To help you regain control of your own security and peace of mind, we assembled the five most trusted brands of security systems for your smart home here.
Before the advent of the kind of wireless technology that enabled the formation of multiple home security providers around the world, ADT utilized its experience in telegraph and signaling systems to become such a prevalent security provider that it earned the attention of an anti-monopoly American government. ADT’s logo, the blue octagon bearing the three letters, is synonymous with security in 35 countries around the world, due largely to ADT’s 140-year presence and ongoing commitment to complete security solutions with dedicated 24/7 monitoring.
Image Credit: iSmartAlarm
Offering a completely customizable home security system without multi-year commitments or monthly fees of any kind, the iSmartAlarm CubeOne™ hub communicates with iSmartAlarm’s own cameras and sensors as well as a wide variety of other devices and online services through the ecosystem of applets known as “IFTTT”. With the iSmartAlarm’s openness to integration, you would be able to design your own protocols that enable you to simply ask Amazon’s Alexa to disarm your security while you are out of the house, show you a video feed of what is going on at home, or command flood lights to activate in response to a motion sensor.
Image Credit: Orvibo
Taiwan’s Orvibo provides complete smart home solutions that combine the latest in wireless technologies with modern home aesthetics. Their range of devices communicate using the open-source and short-range set of protocols known as “ZigBee” to put control of Orvibo’s own smart door locks, cameras, and sensors within the frame of a technocrat’s dream interface – the smart mirror, essentially a digital display integrated into a mirrored panel.
Image Credit: Samsung
If you find 24/7 monitoring of your home security to be outside the realm of things you would be comfortable with, Samsung provides an alternative hub that is compatible with some of ADT’s proximity and motion sensors, but optionally places the burden of monitoring and responding to alarms in the hands of the user. In addition to providing control of your own security system and protocols via an electronic panel, smartphone application, or keychain fob, the Samsung SmartThings hub enables connections with other Samsung smart devices such as lights, cameras, and door locks.
Image Credit: Sharp
Perhaps the most accessible, and among the easiest to install without professional assistance, the Sharp Cloud Smarthome kit bundles cameras, sensors, sirens, and a remote control fob with a proprietary hub utilizing radio frequency waves and a WiFi connection to achieve a greater range of deployment for each device. Once set up, the system depends on an internet connection to be operated remotely, however emergency contacts can be set up via a free online account so that notifications can be sent to a phone without a data plan.
*Brands are listed alphabetically
