3 Home Monitoring Gadgets to Use While You're at Work

Being away from your home for 10-12 hours while you’re at work means there’s a whole lot going on you may not be aware of. Is the thermostat cranking even though it warmed up outside? Are there deliveries piled up on your doorstep? What about your pet…did the dog-walker get there yet?

You can ease the stress of being away from home by using smart technology that lets you know what’s going on and puts you in control, even when you’re not there.

1. Voyce

Voyce is a smart health band, worn as a dog collar that monitors key vital signs such as heart rate, activity levels; even how much your dog sleeps. It’s similar to the fitness activity trackers we humans wear, giving you an overall snapshot of health by tracking key measurables.

Voyce then collects this data, letting you share it with your vet who can monitor these vital stats and determine if a change in sleeping or eating habits or an irregular heart rate might warrant an in-person visit.

2. Nest Learning Thermostat

Are you the kind of person who turns up the air conditioning or heat the minute you walk in the door? The Nest Learning Thermostat learns your schedule and comfort level and adjusts itself for you.

It also helps you save on energy costs when you’re not home. For instance, you can tell it that you like it pretty warm when you’re home, but want it go into energy-saving mode when you’re away.

The thermostat has sensors which can detect your movements as you walk by. If it senses you’re away, it will put itself into energy-saving mode. If you have two of them, one on each floor, they’ll “talk” to each other to see if you’re somewhere else in the house.

Since the Nest is Wi-Fi enabled, you can check your thermostat and adjust the temp using a mobile app. The Nest thermostat was designed by the same person who helped design and create the Apple iPod and iPhone.

3. Home Security

ArcSoft’s simplicam boasts facial-tracking features, not only telling you if someone is home, but who that someone is. It also lets you edit recorded video and share it directly from your smartphone.

Piper’s elegant camera does much the same, while giving you a panoramic view of your home. It works with Z-Wave home automation accessories meaning you can add on door or window sensors and wall switches and automate their actions.

DIY home security and monitoring has never been easier to set up. Some cameras, like the Dropcam Pro, don’t even require a connection to a computer for setup. Dropcam has night vision, and an Activity Recognition feature that lets you label a particular activity and get notified when that activity happens. For instance, you can ask it to tell you every time someone comes in or out of your front door. You’ll get an email notification while you’re at work so you can check it out or ask someone closer to check for you.

Samsung is out with the SmartCam HD PRO

that detects key changes in a scene, like movement or light, and learns which ones are important. It also records video directly to the camera which can be set to record only when motion is detected.

All of these solutions offer a way to keep tabs on what’s going on while you’re not there in real time. They’re more affordable than ever and simple to set up. Since they’re Wi-Fi enabled, you can check in at any time on a compatible mobile device.

Bonus: WeMo Insight Switch

Belkin’s WeMo makes home automation easy and affordable, with the added ability to control and monitor your devices from anywhere. It’s kind of fun too. During my trip to Las Vegas for the recent International CES in January, I spent a few moments turning the Christmas tree lights at home on and off to get my husband’s attention.

But seriously, what if I had left them on before heading to the airport…imagine the electric bill! The Wi-Fi enabled WeMo Insight Switch connects your devices to your network, letting you control them from anywhere.

The switch goes a step further and monitors the energy usage of those electronics, letting you know which devices are used most often. You can set a schedule for when you’re not home and WeMo will notify you if you’ve left anything on.