The Best Home Monitoring System was brought to you by Notion. All opinions are mine.
We bought our first family home this summer and wow, has that been a lot of information to process and things to do! My husband and I bought a home over 10 years ago, before we had kids, but we sold that home when we moved a couple of years later due to a job change. It feels good to call this house our home, but of course it also comes with many new responsibilities. Our insurance company sent us a free Notion starter kit, and after using it for a few months of using it, I am thrilled to be able to be writing a post for Notion and I want to share with you how awesome it has been for our family!
What is the Notion home monitoring system?
To put it simply, Notion is smart property security. Notion offers sensors to place just about anywhere in your home, so they can monitor your home 24/7. The sensors connect to a bridge that you plug in. Then, you are able to monitor the temperature of your home and also be alerted with any smoke, water leaks, open windows or doors, etc, with the use of the Notion app.
The first two sensors we received, we decided to put on the two main entry points of our home. Notion immediately notifies app users when the door is opened. You can customize the notifications, set times to not be notified, (and turn off notifications if you know that door will be opening and closing all day!) How I wish I would have had these when I had little ones! Luckily, my kids were never escape artists, but I can see how these would have come in handy! They still come in handy today, when I am helping one child with homework and another child decides to go to the front yard without telling me, I can instantly be notified that the front door has opened, take a peek outside, and be aware of where they are.
All of the sensors connect to a bridge, as seen below:
Why would I need home monitoring if I have a security system?
While Notion does offer NotionPRO, which is a professional monitoring system similar to a home security system, the basic Notion does not require a subscription and is not a home security system, as such. So why would you even need it, especially if you already have a home security system?
I have asked my mother-in-law to share her story and her pictures on this post, so let me tell you her story!
A few weeks ago, she woke up in the middle of the night to running water. She had no idea what it was, but stepped into this as she got out of bed:
Yes, that’s carpet. Carpet sitting in water. In the middle of the night.
She walked into the bathroom to find this…water POURING out from under the sink!
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This was in the middle of the night, on a weekend, one that she had originally planned to be traveling on, but had decided to stay home. It took awhile to get the water turned off and the insurance company notified. The next day, a home restoration team was sent out to rip up flooring, set up fans (26 heavy duty fans!!) to start drying everything out before any mold started to grow.
My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law have been living in a hotel since this all happened, and repairs on the home have just started taking place.
I know, stuff like this happens all of the time, but can you imagine if she had not been home that night, or even that weekend? What if she was on a two week trip to Disney World? The way the water was pouring out, surely the neighbors would have contacted her in the morning or the city would notice and cut off her water. But, if she had been gone, there would have been much more damage and many of her personal belongings would likely be ruined and covered in mold by the time she returned.
I immediately thought of our new Notion home monitoring system and talked with my husband about getting more sensors to install where there might be a leak. While there would, no doubt, still be much damage with a water leak, I would want to be notified immediately if there was a leak so we could take proper action to get it fixed as soon as possible.
We added three new sensors and a new Generation 3 bridge to our home.
Setup was easy and the app provided tips and suggestions as to where to attach the sensors.
I opted to put the sensors underneath the sinks, but you can place them anywhere that you think water may collect, such as by the bathtub or toilet, by the water heater or in the laundry room. Just set the sensors on the app to monitor water leaks.
These sensors also monitor for smoke, and you know how that could be extremely helpful and possibly save a life, not to mention personal property and important things in your home.
Notion also makes magnets that can be placed on windows for added security. Another idea on the Notion website is to place one on the mailbox so you can be alerted to any mailbox thieves (or if you just like to know when the mail has been delivered!)