A Safe Home Brings Peace of Mind

Do you have a home security system?  If not, do you want one but don’t want to deal with the hassles of remembering to turn on/off the alarm?  Or paying an exorbitant monthly cost for security?

Today there are so many options available to families, thanks to technology and innovation.  There are cameras you can put in your family room, sensors you can put on your doors, and best of all, they can all tie into to a home automation that can turn on lights and music when you come home at night.

The same door sensor that senses a door has been opened for the alarm system is the same one that can follow a set of rules to turn your home into just the right setting when you come home…or turn things off when you leave.

We have reviewed a number of different home security/home automations on WellConnectedMom, but the abode Essentials starter kit is different in that it allows you set up and monitor your own DIY home security…

OR…

you can pay for a flexible monthly professional monitoring service  (3-day, 7-day, or monthly) which receives reports directly from your abode Essentials gateway to handle alarm signals quickly.

A Safe Home

Abode is an easy to install, professional-grade security solution that offers great flexibility. You can connect lights, locks, thermostats, garage door openers, and so much more to it and control them from one app.

The starter kit includes everything you need to get started including:

• 1 Gateway
• 1 Mini Door/Window Sensor
• 1 Remote Key FOB (to arm/disarm your system without a phone)
• 1 Motion Sensor

The adobe Gateway connects to your home router and plugs into the wall.  Working with the router, a signal gets sent out to connect with the other abode accessories.  

Put the mini door/window sensor on the front door, the back door, or the door from your garage into your home.  This works best for home automation too.  If you have several doors or windows you’re worried about, you can buy additional mini door/window sensors to put on them as well.

Fortunately, all sensors are wireless, powered by a button cell battery, so you can stick them anywhere.

Place the motion sensor either in your family room, kitchen, or by your stairs.  It will alert you when motion is detected. 

You will be the first to know when a door is opened or motion is detected.

There are three settings…

Home – Motion detection and cameras are disabled but door/window sensors are enabled

Away –  All sensors and cameras are enabled

Standby – The system is online and waiting for commands

But you can also customize these settings to suit your needs.

 A Connected Home

From the very beginning abode was designed to work with other home automation systems.  It can work with nest, Amazon echo, Google Home, ecobee, and IFTTT. 

In addition, it works with Z-wave and Zigbee protocols so you can add thousands of home automation sensors, cameras, motion detectors, smoke detectors, lights, and so much more as long as they use one of these protocols.

Z-wave/Zigbee Products

Though you may never of heard of Z-wave and Zigbee, there are a large number of brand name products you have heard of that use these protocols…

• Kwikset locks
• Schlage locks
• Chamberlain garage door openers
• Liftmaster garage door openers
• Honeywell thermostats
• Trane thermostats
• First Alert fire detectors
• Canary HD Security camera
• GE light switches and plugs
• Philips Hue light bulbs (Zigbee)
• and many more

With adobe, your home can be a safe home and and smart home.  Use the motion sensor or mini door sensor to turn on your Philips Hue or Z-wave/Zigbee enabled lights.  Program them to turn off when you leave the house.  Have your locks automatically lock after you leave.  

Features

• Always connected – the gateway comes with a built-in 10+ hour backup battery (in case power is cut off) and optional cellular backup to ensure you’re always connected
• Loud siren – a very detectable 93 decibel siren rings to alert you of an alarm
• Automations – with other connected devices you can have all doors lock when you leave or lights turn on when you return
• Auto alarm/disarm – using the gps on your phone,  when it comes close or leaves your home, the alarm will automatically arm or disarm, you don’t need to do anything
• Optional professional monitoring – you have the option to pay for no-contract professional monitoring for 3-days, 7-days, or monthly
• Customizable – online and app access to your accounts allows you to make adjustments to your home security and automation no matter where you are

Pros:

• Easy to set up and all sensors are detected automatically
• The siren is very audible throughout the whole house when it rings
• It has audible confirmation – I like the chirp beep when the door sensors open and close on a door 
• Abode neatly packages top security products with accessibility to many home automation products
• The option to get professional monitoring just when you go on vacation or ongoing provides great flexibility
• Works with Z-wave, Zigbee, and other IP devices (Amazon Echo, Google Home, IFTTT, etc.)
• No monthly fees or contracts

Cons:

• There are some things that can only be customized using a web browser not in the app
• Right now there are limited things that can be done with Alexa, Google, and IFTTT, but more will be offered in time
• There is only one mini-door contact included in the kit.  Most houses will need a minimum of two

For basic self-monitoring, the abode Essentials Starter Kit which includes the abode Gateway, 1 Motion Sensor, 1 Mini Door Contact, 1 Remote FOB Key, and Basic Plan access and is on sale right now for $229.  The indoor 1080p Streaming Camera I used is on sale right now for $119 ($20 off).  Use Discount Code SAVE10MORE at checkout for 10% off devices.

A Mom’s Perspective

The abode Essential Security Starter Kit is one of the more comprehensive DIY security packages I’ve seen to make your home a safe home.  Although I would prefer that it comes with more than one door contact and a camera, the key FOB is very handy and the motion sensor can still let you know of someone motion even if not confirmed via camera.

It’s comprehensive because it naturally extends the monitoring it’s doing for security into home automation. You can customize it to turn on lights or lock doors once it detects someone home with a cellphone assigned to the abode system.

I love that it works with both Z-wave and Zigbee to you can easily expand the number of home automation devices you want to without having to buy directly from abode – they give you choices.

As a Z-wave fan myself, it extends the DIY choices I have to plan home automation in my house while assuring security.

I also LOVE the idea that even though I may not want to pay for ongoing professional monitoring, I can arrange for temporary monitoring while our family is out of town.  If an alarm rings, the professional monitoring center will notify the police.

As you can see from the abode app, it’s not too expensive for a quick 3 or 7 day professional monitoring plan.  Great for when on vacation.

Abode makes your home a safe home.  Start with this starter kit.  Then once you get comfortable creating customized commands, you can add other devices to make your safe home a smart home.

*I was given a safe home abode Essential Security Kit and camera for purposes of review.  All opinions are my own.