GREENSBORO, N.C. — Home. It is the place you want to feel safe and secure.
It used to be a deadbolt that made you feel safe. Then, there were alarm systems hardwired into your house. Now, you can buy a camera to sit anywhere in the house and you can watch it from wherever you are on your phone.
Not all technology is created equal or easy. Consumer Reports ranked doorbell cameras and full home security systems.
DOORBELL CAMERAS
Consumer Reports based their recommendations on image quality, how quickly the system alerts your phone when someone is there, and privacy ratings.
The top three:
Simplisafe System: $170
Ring Video Doorbell 3: $199
TP-Link: $49
The Ring Video Doorbell 3 is Amazon's number one seller and is battery-operated so if you don't want to hardwire it, you don't have to.
HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS
If you're up for a do-it-yourself system, Consumer reports have a lot of resources and recommendations.
Simplisafe Essentials $165 Comes with several window sensors, motion detectors, and a camera. You can add more cameras and sensors, but this is the starter kit.
“I personally own this system and it was easy to set up. There's some trial and error. Make sure that the motion sensor has a very wide field, so corners are great to get the widest fields. Also, when you're setting up the camera, put it in a place and test it throughout the day when the sun comes in. See if it is going to wash out the part that you would like to see,” said Brian Vines of Consumer Reports.
Vines says the key to these DIY systems is that they are portable.
“Instead of investing that dollar per square foot in your 2000 square foot house, $2,000 for a system that you leave behind when you move, you take this with you. It adapts to your life,” said Vines.