How to Make Your Smart Home Security System Even Smarter

From sending real-time alerts to automatically triggering your security cameras to record, your security system has plenty of smart features that simplify protecting your home. But combined with a few other devices, it can become even smarter — and more powerful.

With these simple additions, you can build a smart home that helps automate nearly every part of your daily routine, from locking the door to turning out the lights.

Link to a Smart Home Hub

Without a hub, each smart home device operates alone, requiring its own app to control and monitor it. A smart home hub is the connecting piece that helps link them together, enabling you to control different devices from one place with your voice if your phone’s not around. Plus, Amazon Echo hubs can also answer your questions, blast your favorite music, display real-time footage, and connect with your Ring devices to make it easier to know what’s going on around your home.

While you can easily control Ring Alarm from the Ring App with a Ring Protect subscription, sold separately, an Amazon Echo allows you to check and control its status when you can’t get to your phone. With an Echo Dot and a Ring Protect subscription, sold separately, you can ask Alexa to put Alarm in Home mode or even choose a phrase that will prompt Alexa to arm your system. That means, for example, if your hands are full when you arrive home from a shopping trip, you can say, “Alexa, I’m home” to disarm Ring Alarm.

You can also ask Alexa to talk to visitors with Two-Way Talk and control your compatible smart lights, thermostats, or locks, making it easy to tackle several tasks with just your voice. If you want to check camera feeds without pulling out your phone, you can also ask Alexa to show you the living room or front door on your Echo Show, which has a screen for extra visibility.

Integrate Smart Locks and Openers

From finding your keys to entering your code on the Keypad to disarm Ring Alarm, there are several things you have to do as soon as you get home. But with a Ring Protect subscription, sold separately, and a compatible smart lock, you can do it all from the Ring App in just a few clicks — no keys required. Or, if your phone is buried at the bottom of your bag, you can enter the code on your keypad lock and disarm Ring Alarm at the same time.

A smart lock isn’t just helpful when you arrive home — it also allows you to let pet sitters, contractors, friends, and other guests in when you’re away. With your video doorbell, you can check to see who’s at the door and unlock it from the same screen. And after your guest leaves, you can make sure they locked the door behind them in your Ring App.

If you have a garage, you can add another layer of convenience to your smart home with a smart garage opener. As you pull in, you can open your garage and put Ring Alarm in Home Mode from the Ring App with a Ring Protect subscription, sold separately. And if you’re an avid online shopper with a Prime membership, you can enroll in Amazon Key. When your delivery driver arrives, they can open your Ring-compatible opener, put your special delivery inside, and close the door to keep it safe and sound until you get home.

Add Smart Lighting

Whether you’re on the couch getting ready for a movie night or walking up the front step after dark, smart bulbs allow you to turn lights on or off without flipping any switches. When you connect Ring smart lighting to the Ring App with a Bridge and a Ring Protect subscription, both sold separately, you can turn on the lights, unlock the door, and put Ring Alarm in Home Mode from one simple app.

If you usually arrive home or wind down at the same time each day, you can set schedules to turn indoor and outdoor lights on and off automatically. You can also ask Alexa to turn on the lights, so you don’t have to leave the kitchen to turn a porch light on when you’re cooking.

With motion-activated outdoor lights like Spotlights, Steplights, and Pathlights, you can link devices together and set them to all turn on when one gets triggered. That way, if a visitor arrives after dark and walks by one Pathlight, all the other lights will turn on to give them a clear view as they walk to your front door. A Ring Protect subscription, sold separately, also allows you to connect cameras and video doorbells and set them to automatically record when certain lights turn on. That means you’ll be able to look back and see who (or what) came to visit — like this mama raccoon and her babies.

Install a Smart Thermostat

Keeping your home at the perfect temperature can be a constant challenge, especially since your needs can change throughout the day. You want to sleep cold but feel toasty warm as you drink your morning coffee in the winter — all while keeping your energy bills reasonable. That’s where a smart thermostat comes in handy.

With a compatible smart thermostat, you can set schedules in the Ring App to change the temperature at certain times, so you’re comfortable during the day without getting overheated at night. And if it’s just a little too cold or hot now, you can quickly adjust the temperature from the Ring App or ask Alexa to do it for you.

Some smart thermostats can even sense when you’re close to home, allowing them to adjust the temperature to save energy while you’re out while still ensuring a comfortable environment when you get home. Plus, if one part of the house tends to be several degrees hotter than other areas, you can add temperature sensors to different rooms and adjust the thermostat accordingly. So, if you like a warm home but your partner runs hot, you can set their office several degrees cooler than the rest of the house.

Connect Additional Sensors

Knowing what’s happening inside your home can be just as important as what’s happening around it. You can monitor both with these additional sensors for your security system:

With a Ring Protect subscription, sold separately, you’ll get a notification if one of these sensors triggers Ring Alarm. Whether the alert was from a leaky washing machine or a glass your cat knocked off the counter, you can check out the situation and act accordingly — potentially preventing damage to your home.

Enhance Your Smart Home Security With Ring

Ring Alarm isn’t just for protecting your home — it’s an essential smart home building block that can help make your life a little easier every day. From smart lights and plugs to thermostats and garage openers, Ring Alarm is compatible with some of the most cutting-edge smart devices, allowing you to automate your routine and control everything from the Ring App.

Ready to start building your Ring smart home? Check out our smart lighting and collection of Ring-compatible smart home technology today.

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