our customers that subscribe to Home Complete are able to control their HVAC systems right from the app. So if this a feature you would like to subscribe to or upgrade to, please contact us today.
