The Handyguys provide an introduction to DIY home security, surveillance and automation.

The Handyguys give an overview of these technologies in this episode. We may dedicate a show to each of these topics later in the year. If you have any specific products that you would like discussed or have any questions on DIY home automation, home security or surveillance, please contact us. We want to deter the creepy looking creeps from invading our personal space with a cool DIY project.

First off – The Handyguys discuss DIY home security

There are two primary methods of doing DIY home security; wired and wireless. A wired system consists of hard wired sensors on doors, windows, smoke detectors, motion detectors, CO2 detectors, etc. Those wires come back to a main security panel. When an alarm is tripped it can notify a central monitoring service, your cell phone, email and/or sound an alarm. The main advantage of a wired system is that it is reliable and requires no batteries. In contrast, a wireless system is much easier to install and the prices are dropping but their entry cost is higher. Complete wireless and wired security packages are available from many different companies. Handyguy Paul is looking into Home Security Store as one possible vendor.

One wireless system that looks easy to install is the InGrid system  Like other security systems, InGrid provides central station monitoring and a cool web interface. We may discuss InGrid in detail on a future episode.

The Handyguys then discuss home surveillance

Home surveillance systems are a network of cameras. Two types of video monitoring include overt and covert installations. The covert systems are virtually invisible with cameras in things like clocks or teddy bears. The overt system is what Handyguy Paul is more interested in.  It includes an obvious camera hooked up to a PC based digital recorder. They are motion activated. Such a system can act as a deterrent and can also be used in identification of criminals and assist prosecution.  One DIY kit is from wylife.com The Handyguys Podcast is looking forward to discussing the wylife.com solution in a future episode. If our listeners have a favorite DIY home surveillance system they want us to look into for our episode on home surveillance please let us know.

Lastly The Handyguys discuss home automation

How does home automation fit with home security and home automation? Home automation can traditionally do things like turn on and off lights, control HVAC, etc. Some home automation systems can interface with home security systems. The Handyguys ideally want to find an all in one system that can handle home automation, security and surveillance in one easy to use DIY package. One possible place to get everything needed may be smarthome.com Do any of our listeners have any other suggestions? Let us know.