SimpliSafe: A Visit to This Year’s HGTV Smart Home

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the HGTV Smart Home, thanks to SimpliSafe’s generosity in arranging my trip.  SimpliSafe is the security sponsor provider for the HGTV Smart Home and they invited a small group of bloggers to come out to Bluffton, SC and see SimpliSafe in action.

It’s cool enough to see HGTV’s Smart Home on TV, but visiting it brings the vision to reality.  First off, let me say, the house was beautiful.  It was a dream home with purposeful appointed spaces and an open format downstairs. 

The Family Room/Dining Room

The family, room dining room, and kitchen flowed easily and openly into one another.  Perfect for connecting with family members downstairs. As you can see from this picture of the dining room, looking in from the family room, the house is decorated as if it came straight out of a magazine. 

What you might not be able to tell from this picture is that the SimpliSafe hub of all of the home’s central security intelligence is sitting right on the table in front of you.

Yes, the white cone-shaped device with a cord running behind the sofa is SimpliSafe’s Base Station.  The Base Station is the command center for the home, interacting with the other SimpliSafe devices to send signals to your SimpliSafe app, the SimpliSafe monitoring center, and then sets off a 95 dB siren.

Here’s another picture of the extended family room, a cozy little reading spot.  In the top middle of the pic (in the corner of the ceiling) you can see one of the SimpliSafe Motion Sensors.  No wires, no worries.  Place Motion Sensors wherever you’d like, they are all coin battery operated and will last several years.  Once motion is detected, the Base Station will be alerted.

SimpliSafe’s Motion Sensors are small but powerful, using a signal-burst technology to communicate to the Base Station, but with less power.  Multiple sensors can be placed throughout your home.

The Kitchen

Is this kitchen a dream or what?  So spacious and equipped with modern conveniences. Near the stove is a tablet that can be used for your SimpliSafe app to make adjustments to your security or to view videos.  You can do this with your phone as well.  Out the window you can see the tall trees of the open forest area, right outside the front door.  It’s so beautiful in Bluffton.

The Master Bedroom

The master bedroom, located downstairs, has 4 sunlights bring in South Carolina sunshine into the room, yet had tech controlled curtains allowing you to close them during hot days.  

Oh and wait until you see the shoe carousel in the closet!  Pressing the button below it allows the next compartment of shoes to become available for viewing and retrieval.  Certainly a woman’s dream and an innovative one with a tight quarters closet.  See it here!

Now here’s a SimpliSafe feature that just makes sense.  You can barely make out that little white rectangle box between the headboard and the base on the table.  Do you know what it is? It’s a modern-day Panic Button!

Pressing it instantly triggers the SimpliSafe monitoring center, who will call you to ensure you are OK.  If you don’t answer or don’t give them your “safe word” if you do answer, SimpliSafe will alert the police that you’re in danger. 

You most likely will NEVER use this button, but just knowing it’s right by your bed will give you a great deal of peace.  No fumbling for a phone, just press the button!

Should you put a panic button in your kids’ room?  Well, that’s up to you, but there’s something so intriguing about having a big button next to a child’s bed that screams “press me” all over it! 

Here’s picture of the smart home’s teen room, you’ll notice, no technology in this room!

SimpliSafe comes with a free app to keep an eye on things from afar.  But they also have a Keypad to make it easy to put your home in Away or Home mode dependent upon whether you’re coming or going.  You can also do this with your app, but this gives you a visual reminder as you walk out the door.

If an alarm is triggered, the Keypad sets off a beeping alarm.  This distracts burglars and keypads are the first to get smashed, hoping the police won’t be alerted.  SimpliSafe knows this, so they put the brains into the Base Station.  Smashing the Keypad does not hinder alerts whatsoever.

Window/Door and motion sensors are important, but video is king.  Including the SimpliSafe SimpliCam keeps this HGTV smart home under surveillance at all times.  Any movement noticed while in the Away mode is picked up by the SimpliSafe camera(s) in the same room.  

Unlike other security cameras, any video captured is free to watch at any time.  Video is in HD quality and available in clips through your device’s app.  An intelligent motion sensor is built into the camera, calibrated to detect the unique heat of people. 

You can even record live video at any time using your app.  Clips can be saved up to 30 days on SimpliSafe’s servers.  You are free to download or share any of your clips.

SimpliSafe is Simply Secure

SimpliSafe has a lot going for it.  The Base Station and its components are reasonably priced.  Their SimpliCam, priced at $99, is one of the best security camera deals on the market. 

A good kit to start your system with is The Essentials.  It includes a Base Station, 1 Keypad, 3 Entry Sensors, and a Motion Sensor.  I’d also recommend a SimpliCam to keep a virtual watch over everything.

SimpliSafe has been around a long time, protecting over 2 million Americans.   Recently, SimpliSafe updated all their products, making them half their former size with double the range.  Their new products have a more advanced technology, and now their coin-battery products last longer, meaning less hassle for homeowners in changing them out.

Yet, even after their latest products were complete, they did not increase their prices on their products or their services.  They offer two monthly, no contract service:

1. Standard – offers 24/7 alarm monitoring and cellular connection.  Offered at $14.99/mo.
2. Interactive – includes Standard plus test/email alerts, remote control, and more for $24.99/mo.

SimpliSafe is gaining America’s trust with an innovative, easy-to-install, comprehensive, and affordable security protection that fits today’s modern families.

Like what you see?  There’s so much to explore!  See more pictures and videos on HGTV.com to learn more about this remarkable HGTV Smart Home, protected by SimpliSafe.

*Travel provided by SimpliSafe to see the HGTV Smart Home in Bluffton, SC.  All opinions are my own.