Security and Monitoring Systems for the Homestead
On a warm and sunny day in January, my wife and I sat on the porch of our friend’s home in Arizona. We live in a rural area in northern Minnesota, so we felt like we were in paradise compared with the frigid weather and heavy snow back home.
As we were sitting there, my cellphone notified me of an incoming email, and I took a quick glance at the message. The email had been sent from my house by my Wi-Fi enabled thermostat. It was warning me that the temperature in my house was down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. With the outside temperatures at 10 below zero and falling, if I didn’t get my furnace restarted and running, I could possibly experience frozen pipes and the potential for thousands of dollars in repair costs. Fortunately, because I was notified of the problem, I was able to call a local repair company and get it fixed in time to avert any damage.
Rural homeowners—especially those in areas of the country with extreme weather conditions—are sometimes reluctant to travel because they worry about what could happen to an unattended home while they’re away. Security and monitoring systems have
