Seamless Security: Integrating smart technology into your home

There’s something primal about feeling the need to keep you and your family safe. But besides following our home security tips, what can you do to deter burglars?

Smart home security systems have become more user friendly and affordable, so it could be time to add an extra layer of protection to your home.

The Problem

According to data gathered by CrimeRate, “England & Wales’s police forces received 238,893 crime reports about burglary” in 2024 alone.

“And it’s clear that the police often lack the resources to properly investigate ‘SAC’ – or serious acquisitve crime which includes domestic burglary.

“The Justice Inspectorate admitted that “too many forces lack the capacity and capability to effectively investigate SAC”.

This means that unfortunately, it’s up to homeowners to ensure that their home and property is made secure.

You can’t stop crime, but you can make your own home a harder target for opportunistic thieves.

It might sound callous but home security is a deterrent that tries to persuade a would-be burglar to try another house, not yours.

How Can Smart Technology Help?

You might wonder if all this smart, connected technology you’ve heard about is genuinely useful.

Smart fridges that tell you when you’re running out of milk is a bit of a gimmick, but what about clever tech that keeps an eye on your home when you’re out?

There are plenty of internet-connected security systems available – from doorbell cameras that keep an eye on who knocks at your door to sensors that know when someone tries to open a window, you can make your home more secure wherever you are in the world.

Smart security systems can send a notification to your phone so you won’t have that back-of-the-mind worry when you’re on your holidays or at work.

Smart Security Product Manager at ERA, Chris Ecclestone, said “Smart security solutions are becoming increasingly popular, with thoughtfully designed products that enhance convenience and enable deeper interaction for home control” – to put it simply, there are affordable devices on the market that can watch your home for you.

A New ERA of smart home security

What about smart technology that means you never forget your house key, ever again?

I’ve looked at some of the best ways to beef up your home security using smart tech – and I’ve installed a smart door handle that lets me access my home with a fingerprint.

Home protection gurus ERA have been at the forefront of security for nearly 200 years. From starting off making robust locks, they have moved into the digital age.

They offered to send me their smart door handle and eight-piece alarm kit and I put it through its paces to see if it can be installed by a simple DIYer like me, see what it does, and what it’s like to live with.

Is a smart door handle worth it?

What’s the point in having a smart door handle in the first place?

A regular lock is good enough to keep a door open or shut without the need for batteries or mobile phone apps, after all.

Firstly, you don’t need to remember your keys any more – you can now unlock your house with your fingerprint or your phone.

Secondly, you never need to worry that you’ve forgotten to lock your door.

It’s a game changer for forgetful people like me. You can check, via the app, if your door is unlocked from wherever you are.

Thirdly, you can remotely unlock your door for tradespeople, pet sitters, or visitors with your phone.

As an added bonus, you can keep an eye on who’s entering and leaving via the app – knowing when your kids walk through the door after school is a feature that could add peace of mind for any parent.

If you’re not comfortable using your fingerprint, or the app isn’t your sort of thing, the handle comes with a pair of small NFC keycards as well.

They use the same technology that allows you to tap your credit card to pay for your shopping, about the size of a small keyring, they’re small enough to hang on a keychain or slip into a wallet – you then open your front door in the same way that you would a hotel room.

Wireless home security system

Bundled with the smart door handle is an eight-piece smart security kit containing everything you need to help keep your home safe – and you can install it yourself.

It comes with a big outside wall-mounted siren, two remote controls, a pair of infrared sensors, and a pair of window or door sensors. Controlling everything is a hub that connects to your wireless router and your phone.

And, because all the sensors are wireless, you don’t need to rip up floors or walls to install them – you can attach them to the wall with screws, or like I did, just stick them on with the provided adhesive patches.

Plus, if you move home, you can just unplug the hub and take the whole system with you – it’s not tied to the house like a traditional alarm system is.

It works exactly as you’d think: trip a sensor and a loud alarm is triggered, as well as notifications sent to your phone, and you can turn the alarm off and on with the remote controls, or use the app.

Living with a smart door handle

The first thing I liked about the ERA Smart Universal Door Lock is what it looks like.

Rather than some bulky thing that looks like a prop from a bad science fiction film, it actually looks good – the polished chrome construction feels premium, and it conforms to all modern safety standards.

I thought that installing the door handle would be a real challenge, but it wasn’t too difficult.

Just bear in mind that your door needs to be wide open while you change the handles over – I would recommend not making the change in mid February with a frosty outside temperature of 3°C.

Happily, you don’t need any specialist tools to get the job done – just a bit of patience and common sense.

Swapping out an existing door handle for ERAs smart one took me a couple of hours from start to finish.

The installation instructions were very well thought out, and it will fit most modern door types. There’s plenty of video instruction online too.

Doing away with my jangling, metallic set of keys was something a bit harder to get used to, and I’ll freely admit that the fingerprint scanner is a bit temperamental – it doesn’t seem to like my winter-ravaged skin at the best of times, but the keycard works flawlessly.

The app can be a little bit fiddly as well, but it works when you need it to.

You might not like the idea of a battery powered front door lock, but they’ve come up with a clever solution that should save the day if the unthinkable happens.

There are two metal prongs on the bottom of the lock that you can plug a 9 Volt battery into. You can then energise the lock and still get into your home.

The Verdict

Smart security systems are not for everyone. Some people like to keep things simple and manual, while others want to create a smart home that allows for remote control and monitoring.

While it’s true that a putting a metal key into a lock is more straightforward than scanning your fingerprint, there’s a lot more you can do with a smart system.

It’s passive technology that keeps an eye on things for you when you’re out and about. You could say that it’s an investment in your security, or you could call it just another gadget. It’s up to you.