10 Extra Ways to Use A Home Security System

Have you seen those house security videos on the news and on Facebook where burglars are being caught on video ransacking people’s homes?  What I find fascinating is that most people don’t even wear a mask to hide their face and news stations are showing their faces live on TV to help find the perpetrator.

I have been using the Canary security system in my home for quite some time now.  Yes, it’s a security surveillance system, but for me it’s so much more than just be a lookout for burglars. 

Ways to Use Your Home Security System

There are lots of ways to use the Canary house security camera to feel “closer” to home.

1.  Kids Home From School

Do your kids come home from school while you’re at work?  With Canary, you can get a notification with a video clip when they enter a room.  Whether you have Canary security system in the room with your front door or in the family room, you can keep an eye on them to make sure they get home at the time they are supposed to.  

No need to have them send you a text to let you know they arrived, as you’ll already KNOW they arrived.

2.  Kids OK While You’re Gone

If you have a tween, like I do, you are likely giving her/him more opportunities to stay at home alone.  My daughter has been watching my 10 year-old son while my husband I attend events or go out to dinner together.  

I love giving my kids some freedom, but the mom in me feels more comfortable checking in on them every once in a while.  The Canary security system has helped with this.

It’s funny, our kids always seem to get along so much better when we aren’t around. 😉

3.  Homework Watcher

My daughter had a big math test coming up.  Rather than drag her along back and forth with my errands, I left her at home to study.  A quick glance at my Canary app showed me that she was at home watching TV instead!  Interesting.

Another time, my husband and I were going to go out to dinner, but he was concerned she wouldn’t study if one of us didn’t stay home.  I solved the problem by placing the camera right behind her desk so we could see her and her computer screen.  She didn’t particularly care for it, but it kept her honest.

We checked in on her occasionally and she worked on her homework diligently and we had a nice dinner.

4.  Here Little Mousy!

We had a chocolate bar sitting out for a few days.  I got used to it being around and hardly looked at it…until one day, I noticed someone had taken a bite out of it…wrapper and all!  Upon further investigation, I saw small pieces of wrapper and a lot of small nibbles that looked like one big bite.  Yikes!  We had a mouse in the house!

We set up some lures and caught the mouse.  But I set up a camera in our pantry to watch if the mouse had a friend invading our pantry.  Fortunately, I didn’t see one, fortunately.  

5.  Moments Together

If you’re like most moms, you’re the one always taking the picture.  Wouldn’t it be nice if once in a while, you were in the picture/video too?  The Canary security system captures all motion in the room…for the past 12 hours.  So if you typically open Christmas or birthday presents in the room with your Canary security camera, you’ll capture footage with you in it!  

Best yet, you’ll catch the reaction of your children as they open their gifts.  No need to jump and get your camera!

When you start using Canary, you get 12 hours of video movement recordings, 3 downloads of these videos (per 12 hour period), and 5 video bookmarks (allows you to save a video event to to your timeline indefinitely so it doesn’t take up space on your phone).  There is also a paid plan option.

Even if the free plan works just fine for you, you might consider getting a upgraded plan for just one month at Christmas to record a number of family moments (and at a time when burglaries are high) or in June for the month when you go on vacation).

6.  Peek-A-Boo Baby

Regular baby monitors are great for keeping an eye on baby, but many do not record, they just offer live viewing.  A Canary security system in your baby’s bedroom will allow you to hear sound and record motion.  You will be alerted on your phone when motion is detected.  Capture fun moments like your baby waking up, sitting up, or even attempting to “escape!”

Even better, with Canary’s app, your husband, mom, or friend can keep up with baby too.  Whether you’re at home in another room, or out to dinner and the babysitter is watching baby…you can watch baby from afar.

7.  Pet Discovery

Does your pet actually miss you when you’re gone?  Or is s/he up to all sorts of fun and mischief?  The Canary security camera can help you find out more about what your pet does when you are away.  Catch fun moments with video motion clips.  Download them and share them on Facebook to share your pet’s cuteness and mistrials.

Now you’ll know why fruit on your counter disappears or how your pillows keep dropping to the floor.  Even at night, you’ll be able to watch what your pets are up to when you’re not around.  Canary’s night vision is really amazing.

8.  Who’s at the Door?

Position your Canary to face the door through a window or use the new Canary Flex security camera outside.  Find out who’s at the door without needing to answer it.  Be notified when someone is at your door when you’re at work.  The Canary App is much better than a peephole…and you don’t even need to get up off the couch!

Perhaps you’ve seen those videos on Facebook your neighbors have posted about people knocking on their doors and then testing the handle to see if the door is unlocked.  Now, you can see if that same person is coming to your door too.

Arm yourself with Canary or Canary Flex to know who’s at your door.

9.  Package Delivery

Expecting a package?  Christmas is coming up, if you’re like most people, you’ll do more shopping online.  But will your package be there when you get home from work or done picking up the kids from school?

New Canary Flex security camera

Having a Canary or Canary Flex pointing at your front door will notify you when movement is detected.  You’ll be notified when the delivery man drops off the package and you’ll receive a notification if someone else comes to your door…perhaps to swipe your package.

A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook how someone swiped her package…with her son’s Halloween costume in tow.  A camera would have helped her discover if it was someone she knew.

10.  Close to Home Comfort When Traveling

Our family loves to travel.  Sometimes our travels take us halfway around the world.  Sometimes, they just take us to the state next door.  No matter where we are, it brings me great comfort to know that I can keep an eye out on our home when we are gone.

I’ll often “check in” to see that nothing is occurring at our house when traveling.  This gives me peace of mind.  I’ll never forget one summer years ago when I was 12.  We came home from a great trip to Mammoth Lakes, only to find that our house had been burglarized.  It was difficult knowing someone had been in our house recklessly searched for valuables.

With the Canary security system, if it detects someone in the house, I can sound a loud 90 decibel alarm, call the police straight from the Canary app, and keep the recording of the video recorded after motion was detected.  The recorded video will be useful for the police.  Even if thieves steal or disconnect your Canary, you’ll still have the video footage of them unplugging it.

Features:

• See the  room in your home live 24/7
• Listen to noise/activity in a room
• Sound a 90 decibel siren or call police straight from the app
• Enable Canary security to automatically set when leaving the home 
• Automatically records moments and alerts you when sound or motion is detected
• Monitors air quality, temperature and humidity and notifies you if it notices anything abnormal
• Produces a crisp 1080p HD camera from its 147° wide-angle lens
• View clear automatic night vision
• High quality one-way audio – hear what’s going on in the house
• Turn Canary to privacy setting to completely turn off the microphone and camera
• Uses extensive security measures to protect your data
• Uses wireless or Ethernet connectivity

Pros:

• You receive notification and a quick video when motion or sound is detected
• A great way to keep up with your family or pets when you’re not there
• No monthly fees (unless you upgrade)
• No additional sensors or bridges needed
• The Night mode is amazing, you can see your room in darkness really well
• Canary support is very responsive and helpful
• Its design is beautiful – very modern looking
• The wide-angle camera sees my whole family room
• The electric cord is flat and long
• You can download up to 3 captured videos within a 12-hour period

Cons:

• You can only access Canary through an iOS or Android smartphone; Canary does not currently offer a web app
• Canary cannot cover your entire house, just the area you place it in-  you’ll need to get more Canary’s to cover more than one entrance
• If you have two Canary security cameras set up, you have to go to each camera separately to view them live, rather than see the two cameras live on the home screen
• I had a lot of trouble setting up Canary initially, but the latest Canary makes set-up easier through Bluetooth pairing
• Only works with 2.4GHz WiFi – not 5GHz networks 
• There is no back-up battery in case of power loss