Home security is a crucial aspect of setting up a smart home. You don’t need a smart home to have a good security system. But, if you have a smart home, it’s a good idea to include some form of security aspects that you’re able to look at while you’re not home. It can provide you with peace of mind to know your home is safe and secure.
There are different levels of security that you can incorporate in your home. While you don’t need to opt for a laser grid that you’ve seen in films like Ocean’s Twelve or Entrapment, you can still get some good motion detectors or sensors to alert you if something is going on at your residence when you aren’t there. One that I personally employ is a Ring Alarm Motion Detector and it has some great features that I’ve enjoyed for years.
This $15 smart home gadget gives me more peace of mind than a security camera
I use it for a lot of reasons.
My home is monitored by a Ring security system
It has done wonders for our peace of mind
When we moved into our home, we knew we wanted an alarm system. The previous owners of our home had installed a Ring Video Doorbell on the front door and one by the garage door. This, coupled with the fact that we had some Amazon Alexa smart speakers, made adapting to a Ring security system a no-brainer.
Setting up the Ring security system was easy and incorporating the doorbell cameras was no issue, as the Ring app is intuitive and provides informative updates. The security system came with two keypads, one of which was mounted downstairs in the kitchen and one that was mounted upstairs in the master bedroom. The Ring Alarm Base Station is what the system runs through. It glows red when the alarm is on and is blue when it’s off. It also has an incredibly loud siren-like alarm that can be heard throughout the house and even outside when it sounds.
We added multiple sensors to the package as well. While these do add more congestion to our Wi-Fi network, it’s minimal at the end of the day. We have door and window sensors on every door and window in the downstairs of the house. We also put sensors on the windows of the basement. When the alarm is off and a door opens, the base station chimes. It’s a good way to note when people are entering or leaving. It’s also a good reminder of when a window might be open, as it won’t let you turn on the alarm while one is.
The other main sensor that came with the alarm system is the Ring Alarm Motion Detector. This helps keep an eye on things when we aren’t home.
This motion detector has some unique settings
It’s perfect for a house with pets
The Ring Alarm Motion Detector requires a Ring Alarm or a Ring Alarm Pro to work.
The motion detector is made to customize how you interact with your home, meaning you can choose how much of a watchdog you want this sensor to be. It integrates perfectly into the Ring system, as it directly connects to the base station.
What works so well with this motion detector is that it is made to recognize humans, not pets. This has been the biggest reason why we’ve used it for as long as we have. I’ve tested out many motion sensors before and not all of them are worth the price. This one has been.
For starters, you can choose whether you want alerts or not with the simple toggle of a switch in the app. Once you toggle it on, you can choose when the motion sensor actually kicks in. This is novel because, with many motion sensors, you don’t get to choose when it’s actually looking for movement. This lets you turn on the sensor when the alarm is armed. It won’t trigger an alert if you walk by it when the alarm isn’t set.
Because you can turn on the “Home and Armed”, meaning that it allows you to walk around the house but not open any doors or windows, this can alert you if someone is walking in front of it at night. This is the setting we use it on the most. I have it set to make a chirp if it registers someone at night, as I might walk by it on my way to the kitchen for some water. But if it picks up motion when it is Away and Armed, that’s when it sounds the alarm.
One of the best things about this motion sensor is that it works perfectly with pets. We have a 75-pound Irish Setter / Golden Retriever mix and he roams around the house at night sometimes. While the limit is supposed to be set at 50 pounds for the recognition, the detector does a pretty good job of not going off when it senses him going by because we have it set to low detection. There are three intensity settings to adjust for specifically-sized pets, which I haven’t seen with other sensors I’ve tested.
More features of the motion detector
It’s easy to change and customize
You can choose whether you want an LED light to turn on when it picks up motion. This can alert the person who walks by it, potentially startling an intruder.
There is an event history within the app, so you can look back at when exactly the detector picked up motion. This is helpful in case you erase a push notification that Ring sent and you want to know the precise moment something walked by the sensor.
It has an incredibly long battery life. I’ve owned mine for over three years and have never had to charge it. When you’re setting up the detector, you have the option of placing it on a flat surface and having it scan the area or you can mount it. What’s unique about the design is that you can either mount it flush against a wall or it is built to be mounted in the corner of a room as well. This gives you a greater vantage point of the room in its entirety.
This Ring motion detector has been a great addition to my home
The Ring Alarm Motion Detector is an addition to the Ring security system that I have in my home. It’s one of the better motion sensors I’ve used, thanks to its customizable features and unique mountable design. It fits in perfectly with my smart home and I wouldn’t mind adding a few more to it.
