The Safe and Secure security system from British Gas is not just a typical security system, it does more than secure your property, in fact after my first month of use, I have to come to familiarise myself with all the functions and notice it can be used for tracking family members entry and exit from your property as well as keep track of important information about how much your appliances plugged into the smart plugs are costing you.
Unboxing
Receiving the safe and secure system, I was not sure what to expect just images and words i have been told regarding what is to come through the post so when it arrived I was very excited to open the box. Inside the box by default i got the following:
- 1 x Hub
- 2 x Motion Sensors
- 1 x Door Contact Sensor
- 2 x Key Fobs
- 1 x Smartplug
- 1 x Decoy Box
Generally the installation and set up was very simple and straight forward, especially if yiu follow the instruction manual included in the package. it took me roughly about 20 minutes to setup, although i did not setuo the external sirens for health and safety reasons, the email and text message alerts were adequate for my liking.
Using the safe and secure system
The key fobs that came with the package allowed me to simply press the exit property button to tell the hub I am no longer in the house and activate the intruder system, and once pressed you get the countdown tone, double tapping the exit button instead would simply activate the system without any countdown. The free iPhone app I downloaded could also be used instead to activate the alarm remotely in case i forgot to press the buttong or rushed out of my house there by forgetting to press the key fob.
when intruder is detected by trigerring either the sensors or the door contact sensors, you immediately get a text message and email sent to designated contact details, you can then investigate; you could get more advance and attach it to a CCTV system so that the camera is activated when triggered for recording or watching the intruder remotely (the camera/CCTV feature does not launch until the end of this year).
Other cool feature I found was the alert system for when the system if offline which is very useful for when the router loses connection for any reason. The Hub will also last some time when unplugged or if there were to be a power failure to keep things secured before power is restored via the mains charger.
On the web interface or smart phone app, you can see your room temperature with comparison to outsite temperature and previous day’s temperature and the smart plug feature will show you just how much your appliances are costing you. The smart plugs can also be turned off remotely should incase you have an electrical appliance like your iron plugged in and you left it on.
overal first impressions from opening the box, setting it all up in minutes to using it has been a fantastic experience and I can see it been a great tool for safery, security and energy saving mechanism/money saving tool for British households. Stay tuned for more about how I get on with using the safe and secure. You can also follow me on Twitter @gadgetsboy for regular updates.
