If you’re facing the same dilemma this back-to-school season, you’re probably planning on leaving a spare key under the mat, right? If that’s the plan, you might as well leave the front door unlocked! If someone wants to get inside, that’s surely the first place they’ll look. Sure, you could try and come up with a hiding place that’s a little more inconspicuous like one of these. But, either way it’ll always be an added stress when you could instead have peace of mind. When it comes to hiding that spare key, the ultimate solution is to ditch it altogether for connected locks.

See Also: Questions You Should Ask Before Investing in Smart Home Automation

What is a Connected Door Lock?

Connected locks eliminate the need for a spare key. These locks can be placed on your door handle, used as a deadbolt, or both. Rather than needing a key to get inside, you simply enter your 4-digit passcode to unlock the door. So, what makes it connected? Also known as smart door locks, connected locks sync up with your home, security system, and can be controlled right from your phone. This helps you stay connected to your home and family whether you’re working late or out running errands!

How Do Smart Locks Help You Stay Connected to Family?

Each member of your family can use their own unique passcode to lock and unlock the door. As a parent, this helps you stay connected to who’s coming and going from your home — and when. This is also something that can be updated and changed as needed. So if your relatives are coming to visit for the weekend, you can quickly give them their own passcode right from the mobile app! That’s one of the reasons that these types of locks are so commonly used with Airbnb rentals.

The unique passcodes don’t stop at family and friends. You can also create time-based passcodes for dog walkers, babysitters, or other services. These temporary passcodes only work during the dates and times that you set. So you no longer have to worry about changing locks after giving out a key.

For All of Those Times You Forgot to Lock the Door

Have you ever left for work in the morning only to turn around because you couldn’t remember if you locked the front door? Imagine if you could just pull your phone out to check. Better yet, just lock the door from your phone and then move on with your day. That’s the connected lock. It gives you complete control over your home’s entryways right from your phone. Lock the door from the bed, sofa, or the office.

Use This Tip to Never Forget to Lock the Door Again

You could open the app and lock the doors when you leave home, or, you could skip that step altogether. Connected door locks use location services, also known as geofencing, to lock your doors when you leave home. You can create your own geofences that will activate as you get a certain distance away from home. Now, your home will lock itself every time you drive away, keeping it safe until you return!

Keeping Your Family Safe is What’s Most Important

When connected locks are an option, you never need a spare key. The bottom line is that spare keys just aren’t safe — and safe is what’s most important to us. Ditch the spare key for the connected lock and take control of who comes and goes from your home. When school starts in just a few weeks, and your kids are coming home alone, now you have the perfect solution.

Want to learn more about how you can use connected locks to keep your home protected and connected? Contact us today to talk to a Safe Home Security Specialist about how easy it is to switch to connected locks.

The post The “Smartest” Hiding Place for Your Spare Key appeared first on Safehome Security.

Plenty has changed since the first round thermostats were introduced 60 years ago, especially when it comes to saving energy. If you’re still manually turning the dial on your thermostat throughout the day, one simple upgrade could make all the difference for your summer electric bill.

The Energy-Saving Smart Thermostat

Smart thermostats are designed to help you maximize comfort and energy savings by staying in sync with your lifestyle. Since smart thermostats learn your schedule, they ensure your home is comfortable when you’re there, while saving energy when you’re away. Even during the hottest months of the year, we found that many of our customers can save between $10.00 and $20.00 a month in energy costs just by having one installed. It’s probably the best thing to happen to home thermostats since home thermostats.

Smart Schedules

If you’re like 90% of homeowners, you probably adjust the thermostat throughout the day to save energy. Smart schedules help you find the perfect balance between staying cool and saving energy by creating schedules for you. These schedules help your thermostat know when to move up or down a few degrees to maximize comfort and savings. It’s an effortless way to save energy.

Mobile Control

If you have pets at home, sometimes you might want to adjust the temperature when you’re away to make sure they’re okay on an unusually hot day. Smart thermostats can be controlled right from you phone, making it easy to make quick changes as needed throughout the day. Plus, if your kids are constantly turning it up and down, you can lock it from your phone as well so that only you can make the changes.

Extreme Temperatures

One of the biggest struggles that comes with the summer heat is overpaying for energy on extremely hot or cold days. Even if you set your thermostat to 74 degrees, it’s 90+ degrees outside, A/C systems will often have to run all day to try and get your home down to that temperature. Smart thermostats use real-time local weather data to adjust your temperature settings to save energy and money if outdoor temperatures spike.

It’s Time Switch to the Smart Thermostat!

The best part is that you don’t have to be a very tech savvy person to set it up! Most of the setup is done right from the app on your phone. So if you can work an app, you can update your thermostat! If you need some help or want someone to come out and install it for you, we’re always standing by.

Now that you know how a smart thermostat can help you save energy, it’s time for an update. Stay cool and save this summer with the smart thermostat!

The post The Smartest Way to Stay Cool and Save This Summer appeared first on Safehome Security.