No Monthlies with the Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit

The Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit gives you the the peace of mind of an entire home monitoring system without the costly monthly fees. There are several kits and add-ons that you can choose from to tailor the needs of your home. 

The base kit includes a landline phone, 2 window/door sensors, a motion detector, and a smart plug, all of which I set up in our home.  

In addition, I was able to set up the outdoor camera unit as well.  All of these individual components connect to the Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit HUB through your WiFi Connection.

How it Works

The Panasonic Home Monitoring System Connects through your home’s WiFi connection via the HUB.  The Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit HUB can be thought of as the central control system for all of the Panasonic individual units.  The HUB can be controlled by either the landline phone or your cellphone.  This is such a great feature for those who have not yet ventured into the cellphone realm! 

The set-up from your cellphone to the Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit HUB was pretty painless.  The only con to this process is that only one device can connected to the HUB at a time.  Thus if you try to remote access the camera while you are away, you could potentially kick off your spouse from the system.  Let’s take a look at each individual component.

The Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit

The Landline Phone

If you are like me, I no longer own a landline phone number.  So, initially I thought that this Panasonic landline phone would not get used.  However, this phone can work in other capacities.  It can arm and disarm your security system, it can announce your notifications, “Back Door Opened”, and it can also be used as an intercom system with your smart phone app. 

I personally think this feature is fantastic, especially if you have children who are starting to stay home alone, but don’t have their own cell phone yet! 

Now, if you do still have a landline telephone, there are even more features!  You can forward your calls to your cellphone and even make calls on your cell phone that go through your landline!

Outdoor Camera

The Outdoor Camera has a range to the Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit HUB of 1,000 feet!  Even though my HUB is set up on the 2nd floor, in the back side of my house, it still has great signal to the camera, which is mounted to the front entry way. 

The camera is waterproof and operates in temperatures of -4 degrees F – 122 degrees F!  It has night vision, motion detection AND has a 2-Way Talk feature with your smartphone app! 

Once you have armed your system and it detects motion, it will notify your cellphone, and will call your landline (if you have one).  This camera needs to be plugged in (not battery powered), but it does come with a long cord. 

There are some really cool features that this system does.  First, the camera image shows up on a grid.  You can select the areas of the image that you want to set up for motion detection.  That way, if you have a tree that blows in the wind, it will not trigger the motion detection each time.  Also, you can set up rules for when the camera detects motion. 

The Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit HUB has a microSD Card slot (card not included).  You can set up your system so that it automatically records video and sound whenever there is movement detected.  Additionally, when paired with the smart plug, you can set up a rule that turns on a lamp whenever motion is detected. 

 Here is a view from the Panasonic camera looking out from the front door.

Motion Sensor, Window/Door Sensors, and Smart Plug

The Motion Sensor and Window/Door sensors are easy to set up and you can create various notifications for these components.  You can have it announced every time a door is opened or only when you are set as “away”. 

As with other smart plugs, you can turn appliances on/off via your cellphone and even create a schedule for when to turn them on.  Additionally, you can set up a siren to go off, if motion is detected while you are “away”.

Pros:

• Easy-to-install
• No monthly costs
• Affordable
• Additional components sold separately
• Components interact with each other
• Can store video with a purchased micro SD card

Cons:

• Adding several components can get expensive
• Does not work if WiFi is down

The Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit can be purchased on Amazon for $98.99 +free shipping.  The Outdoor Camera add-on can be purchased for $88.22 + free shipping at Amazon as well.

A Mom’s Perspective

The Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit is a simple way to be able to monitor what is going on in your home, without having to pay expensive monthly fees or get hooked into a long contract.  The camera image was clear and I liked the 2-way speaker/microphone that is built-in.

For me, the system has a few clear winning qualities – I love that you can set up rules to turn on your lamp if motion is detected.  This is something that I haven’t seen in other systems. 

The outdoor camera has so many key components with the night vision, recording, and the motion detection all built into a compact system.  I also like how everything interfaces with the handset unit.  This home monitoring system will be used in our home on a regular basis.

*I was given a Panasonic Home Monitoring Kit for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.