The best home security cameras can do more than just keep an eye on your house. When paired with the best smart home devices, they can make your living space more comfortable and secure. They can tell your devices to perform certain actions when motion is detected and give you a live view of your smart home in action. Beyond protection, this takes your smart home’s functionality to a new level.
In the guide below, I’ll describe five useful ways you can use your camera as a trigger for various routines. From automating the best smart lighting to controlling your climate, read on to learn how easy it is to connect your camera to your smart home platform of choice.
Link the camera to your Smart Home app
First of all, you need to make sure the security camera you buy is compatible with your existing smart home devices. For example, Ring cameras are popular, but their smart home functionality is tied to the Amazon Alexa ecosystem, while Nest cameras are tied to Google. Third-party vendors like Arlo, Eufy, and Tapo work across all platforms. Just place your camera, connect it to Wi-Fi, and pair it with your smart home to get started.
For the three main platforms (Alexa, HomeKit and Google Home), it’s easy: go to the Devices section, click the Add New button (indicated by a plus sign) and search for the camera on the same network. Alexa may require you to find your camera manufacturer’s app in the Skills section to unlock advanced features like voice control. Once you see your camera in your list of smart home devices, you can integrate it into routines.
For Alexa Smart Homes
For Google Smart Homes
Create automated routines with your camera
For Alexa and Google smart homes, you’ll need to go to the Routines section to create your design. Think of the process of creating an automation as a simple logic puzzle. So when something happens—in this case, the camera detects motion—what should happen in response? Using these building blocks, you can trigger an action from all kinds of other smart home devices.
HomeKit users have mostly the same process, but just need to navigate to the Automation tab, create a new one, and select “When the sensor detects something” as the trigger and then your action as the response to create the automation. Here are some ideas and the steps to set it up.
Package and person detection
Some cameras that support package detection allow you to use the feature as a smart home trigger. For example, I can use the Ring doorbell in my Alexa app to start a routine with a “when a package is detected” option. This will alert you as soon as a package lands on your doorstep. You can then tell a smart speaker to play a sound, flash lights a certain color, or get a simple notification on your phone. My colleague Anthony did something similar (albeit without a camera) when he made his mailbox smart earlier this year.
With person detection, you can automate your smart speaker to make an announcement when someone approaches your home through a specific camera, such as the front or back yard. This way, you can anticipate where your visitor is coming from.
Turn on the sprinkler system for late-night intruders
You can create a routine that turns on nearby smart sprinklers when your outdoor camera detects motion after hours. If your sprinkler system doesn’t reach the area you want (or isn’t connected to the internet), you can simply connect a smart hose faucet like the Rachio Smart Hose Timer and a sprinkler head attachment to your existing hose to turn it into a defense system.
I use the Rachio on the faucet to the right of my back door. Since the device is based on an Amazon skill, I had to create the automation in Alexa using the Custom Action button that tells the Rachio timer what to do when motion is detected after hours. Between midnight and 7 a.m., if someone approaches my door, the camera will detect it and send the command, “Alexa, tell Rachio to start zone one for three minutes.” During the day, you can take it a step further by having your camera tell your smart blinds to close when someone approaches a window.
Turn on light when movement is detected
Do you get home after dark? No problem. You can have the smart lights indoors or outdoors turn on automatically when you get home late. If motion is detected after work where there shouldn’t be, you can set your smart speaker to play an alert sound and send a notification to your phone. Of course, these are just the basics that will help you build a complete DIY home security system.
Adjust climate control
Use your camera to detect presence and adjust your home’s temperature based on when you’re home or not. For example, set your smart thermostat to energy-saving mode when no motion is detected for a certain period of time. Then, when motion is detected, you can have it turn on automatically, rather than setting a schedule in advance.
Connect one of the best dehumidifiers or one of the best air purifiers to a smart plug and your camera can communicate with those devices too. For example, you can have it turn on when you’re in a certain room and turn off when you leave. Some of the newer smart dehumidifiers and air purifiers that can connect directly to Alexa or Google Assistant even let you skip this step.
Control intelligent plugs
You can set your smart plugs to turn on or off whenever the camera detects motion (or no motion for a set period of time). I use this with my Tapo Smart Plug and C120 camera to turn on my living room lamp and TV when I walk through my back door at night, so the relaxing view of Roku City greets me. This camera and smart plug combo can be especially helpful in areas like a basement where it’s easy to forget to turn off the lights, TV, or even an air conditioner.
Integrating your security camera with your other smart home devices can help make your home more responsive and intelligent. With companies like Google and Wyze supporting advanced features like facial recognition, I wouldn’t be surprised to see AI take action for certain household members in the future. For example, it would be helpful if a camera recognized you or your family as you approached your door to automatically open your smart lock. But today’s automations are anything but simple, and they offer the ability to launch useful tasks.
