This year, for the first time ever, Kazar customers can add a little extra sparkle to Christmas morning! Showing your children a real, incontrovertible snapshot of Santa’s visit, captured by your smart home security camera.

We invite you to imagine the scene. It’s the big morning, sometime around 6:05 AM. Your family gathers around the tree. Your kids clutch their first gifts eagerly. You clutch your first coffee, blearily.

“Hold on, children,” you say, with a twinkle in your eye and a nod to one of the sleek Kazar Security cameras that guard your home.

“There’s something else to open this year: the Alarm.com app.” 

How to Set Up Alarm.com’s Santa Security

To catch Santa in your home, you’ll need the latest version of the Alarm.com app, and a compatible Alarm.com home security camera*. Next…

1: Open your Alarm.com app. Select a live video feed from a compatible Alarm.com security camera in your home.

2: Tap the Santa icon in the video feed to get a still image from your security camera.

3: Choose a Santa from the menu to add to your snapshot. You’ll see full-color images of the real Santa for a daytime snapshot, and black and white options for night. You can resize and move Santa if you need to.

4: Delight your family. When your children wake you up at 5.30am on Christmas morning, show them your snapshot.

5: Share the magic! Share your Santa snapshots with family and friends by email, text and social media (hashtag: #SantaSecurity).

Don’t have Santa Security? Set up a Santa Alert instead.

A genuine Santa Alert from your smart home security system is another way to show your kids that Santa visited. All you need is your Alarm.com app, your web dashboard, and a single contact sensor.

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

Want more tips for a smarter, safer holiday? Click here. 

*To tell if a video camera is compatible with Santa Security, open your Alarm.com app and look for a Santa icon in the top right corner of the camera’s live video feed. All compatible cameras will show this icon.

A holiday road trip has a lot of moving parts. Packing, loading the car, remembering provisions for the kids, rest stops… It’s going to be a hectic day.

If you’re a Kazar Security homeowner using our Alarm.com app, there are a few extra steps worth taking before you leave. They’ll save you plenty of time and worry on the road.

1: Schedule your smart lights

Making your home look occupied can deter unwelcome visitors when you’re away, and smart lighting is an effective way to do it.

Alarm.com lets you schedule and control your lights in several ways. They can come on at a certain time every day, or, for added realism, you can randomize the time by several minutes or simply schedule them for sunset. You can also use a motion sensor to activate your front porch lights whenever movement is detected.

2: Give a trusted neighbor access

If a neighbor is coming to check up on your home, give them their own user code to your front door and security system.

As well as being convenient (no more lost keys) unique user codes also give you peace of mind by generating a smartphone alert when used. You’ll know that your neighbor checked up on your home as planned, how long they stayed, and when they left.

3: Set up Geo-Services for your smart thermostat

You don’t want to waste energy heating your house while you’re away, but you don’t want to come back to an icebox either. Our Geo-Services feature takes care of both, switching your smart thermostat between ‘Home’ mode and ‘Away’ mode based on your location.

Staying home for the holidays? Check out these fun ways to use your Alarm.com app system.

In your Alarm.com app, you create a geo-fence: a ring on a digital map around your home. When you (and your smartphone) cross the geo-fence, Alarm.com switches your thermostat to ‘Away’, turning down your heating to save money. When you cross the fence on your way back, your thermostat will switch to ‘Home’ for a warm and comfortable welcome.

You can create several geo-fences, starting at a radius of one mile from your home. To have your house heated when you return, use a fence that equals roughly 30 minutes of driving time.

4: Don’t forget to lock up!

Ever embarked on a road trip only to wonder if you locked the front door?

Before you leave, make sure that you enable an arming reminder in your Alarm.com app. Should you forget to lock your door or arm your security system, Alarm.com sends you an alert that lets you secure your home in a single touch.

Have a safe trip!

Don’t have a Kazar Security system in your home yet? Make sure you have it for your next trip! To get started, call (918) 551-6196 for a free quote.

Back-to-school time comes with big changes to schedules and new concerns for parents. Kazar Security uses smart home security from Alarm.com, so your child coming home safely is less likely to be one of them.

If you’re a working parent with older kids, you’re not going to be there every night when the bus drops them off. Traditionally, that would mean a routine of check-in calls and keep tabs on their whereabouts. That can be a hassle for everyone in the family.

Not so with Alarm.com, which easily provides the perfect back to school awareness solution to keep you worry-free. If you’re already a user, here’s how to do it. (If not, here’s why you should be).

1: Add a Smart Lock

Keys are small and easy to lose. Kids can be absent-minded – particularly with all that homework on their minds. Combine the two and there’s a good chance you might be making a few trips to the hardware store for extra keys this fall.

Wait—you hid a spare key under a planter? That’s a solution that a burglar will thank you for. A better way to go is a smart lock for your front door. It’s a permanent solution to lost (and poorly-hidden) keys. They open with easy to remember four-digit codes or from anywhere with our smartphone app.

2: Set Up User Codes

User codes don’t just open doors, though. They provide peace of mind, even when the security system is disarmed.

With your smart lock integrated into your Smart Home Security system, your child’s user code can trigger an instant alert when they use it.

That means you’ll know exactly when they arrive home. There’s no need for them to text, no need for you to call, and no need for you to wonder—it’s completely automatic. For additional awareness, you can create a no-show alert, which lets you know if they’re not home by a certain time. Then you know to follow up.

3: Add an Image Sensor

So who else is home? If you don’t want your home to turn into a neighborhood hangout in the afternoon, then it’s a good idea to keep tabs on who’s there.

An image sensor is a motion sensor with an onboard camera that lets you visually verify who’s coming in and out of your home. Positioned in the hallway overlooking the front door, it can take a snapshot right when your kids arrive home so you can rest assured that they’re following your rules on after-school guests.

4: Program Your Smart Thermostat

Kids have more exciting things to worry about than keeping the energy bill down, so they often overlook closing doors and windows when the AC is running.

You can rest easy about your kids ‘cooling the neighborhood’ with an Alarm.com Smart Thermostat, which can automatically set back to ‘savings mode’ if they leave the door open for any length of time.

You can also keep more control over the temperature settings in your home, even when you’re not there. Set a schedule on your Alarm.com Smart Thermostat and create an alert so you’ll know if anyone makes an adjustment on the thermostat. You can even restrict temperature changes so they can only be made from the mobile app, not the device.

Don’t Have Alarm.com? Get Started Today

To get connected with an Alarm.com system in your home, click here.

Sources:
Alarm.com

Your vacation should be relaxing and worry-free. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare your home before you leave on any long trip. Then, any problems on the home front are just one less thing to worry about.

Make your house look lived-in

An empty house is like an open invitation to burglars. To keep your house looking occupied:

• Stop the newspaper and mail – or ask a trusted neighbor to pick them up
• Park your car in the garage, if you have one
• Ask a neighbor to park in your driveway occasionally so there’s activity at your house
• Put at least one light in your house on a timer
• Install a motion-activated sensor on an outdoor floodlight. (Burglars hate outdoor lighting – and that’s why we love it)
• Make sure your lawn stays trimmed

Take the necessary plumbing and electrical precautions

Running appliances while you’re away is not only a needless expense, it could also lead to costly problems. To avoid the possibility of an appliance breakdown while you’re away:

• Unplug small appliances and electronic devices
• Put the water heater in “vacation” mode
• Turn off water valves to the dishwasher, washing machine, and all sinks
• Set your thermostat to a temperature close to outside temps (warmer in the summer, cooler in the winter) but which still protects your plants, pets, and furniture

General home preparation
Other things to consider doing before your vacation:

• Notify your credit card company and home security company that you’ll be out of town
• Make sure your smoke detectors are working properly
• Leave your emergency contact information with a neighbor
• Dispose of any food that could go bad before you return from vacation
• Take out the kitchen trash – especially anything that might start to stink
• Run your garbage disposal with a half-cup of vinegar and some water

Following this home preparation checklist before you leave for your vacation could save you a headache later. But don’t forget that the unexpected can follow you on your vacation – which is why it is crucial to stay protected.