Honeywell’s thermostats have made the company famous around the world and helped establish the company’s legacy in the United States. Honeywell Home, which already sells home automation products, naturally expanded into the smart home security industry. Honeywell Alarm Monitoring competes with several companies by offering three DIY security systems with professional monitoring as an optional extra.
This do-it-yourself security system features an uncomplicated installation process and can send notifications to your phone via an easy-to-use app if motion is detected or an opening door or window is detected. The base station has a 1080p camera that registers motion and stores it in the cloud for free, and it provides a variety of cool features, such as the ability to communicate with Amazon Alexa, face recognition, and an Enhanced Deterrence alternative that plays sounds to make it seem like somebody is home while you’re away. The system is compatible with other Z-Wave devices and IFTTT applets.
Features of Honeywell Alarm Monitoring
Illuminated bottom
To indicate the health of the system, the Camera Base Station’s underside features a series of colored lights. The system’s green lights indicate that it is operational while the user is away, and the purple hue denotes that it is currently nighttime (which only monitors door and window sensors). The system also communicates extra data through the use of other colors and periodic flashes.
Devoid of Expert Oversight
However, when an alarm is triggered, the police cannot be contacted by Honeywell Smart Home Security. Once commonplace, do-it-yourself security systems that eschew expert monitoring are becoming less frequent nowadays.
You need not keep an eye on things at home because you can rely on Honeywell Alarm Monitoring. Although the system can provide guidance on whether to seek assistance, somewhere the burden of decision-making lies with the individual as well.
Professional monitoring
Compared to competing for security apps, Honeywell’s Home mobile app performs adequately. Controls for automatic arming, geofencing, two-way audio, and facial recognition are just some of the features included. Users especially enjoy the geofencing feature, which can be set to automatically activate and disable the system when you leave and return to your home. Five years ago, geofencing was a game-changer, but now it seems to be all that Honeywell Home has to offer.
Facial recognition by Honeywell is intriguing in theory but also in practice. Two faces are stored at most, and it only monitors them for two hours a day. One can be sure that facial recognition would be useful anywhere. However, review data from both the App Store and Google Play suggests that the app experiences periods of instability at times. One positive aspect is that Honeywell Home’s parent firm, Resideo, responds to consumer complaints.
Camera
The Honeywell Smart Home Security camera has a 1080p resolution, streams in real-time, and stores a 30-second video clip in the cloud if motion is detected. The Honeywell Alarm Monitoring has limited recording options, such as planned recordings or continuous recordings.
You may still use the camera to keep an eye on a certain door, window, or high-traffic area by creating a custom zone. Zones can be set up to prevent nuisance alarms caused by things like pets or ceiling fans. The motion detector can be programmed to detect only major movements, such as an intruder, and disregard smaller ones, such as a cat grooming itself on the couch.
When compared to other security cameras, the quality of recordings made during the day and at night is on par. Users like how the camera’s top ring can be rotated to obscure the lens and stop it from recording footage in private. It prevents the camera from hogging your Wi-Fi connection by continuously recording when it’s not required to do so.
Warnings and alarms
Honeywell Smart Home Security may either send an alert to your phone or activate an audible alarm to scare away would-be burglars, depending on the mode you set it to.
Cloud storage
Although the free cloud storage is convenient, the fact that only the last 24 hours worth of video may be viewed may be limiting for those who aren’t interested in browsing their recordings once per day. More space and a hands-off interface are available with a Honeywell Home Membership upgrade.
Support
Unlike other DIY security suppliers, Honeywell doesn’t use third-party monitoring businesses to supply the service. However, some well-established security brands insist on providing monitoring by their own specialists. Honeywell prefers to give you a free hand. Although this may appeal to some, those in search of the security that comes from having a third party keep an eye on their property may want to keep looking.
Equipment included in the basic set
Users like that the Camera Base Station may be connected to additional components and sensors to bolster the overall system’s security, despite being the system’s nerve center. An access sensor and a key fob are included in the basic set.
The access sensor is affixed to the door or window and detects when it is opened and closed, setting off an alarm and sending out notifications. Two entry sensors are included in the basic setup.
The system is activated via a little remote called a “key fob,” which is similar to the remotes seen in most autos. It’s convenient because you can make instant changes to the system settings without pulling out your phone.
Interoperability with smart home devices
Honeywell’s smart home platform is based on the Honeywell Home app. It regulates a smart thermostat, a smart security camera, and a water leak detection, all manufactured by Honeywell.
Though it has a Z-Wave radio built in, not all Z-Wave devices are compatible with the Camera Base Station. However, the device is compatible with other smart light switches and bulbs.
Installation
Using the Honeywell Home app on your mobile device, setting up Honeywell Smart Home Security is a breeze. All you have to do is sign up for or log into your Honeywell Home account, put in the Camera Base Station, connect it to Wi-Fi, and then configure your preferences and mount your sensors before you can couple them to the base station.
Although the system comes with some printed installation manuals, it mainly just tells you to use the app and provides some helpful hints. For example, the brief explanations of voice commands and the meanings of the various LED colors on the camera base are really helpful.
