Having a home that you love is important, and it’s also important to live in a neighborhood that you love. A neighborhood is a mini-community that looks out for each other and their loved ones and possessions.
Say Cheese!
If you’ve ever dreamed of being king or queen of the neighborhood watch, this is your chance to shine. You can set up security cameras around your property that capture activity in the neighborhood. If there is a break-in or vandalism, your cameras just might catch the criminal in the act. You can share the video surveillance with local law enforcement and wait to see your contribution called out in the local neighborhood newsletter (or at minimum get a shout out in the neighborhood watch email).
Going Green
Not recycling (though you should totally be doing that too), lawns! Unless you live in California and have water restrictions, you can use smart home technology to keep your front and back yard green and growing. You’ll still have to do some regular maintenance, but you can use smart lawn devices to turn off sprinklers when it is raining, and to turn on sprinklers even if you’re on summer vacation. Your awesome yard can help keep the property value of the neighborhood up!
Holiday Lights
While you might not become the next viral sensation with your holiday light show, you can still entertain your neighbors and their families. Using smart lights and an IFTTT formula, you can have your lights set up to twinkle to a certain beat, or just to put on a super cool show. While this doesn’t have a neighborhood function other than entertaining, that is still an important part of being in a community.
Alarms
If you have home alarms installed, it can help detract criminals from sticking around the neighborhood. While security cameras can deter criminals too, they might find a way around those. If they do, they might think they can still break into your home and your neighbor’s homes. If you have a loud alarm that sounds when your property is breached, it will definitely send the burglars running, and they will want to get out of the neighborhood completely; they won’t be sticking around to try any other houses.
Don’t be a Menace
One of the great things about smart technology for homes is that it allows you to stop being a menace to your neighbors. You don’t have to give them a spare key, or bug them to let someone in your house. Instead, just use smart locks to give them a virtual key, and to give a virtual key to baby sitters, dog walkers, and temporary guests. You don’t need to ask your neighbor to water your lawn while you’re out of town, or to check to see if you closed the garage door and turned off the lights. You can monitor your lawn watering, and the status of your doors and lights, with your smartphone or tablet.
How do you or your neighbors use smart home technology to be an awesome contributor to the community?
