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Smart bulbs and smart lighting systems are a great way to personalize your home’s atmosphere. Even a single smart bulb is a step towards making your home a smart home.

So if you’re thinking about equipping your home with smart bulbs, here’s some of the most important information about them. We’ll cover exactly what smart bulbs are, how they work, and why you should use them.

What are smart bulbs?

Smart bulbs aren’t just controlled with a simple on/off switch. You also have the option to control them with an app on your phone.

Additionally, you’ll also have full control over the color and brightness of the bulbs (depending on the model), so you can set the ambiance of your home.

Most smart bulb apps will suggest “recipes” which are basically just preset color/brightness combinations. Each recipe will be associated with a different feeling or energy. For example, some will promote concentration while other light recipes are designed to help you relax.

Smart bulbs and smart lighting systems aren’t just about impressing your friends with your tech-savviness at the next dinner party. They give you the freedom to control the light and atmosphere in each room, transforming your home into a more ideal environment to live, work, and relax in.

Benefits of smart light bulbs

If you’re wondering whether or not you should buy smart light bulbs, you’ll be pleased to hear that these bulbs have a number of benefits over standard lighting systems.

Turn any light on/off in seconds

If you forgot to turn off the light in another room, normally you’d have to make your way back to the room and flick the switch. If this light happens to be up or down multiple sets of stairs, or in a corner of the house that’s harder to access, this can mean a lot of wasted time traveling back and forth. But with a smart bulb, you can turn any light on or off, regardless of its location.

If you’re heading out, you can easily turn every light in the house off with a single tap or swipe. No running from room to room.

This also means if you’ve forgotten to turn off any lights when you leave the home and you don’t realize it until you’re sitting in traffic halfway to work, no need to sweat it! You can turn off the light remotely through your app.

Control lights with your voice

To make things even easier, if you connect your smart bulbs to a smart assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Home, you don’t even need to use your phone to set the lighting to your desired level. You can just use your voice.

So if your phone’s out of juice, or it’s just too far away to reach, you can just call out a command and let your smart device do the rest of the work.

Conserve energy and save money

Most people find that when they get smart bulbs, they end up saving money on energy bills. Smart bulbs aren’t necessarily more energy efficient than regular LED light bulbs, but as you’re able to control them with your phone or your voice, you’re likely a lot more aware of switching them on and off.

You can often command all of the lights to turn off at once, which means it’s less likely that you’ll leave the odd light on by accident. You can also use smart timers to make sure lights turn off or on at a certain time.

Have full control over your home

There’s not much choice in terms of ambiance when you have a standard light bulb. Sure, you can sometimes get dimmer lights such as the Leviton Smart LED Dimmers and turn the brightness up or down, but with a smart bulb, you’ll have full control over your home’s lighting.

You can customize the color and brightness of the lighting in each room of your house. You’ll be able to optimize your home space for living, working, playing or relaxing.

How do smart light bulbs work?

Smart bulbs don’t just emit light, they also connect wirelessly to their neighbor bulbs and to smart devices such as a mobile phone, an Amazon Alexa or Google Home, etc. Philips Hue Smart Bulbs are one of the more popular smart bulbs on the market.

All smart bulbs have wireless technology, but some of them differ in terms of exactly what automation protocol they use. Some smart bulbs use Wi-Fi, others use Bluetooth connections. And some bulbs even give you the option of using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, depending on your preference.

What do you need for a smart lighting system?

If you’re wondering how do smart light bulbs work, you might be wondering if you need any extra equipment to set them up. The simple answer is, yes, as smart bulbs aren’t stand-alone devices. Here’s what you need to make your home’s lighting system “smart.”

You need to connect them to an app on your phone, and sometimes to a smart home device or hub. Smart hubs are like central gateways for your home. All of your smart devices can be routed through them, so that you can control everything in your home just by using a single device. Popular hubs include Nest, Wink, SmartThings, or devices like Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit.

Hubs are especially useful if you want to set your smart bulbs up on a timer, or link them with a compatible doorbell camera. This way you can set your lights to come on at certain times, or when the doorbell rings.

That being said though, you don’t always need a smart home hub to set up a smart lighting system in your home. It’s just a good option if you have lots of smart devices that you want to integrate.

Ultimately, the main thing you need is your smartphone. It will be difficult to effectively use your smart light bulbs without the accompanying app. You just download the app, connect your bulbs, and then control them from your phone. In some cases, you can toggle lighting from the same app that controls your security system.

If your home caught fire tomorrow and was completely burned to the ground without any chance of rescuing your property, what would be the three most valuable items that you lost?

If a burglar broke in while you were away on vacation, what are they likely to walk off with?

Frightening, isn’t it? Sometimes we don’t realize just how vulnerable our property is until tragedy strikes.

No one ever plans to have a home fire (arsonists excluded), but when they do strike, the homeowners who suffer most are the ones who were unprepared. In an instant they’ve lost valuable collectibles, their car title, jewelry, cash, digital data, and more. And the same can be said of burglary.

That’s where home safes come in. They protect your most valuable assets from the most dangerous threats. If you’re looking into how to buy the best home safe, you’ve basically got to answer two questions:

• What am I trying to protect?
• What am I trying to protect it from?

Safes are designed to keep your valuables defended against the two dangers we’ve already identified: fires and burglars. But not all safes are secure against both, and not all safes are created equal.

In this in-depth guide to buying the best home safe, we’ll look at the different types of safes on the market as well as the spectrum of security they provide.

Fire-Resistant Safes

Most safes are at least designed to resist fires. If you only need to secure property that wouldn’t be of much value to a thief, such as contracts, wills, and other important documents, then a fire-resistant safe will suit you just fine.

These safes are designed to resist high temperatures, but can be broken into pretty easily by a burglar with moderately decent tools. The walls are thick and hollow (to prevent heat transfer), and the safe is filled with fire resistant insulating material.

Fire Safe Standards

The protection provided by any model of safe from a fire is typically indicated in hours, an indication of how many hours the safe can withstand an external temperature of 1700 degrees Fahrenheit without the inside heating to the point that paper could burn (350 degrees).

Underwriters Laboratory (UL) is one trusted organization that sets such standards, and a home safe should have a minimum UL rating of at least one hour. Two and four hour rated safes are also available, but one hour is usually enough for most home safes.

Protecting Digital Media from Fire

While paper burns at 350 degrees, objects like tapes, DVDs, CDs, hard disks, and USB drives can be vulnerable as low as 125 degrees. If you need to protect items such as these, you may want to invest in a special media safe.

While they can run two or three times the price of your standard issue fire safe, they are rated for much higher temperatures and are also designed with special moisture-resistant insulation.

So if you’ve got precious home movies, an autographed copy of Joe Versus the Volcano, or years of backed up computer data to protect, a media safe might be the best home safe for you.

SentrySafe SFW123DSB 1.23 Cubic Feet Combination Fire-Safe

This is one example of a popular fire-resistant safe to give you an idea of some of the typical specifications. Featuring a combination lock with a tubular key and four live-locking bolts, the SentrySafe is designed to provide security for years upon years.

Floor bolting hardware is included for additional security, but please note that mounting requires you to drill holes in the mounts, which will reduce the safe’s flood resistance.

The SentrySafe offers superb heat resistance for all of your most precious media, bearing a UL and ETL (Edison Testing Laboratories) 1-hour rating (up to 1700 degrees) for DVDs, CDs, USB drives, and memory sticks.

It meets UL standards for resisting a 15-foot drop and is ETL verified to withstand being submerged in 8 inches of water for up to 24 hours (except when drilled for mounting).

Furthermore, you can add even more peace of mind by enrolling in the SentrySafe Fire Protection Guarantee, which offers up to $50,000 of insurance on your property should the safe fail to protect them

Burglar-Resistant Safes

If you’ve got more to protect than documents and media, you’re gonna need a bigger safe (or at least a better one). While a fire safe is great for protecting your valuables from burning, they’re gonna crack open like a can of tuna to any burglar with the right tools.

If you’ve got real valuables, like jewelry or cash, you’re going to want to invest in a burglar-resistant safe. These are made of steel and feature thinner walls than fire safes, and they are designed to withstand assault from tools like power saws, sledge hammers, and high speed drills.

They are also intended to be heavy so that they can’t just be carried off, and ideally they should be tied into your existing security system.

Burglar Safe Standards

Burglar safes are rated based on how long they were tested to withstand assault with a wide array of burglar tools. The Underwriters Laboratories standard minimum rating of TL-15, for example, means that the safe was unable to be cracked after 15 minutes of concentrated tool work with drills, hammers, carbide disc cutters, and other sophisticated burglary equipment. TL-30 would indicate that a safe withstood attack for 30 minutes. And so on.

Another standard that some safes include is torch resistance (TR), or the ability to withstand a cutting torch for a given number of minutes. A safe rated TRTL-30, for example, has been tested to withstand attack from burglar tools and a cutting torch for 30 minutes.

A final standard for the heaviest of safes indicates its resistance to explosives, indicated by TX. While you probably won’t need anything this serious, you never know. It all comes down to what you’re protecting.

AMSEC’s AmVault TL-30 Fire Rated Composite Safes

Here’s an example one safe that is rated for burglar and fire resistance. This TL-30 rated safe demonstrated the ability to hold up against the expert testers at Underwriters Laboratories for 30 minutes against their best efforts with power saws, carbide disc cutters, drills, and more.

The AmVault is also fire resistant, and suitable for use in both commercial and residential settings for the protection of your most valuable possessions.

Choosing the Best Burglar Safe

When it comes to choosing the best home safe for protection from burglars, you want to keep in mind the situation in which most thieves are trying to bust into a safe. Typically, they’re under pressure, keeping one eye out for law enforcement, and working in the dark as fast as possible as their nerves run wild. Basically, they are trying to break into a steel safe in the absolute worst conditions.

When these safes are quality rated, the tests are performed in the complete opposite situation. The room is well lit, the testers are under no pressure, and they’re equipped with the most powerful burglar’s tools. So, buying a TL-15 safe is probably fine for most home safes because 15 minutes is a long time for a burglar to be whacking away at a safe. If you’re really looking for security, though, go for a model rated for 30 minutes or more.

No matter how burglar-resistant your safe is, however, it won’t matter a bit if a home invader can just lug it away and work on it all night elsewhere. For this reason, if your safe weighs less than 750 pounds, it must be anchored to the floor or wall for maximum effectiveness.

Frequently Asked Questions About Safes

So, your main choices come down to fire safe or burglar safe, and the choice relies on exactly what it is you’re protecting. If it’s anything that a thief could potentially find valuable, spring for a burglar-resistant model.

As you consider the best home safe for your needs, the following FAQs might further help you make the right choice for you.

Is a Floor Safe Right for Me?

Floor safes are about as safe as safes can be. They are installed to be level with the floor and surrounded with at least 200 pounds of concrete, so they are near impenetrable and completely impossible to be carried away by a common criminal. Settled below the ground, floor safes are also easily concealable with a rug or even by being placed beneath a couch or dresser.

Floor safes are also especially resistant to fires because they are below ground level. This means that the fire can never really engulf them. They don’t heat easily, and popular locksmith lore holds that there has never been a loss by fire from a properly installed floor safe.

The primary disadvantage with floor safes are convenience and permanence. They are kind of difficult to access because you have to stoop to the ground, so they might not be a good choice if you have joint pains or are approaching old age. They’re also permanently installed in the floor, so you can’t take them with you if you move.

Should I Buy a Keyed Safe or a Combination Safe?

Keyed safes seem more convenient, but keys are easily lost and easily stolen. If a burglar breaks in and finds a keyed safe, the next thing he’ll hunt for is your keys.

Combination locks, on the other hand are much harder to break into because a thief can’t steal or copy your combination the way they can your keys. Furthermore, you can change the combination as necessary when people move out or employees change.

While you might be annoyed at having to remember the combination, you can easily write it down disguised as a phone number (or pull a Walter White and buy a lotto ticket with your combo numbers).

Can a Burglar Break Into a Safe Through Other Methods?

The movies are filled with expert cat burglars cracking codes with stethoscopes or filing down their fingertips to feel the click of tumblers. But such gimmicks are simply for the silver screen.

In reality, the vast majority of safe jobs are clumsy and not premeditated. Burglars happen unsuspectingly on your safe and make a pathetic attempt to break in. At best, they might attempt to drill into or smash their way into the safe with basic tools.

The few safe jobs that are successful are likely the result of the owner failing to lock the safe or the burglar acquiring the combination somehow.

Are Bolted Hinges Secure?

You might think that you have to buy a safe with welded hinges because otherwise a burglar could just remove the hinges and crack the safe, right?

Wrong. Hinges work a little bit differently on burglar safes. They exist purely to hold the weight of the door when it’s open, but are not actually tied to the locking mechanism.

How Can I Learn More About Safes?

If you’re in the market for the best home safe, you want to talk to as many qualified professionals as possible. Find an expert locksmith to start with, and ask them for references. There’s no one better to learn about safes than from than someone who’s an expert at working with (and breaking into) locks.

Another great source of information is your insurance company. Your agent may be able to secure premium savings for you based on the security rating of your safe.

Find the Best Home Safe for You

We hope this guide on how to buy the best home safe has been as fun to read as it was to write. Remember that what it really comes down to is identifying what it is you need to protect and what it needs protecting from.

For some, a fire safe will do the trick. For others, burglar-resistant is the way to go. Those looking for maximum security may invest in a floor safe. But, whether the threat is fire or theft, your goods are only as safe as the safe they’re secured in.

Are you considering getting a security system for your home? Choosing a local home security company can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are the top three local alarm companies we recommend in Massachusetts

Alarm New England

Alarm New England is one of the security industry’s best-kept secrets. This local fire alarm company is a family-owned business.

What sets it apart from the competition?
The company works with Alarm.com and Qolsys, two of the most reliable security equipment suppliers in the country. Homeowners can trust Alarm New England to keep their families safe.

Price

We appreciate the payment flexibility of this local alarm company. Customers can opt for a monthly plan or sign a three-year contract.

Alarm New England offers a satisfaction guarantee for 100 days or a full refund. It has six packages to choose from, ranging from $31.99 to $51.99 per month.

Features and Equipment

Alarm New England has everything you would expect in a modern home security system. This includes remote access, home integration, a UL-approved monitoring station, and all of the latest features. It is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Z-Wave.

Your Alarm New England security system can be installed by yourself or with the help of professionals.The Qolsys hardware used in Alarm New England’s equipment can accommodate any apartment or property. Homeowners appreciate the IQ Panel 2’s easy-to-use interface. This award-winning technology has a 7-inch HD touchscreen, wireless radios, and a built-in 5-megapixel camera. It also works on a variety of smart devices in your home. We love the touchless disarming feature and glass break detector.

Going beyond monitoring your home, this local alarm company also offers environmental protection. Alarm New England’s hardware can detect temperature change, the presence of carbon monoxide, smoke and flooding.

In case of an emergency, there is a panic button to ensure your personal safety. This gives homeowners peace of mind.

Another advantage of choosing Alarm New England is the ability to reallocate your security system if you change service providers or move away.

Customer Service

Homeowners across various platforms agree that Alarm New England delivers outstanding customer service. They are responsive to user questions and emergency situations.

They also welcome customer feedback so they can provide a positive user experience.

Pros

• Excellent customer service
• The option between professional installation or self-installation
• Monthly options available
• Plans start at $31.99 per month
• The ability to reuse existing equipment

Cons

• Available only in New England
• Can only service properties smaller than 10,000 square feet

Wayne Alarm

Wayne Alarm serves homes and businesses in the North Shore and is also a popular choice in Lynn and Salem. Wayne Alarm does both the designing and the installation of its alarm systems.
Many Massachusetts locals can benefit from their services, whether for residential or commercial use.

However, if you rent or plan on moving, you might want to shop elsewhere because Wayne Alarm doesn’t provide national coverage.

Price

Homeowners who are shopping for local alarm companies in Massachusetts can’t access Wayne Alarm’s pricing information online—customers must call for a quote. Some clients may be unsatisfied with the lack of important information that’s made readily available to them. Clients need to know key factors such as warranties and return policies before making an informed decision.

The monthly fee, however, ranges from $33.95 to $52.95, with three available packages. A contract with Wayne Alarm lasts 36 months.

Features and Equipment

This local alarm company offers home security with a variety of features, including alarm systems, security cameras, and smoke detectors, that can be tailored to all of your monitoring needs.

Wayne Alarm uses what’s generally considered to be reputable security hardware like Honeywell, DSC, First Alert, and Ademco.

The advantage of choosing Wayne Alarm is the ability to reallocate your security system within the neighborhoods that the company serves.

Homeowners and local businesses can benefit from intrusion protection as well as environmental protection and video surveillance. Sensors are wireless, and a siren or alarm is triggered when movement is detected around your home. The user interface is clean and easy to use.

Some security companies outsource monitoring assistance to other companies. But with Wayne Alarm, you will get help from their trained operators within 30 seconds. That is half of the standard response time in the security industry, and it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Monitoring technology is also available over cellular and broadband. Superior technology integration also allows for mobile access and alerts in real time.

Customer Service

Wayne Alarm has been serving the community for over 50 years. The customer service team has many positive reviews online for its product knowledge and helpfulness.

Pros

• Great for both residential and commercial use
• Excellent customer service
• Quick response time
• Professional installation
• Customized security systems

Cons

• Absence of pricing and other important information online
• Only available within the state of Massachusetts

American Alarm

American Alarm is a UL-listed and CSAA certified security company that offers customers 24-hour monitoring. It is the biggest independent security company in New England and serves parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Price

American Alarm doesn’t offer much information on their website about pricing. However, according to user reports, consumers can expect to pay between $27 and $80 a month. This amount varies depending on the equipment used, the size of your property, and the package you choose.

All other pricing information, such as warranties and policies, are undisclosed. American Alarm is more expensive than other local alarm companies.

Features and Equipment

American Alarm offers an extensive list of security systems for both residential and commercial use. Alarm and security systems are tailored to customers’ needs, and you can choose between a cellular or landline system.

However, the company uses DMP equipment, and not many other security companies are willing to take over this outdated system, so it’s tough to switch to a new security company. It is also likely that you will need to update American Alarm’s DMP equipment in the next few years.

As for American Alarm’s technology integration, the local home security company uses Virtual Keyboard software. It is accessible through mobile apps, and it’s compatible with Amazon’s Ring doorbell, Z-Wave, and NVRs.

Customer Service

This company has an A+ with the Better Business Bureau. Although American Alarm has an average reputation, it scores poorly with customer service.

Customers don’t like the outdated technology, and some aren’t keen on the large upfront investment that comes with choosing American Alarm.

Pros

• Local monitoring station
• 40 years of experience
• Professional video surveillance installation

Cons

• Difficult to switch security companies due to outdated DMP systems
• No discounted systems for purchase
• Poor customer satisfaction

Whether you’re a longtime Massachusetts resident, or are perhaps moving to a new town in Massachusetts – these are the three local alarm companies to consider.

Whatever your reason for wanting to know how to rent your house out, you no doubt want the entire process to run smoothly and to find tenants who will take care of your property.

Knowing how to rent your house out and the procedures to follow can mean the difference between finding reliable tenants and your apartment standing open, or even worse – having tenants who do not pay.

There is quite a bit to think about, and being adequately prepared from the beginning will set you up for success in the long run. An important question to ask yourself is whether or not to use a realtor or property manager as they will typically take care of some of the services we mention in this article.

While it can make life easy, you do pay for the convenience and can expect a realtor’s services to cost you about 10% of the monthly rent, as well as 50% of the first month’s rent once a tenant is secured. The other option is to find out how to rent your house out yourself and then manage your property on your own to save some money.

We have put together seven tips on how to rent your house out to remove a lot of the guesswork and layout the steps to renting out a house.

Our Top Tips On How To Rent Your House Out

Initial Phase – Advertising & Screening

Establishing Your Rental Price

The first tip on how to rent your house out is related to the rental price. Your rental price will be determined mainly by the price that the market is willing to pay, and not by the amount that you want to receive as income.

To determine how to rent your house out at a price the market is willing to pay, take a look online or in newspapers, or speak to the neighbors or local realtors to find out what other properties in the area are going for. This will give you an idea of what you can ask for yours.

Advertising Your Property

Once you have established a rental price, you need to advertise your property. Knowing where and how to put your house up for rent as an advertisement to reach the right potential tenants is important. Take photos of the house with furniture in it as this gives a better indication of the actual space available.

Ideally, advertise your house for rent on the same platforms you used to determine the rental income. Considering these platforms contain the information on the area, they are relevant and likely being seen by people interested in renting in the area.

Pre-screen Potential Tenants

How to rent your house out in the most efficient way begins here. You may think pre-screening is a duplication of what you will go through when examining the applications, but in actual fact, it will help you to remove unsuitable candidates early on and save you time in the long run.

Ask the interested applicants who respond to your advert for some basic information over the phone and use this to immediately qualify or disqualify them from viewing your house. You may want to ask them:

• their employment status
• for references you can contact
• their credit history
• if they have any prior convictions

Let them know the number of people who can stay in the house (usually two per room)

Middle Phase – Showing & Applications

Showing The Property

Organize one property viewing at a designated time for your pre-screened applicants to see the house. This way you can get it over and done with in one go, and should you have current tenants in there already, it will be less of a disturbance for them.

Ask your spouse, partner, family member or friend to come along and help you out with the viewing if you have a large number of people who want to see the place.

Make sure you have ample application forms with you to hand out to prospective tenants and ask those interested to fill it out while they are there. Most will want to take it home to fill out and send back to you, but it’s worth trying to speed up the process by creating a sense of urgency.

Applications and Background Checks

This phase of how to rent your house out is crucial. Combing through the applications and performing background and credit checks on your potential tenants will identify the right person for your property. Obtain a release of information from the applicant on the application form, and make sure you do these things:

• Verify the applicant’s monthly income
• Speak to two or three previous landlords provided as references
• Perform a credit and criminal check

Final Phase – Signing The Lease Agreement & Key Handover

The Lease Agreement

Once you have approved a tenant, it is time to sign the lease agreement. Either your attorney can draw up a basic lease agreement for you, or you can find free formats available to download off the internet. Alternatively, stationery/paper stores often have lease agreement templates available for purchase too.

This is also the point where you collect your safety deposit from your new tenant. Make sure you have a separate, interest-bearing bank account to deposit these funds into as required by law.

Key Handover

Use the key handover as an opportunity to also fill out the move-in condition report with your new tenant. Run through the house together; make notes and take photographs of its condition so that there are no conflicts when the tenants move out your property in future.

Our tips do not only apply to renting out your house, and can be taken to indicate how to rent out an apartment too. Whatever the case, we leave you with a final bonus tip on how to rent your house out – that is not to forget to take out a rental home insurance policy that covers you in the case of any unfortunate events such as fire or flooding that may result in loss of rental income.