A burglary victim has spent more than £1,000 converting his family house into one of London’s best- connected “smart homes”.
Father-of-two Ian Mayo returned from a holiday to find his house “stripped out” by burglars, prompting him to invest in the Smart-i system.
Now his home in Croydon has been connected so almost everything with a plug socket can be operated remotely from anywhere in the world via a smartphone app.
Mr Mayo said the system has already helped him deter would-be car thieves spotted on CCTV in the early hours by yelling at them through the intercom hooked up to his smartphone, despite him being miles away.
Its everyday uses are more practical, such as flicking the kettle on or turning up the thermostat.
His plugs have on/off sensors and everything connects via the internet router, which is protected by an proprietary secure encryption algorithm and includes an eight-hour battery back-up in case of a power cut. The system sends him an alert if any movement is detected inside his house.
Mr Mayo, a financial director, said he chose to convert his home as “no one takes any notice if an alarm goes off”.
The system, which cost him a total of £1,200, includes a £130 night vision camera, £250 solar-powered movement sensors, a £100 indoor CCTV camera, £20 window contact sensors and a £100 baby monitor camera.
Smart controls turn on the lights, television and stereo system.
Mr Mayo said: “The Smart-i system sends notifications to my phone if anyone walks up my drive and I can then view who is there and record video of them if it looks suspicious.
“There are smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms which act as an early warning system and alert you via smartphone wherever you are.
“I can also speak to anyone who calls at the house via the intercom, so if it’s a delivery I can tell them where to leave the package so I don’t have to wait in.
“The system has already saved me from getting one of my cars stolen.
“Three men came on my drive at about 3am a couple of weeks ago and were looking at ways of getting into the car. My phone alerted me and I could see them via the external night vision camera. I spoke to them via the intercom saying I could see where they were and that the police had been called — they ran off immediately.”
