One of the benefits of the "smart home" movement is the potential for improved security. A number of companies have moved into that space including Nest and Amazon. One company has built itself from the ground up with smart home security and I recently got my hands dirty with: Ring.
Ring makes products for home security including cameras and sensors. Ring’s first product was a doorbell (hence the name "Ring") that included a camera that connected to WiFi. Today, Ring produces several different versions of its doorbell. They also make an array of outdoor cameras, alarms, motion sensors, smoke detectors and event flood/freeze detectors. My most recent experience with Ring was its Floodlight Cam.
The Ring Floodlight Cam is a simple enough concept. It is a flood light with a camera on it. However, what you can do with it can be as complex or simple as you would like. The main benefit is its motion detector. But this isn’t your run of the mill detector. You can set various directions with different sensitivity levels. When combined with the built-in camera, you can create custom "zones." These are different areas that the camera can see. For example, I created separate zones for the driveway and my porch. That way the camera knows right away if someone is coming to my front door or the garage. The camera will give you a 270 degree view from where you point it with up to 1080p HD video.
The really cool part is connecting the floodlight to the internet. From my phone I can watch what is going on from any Ring camera I have set up. I can customize alerts for detecting motion. When triggered, a message pops up on my phone and I can see what is going on live. I can even have a two-way conversation with whomever is at my house to let them know I am watching. I can turn on and off the lights and even set off a siren.
In my opinion the best feature Ring provides is a history of activity events. These are video recordings of what happened. If my house is broken into, I will have a detailed recording of the person and what they did. Ring’s plans start at $3 a month for one camera and caps out at $100 a year with unlimited camera support. The $100 a year plan also gives you discounts on products and extended warranties. As far as I am concerned that is a pretty good deal.
There are a few challenges. The two biggest I have encountered working with Ring is power and WiFi. Where I installed my floodlight I had to run new power cables to. If you are replacing an existing flood light, it is a lot easier but still requires a bit of wiring. Power sources can be tricky with a few of their other products such as a doorbell (what type of power do you have at your door?). The second is WiFi. I said you can get "up to 1080p" video because you need a strong and stable internet connection. When dealing with internet connected devices, outside of the house isn’t the first place we go for strong signal. Ring does make WiFi boosters and their are third party options, but it will need to be something you consider.
Overall I am pretty happy with my Ring Floodlight. It, along with a few other features I have added to my home, has made me feel more confident that my home and family are safe. Of course you will have to make decisions for yourself about home security. At the very least, I suggest taking a look at Ring.
Brian Boyer is the managing partner of Web Pyro (http://?www.webpyro.com) located in Wooster.