ᐅ Which smart home system is best for our new build?

ok, thanks
I will take a closer look at Unifi again

What do you all think about security cameras?
Are they really necessary these days?

No. That doesn’t deter anyone. What matters more is noise and a lot of light during an alarm, as well as making entry difficult. Time and the risk of being caught deter or stop burglars, not cameras. You can check afterward to see what happened. However, I have installed enough of them around the house anyway, though I think it’s more for the fun of the technology.

Pacc666 schrieb:

ok thanks
I will take a closer look at Unifi

What do you all think about security cameras?
Are they really needed nowadays?

I also use Unifi and still struggle a bit with the system here and there. But it’s fun and looks good 😉

I plan to install security cameras because there are frequent break-ins in our area, especially in new developments. We are still building, but the plan includes a video doorbell (also) to monitor the front yard, a camera at the carport, and one in the garden facing the patio doors. When the alarm mode is activated, motion detection should of course trigger additional actions, such as turning on outdoor lights, sending notifications to the smartphone, and possibly (if reliably protected against false alarms) also triggering an alarm inside the house.

Araknis schrieb:

No. That doesn't deter anyone. More important are noise and a lot of light during an alarm event, as well as making unauthorized entry difficult. Time and the risk of being caught deter or stop burglars, not cameras. You can then check afterward what happened. Still, I have them distributed around the house in sufficient numbers, but I think it's more for the fun of the technology.

No one is really deterred by that, that's true. Ideally, you can later identify the culprit on the footage, but for that, the camera needs to be good enough and the intruder careless enough. For motion detection alone, a surveillance camera is obviously overkill and not very precise, but especially at the entrance area, I would like to trigger automations depending on the person. Reliable facial recognition might still be some way off, but until then, it's certainly the fun of the technology you mentioned.

Okay, thanks.
We have increased burglary protection on the windows.

I could still imagine installing a camera in front of the house, but I don’t really want to be recorded in the garden area.
If intruders are not deterred by it, a camera hardly makes sense (unless you just enjoy having one).
Even if the burglar appears on the camera, you probably won’t catch them.

We don’t have a high burglary rate here.

@squier23 which video doorbell do you use?

You don’t film, you monitor. These are two different things.