I remember when I was in high school, and my mom was in the market for a new house. The one feature that stands out in my memory as a requirement was a ‘side-entry garage’. As a single mom with 2 kids, would that be your first requirement?
Apparently, side-entry is better for home security purposes than a forward-facing garage. She ultimately found one, but it was a drive-under side-entry garage. And while I was not the primary grocery lugger up the stairs, that seemed like an unnecessary hassle just to have this coveted side-entry garage.
Adding to that flight of stairs hassle, there were no windows out of that side of the house, so you didn’t know when someone arrived until they were on the front step ringing the doorbell. That was excruciating as a teenager anxiously waiting for dates to arrive.
Life With A Kitchen Level BUT FRONT-ENTRY Garage
Flash forward 10 or so years to when I bought my first house. And yep, wouldn’t you know it, a FRONT-entry garage. Now that I was the grocery lugger, I really appreciated the kitchen level garage even if it meant 2 garage doors facing the street for everyone to see. As unthinkable as it may be (for my mother), when a garage door was left open, yes, the neighbors could see any messes inside. And potential burglars could tell who was or was not home. Sorry mom. But, I survived it…..for many years, and I had the added benefit of being able to look out any front window and see a car in the driveway if there was an unexpected visitor at the door.
The Best Of Both Worlds?
Five-ish years ago, we decided to build a new house. We worked on a floor plan (I always thought floor plan was one word, but I just looked it up, it is two) for a long time, tweaking the layout, the room sizes, the features. I sketched it all out, not really to scale, and ultimately handed it to a draftsman to turn into a blueprint. That process was SO much fun, and if you ever need feedback on a floor plan, I’m your girl. Email me. Seriously, I’m not kidding, I love floor plans and finding solutions and will be happy to give you some ideas or feedback. But back to that sketching, the one thing in my plans that was not super detailed? The garage.
And now guess what? We have a side-entry garage, and it is on the kitchen level. I guess we are finally living the dream? But there is actually a big drawback reminiscent of my high school years. If you happen to be looking out the front of the house as a car is pulling into the driveway, you can see who is arriving, but once the car turns toward the garage, you cannot see it from inside the house. No windows face in that direction, and I really, really don’t like to be surprised by doorbells and unexpected visitors. At all. Not one bit. Neither does my dog by the way.
YOU Don’t Like SURPRISE VISITORS either? We are Not alone!
I recently did an online survey of work from home and stay at home moms to determine whether I was alone in this dread of the doorbell. And here is what I found.
81% of respondents do not typically answer an unexpected doorbell! They try to sneak a peek out a window without being detected, or pretend they aren’t home and ignore it, or tell the kids to be quiet and not move and until their dog stops barking. One said she “immediately freezes, then panics.” And those who have a smart video doorbell definitely go right to their phone to see who it is.
19% of respondents are those brave souls who just pop to the door and open it up. Although a few of them had peepholes so they weren’t taken completely by surprise. One said she was too short to see out of the peephole though – she definitely needs a video doorbell or a step stool!
Removing The Element Of Surprise
After some research, we now have a solution that has been positively perfect for us. We installed a Ring video doorbell facing the driveway. Actually, my husband bought it as a Christmas gift and thought it was so funny to tell everyone that he ‘bought me a Ring for Christmas’. <eye roll, big sigh> Actually this turned out to be better than jewelry! Now we are alerted when someone pulls into the driveway, yes, but it also has so many unexpected bonuses, which are so much better than unexpected visitors.
Just to state the obvious benefit – when someone comes within the defined range of the Ring, I get a notification on my phone that lets me know. It sounds like a wind chime. I think it’s saying “Quick, go put on mascara!” Home or away, I can click on the notification and SEE the driveway and quickly determine if the visitor requires mascara. Or maybe (hopefully) it’s just UPS dropping off a package and promptly leaving.
Even if you have a driveway you can see from the house, or you don’t have a driveway at all, there is so much peace of mind that comes from being able to see outside your front door whether you are on the couch 10 feet from the door or on vacation thousands of miles away. And the ability to store that footage should you need it can also come in quite handy.
It Doesn’t Have To Be A Doorbell
We happen to have a people door next to the garage doors, so it made sense to put a video doorbell there. Interestingly, at my mom’s current house, she doesn’t have a people door next to her SIDE-ENTRY garage, or a window that looks out over the driveway.
So for Christmas last year, I got her a Ring Floodlight Cam. She had an existing floodlight out above the garage doors, so it was just a matter of replacing the floodlight to get the benefits of alerts and video going on her driveway. She is happily saving on mascara too.
VIDEO DOORBELL/OUTDOOR VIDEO CAMERA BENEFITS:
Outdoor Home Protection
While home security systems protect the inside of your home, video doorbells or outdoor video cameras give you an added layer of protection for the exterior of your home. This can be particularly helpful if you park your car outside or live in an area prone to pranks or vandalism.
Home Invasion Prevention
With notifications sent upon any exterior motion detection and the ability to have a 2-way conversation with someone outside even when you are away from home, an outdoor video camera is a great way to prevent intrusions before they begin. The Floodlight Cam comes with a siren as well.
Mail and Package Protection
It seems that porch pirates and package theft continue to be rampant, and a video doorbell/camera can both deter someone up to no good if they see the device or at least notify you of their presence. If you are expecting a valuable package, you will be alerted when the delivery vehicle triggers the camera, and if you aren’t home to retrieve it immediately, you can ask a neighbor to safely store it for you until you can be home.
Mailbox theft is also rising sharply. In fact, the USPS reports a startling 600% increase in mailbox theft from 2017 to 2020. Read about how to safeguard your mail, especially your outbound mail.
Bonus Benefits
BONUS #1: We have an Echo Show in our kitchen – that’s the “Alexa” with a screen. If I’m in the kitchen, which is where I spend a good bit of my time, I can say “Alexa, show me the Garage Door.” And guess what she does (if I turn off the mixer and she can actually hear me)? She brings up the view from the garage door on her screen, and I don’t have to find my phone or touch it with messy hands to see who is out there. I can ask her to show me that view at anytime, not just when someone triggers an alert. So if I want to know when an expected visitor arrives or make sure my husband doesn’t set things on fire frying a turkey in the driveway (RIP nice golf umbrella), I can just leave that view up on the screen, and I can both see and hear the driveway.
BONUS #2: Did I mention that I have teenagers? Teenagers who drive now and have curfews. And sometimes, well maybe more often than sometimes, I have a hard time staying up until the midnight curfew. So how can I know if they actually got home by midnight? The device that alerts me to unexpected visitors also shows me the history of motion detected in the driveway. Timestamped history right there in my Ring app! Combine that with the Life360 app, and my children would probably tell you that I’m stalking them. I call it loving parenting in the age of not being able to stay awake until midnight.
BONUS #3: You’ve seen the TV ads with bad guys getting chased off by someone’s scary voice coming over the outdoor security device? Yes, we can do that. But, beyond scaring off bad guys, it really does give you peace of mind to be able to keep an eye on things when you’re not home. And the extra bonus is being able to see who may be unexpectedly visiting your teenagers while you’re out enjoying a date night. Stalking you say? No, of course not, I’m just making sure they’re staying focused on their homework.
I realize this post is starting to sound like an advertisement, and that is not the intention at all. The ability to see outside the house from wherever we are is so comforting, no matter which technology you use. While we do love the Ring, there are certainly other options that might work better for your situation or your current home security solution. Below is a side-by-side features comparison of the 2 most popular smart video doorbells on the market.
Comparing Ring vs Nest VIDEO DOORBELLS
According to Strategy Analytics, Inc, more than 20 million US homes are now equipped with smart video doorbells, and that number is expected to continue to rise dramatically.
The two biggest manufacturers in this space are Ring (about 40% of the market) and Nest (about 24%). A few things to note:
- Ring has several doorbell models to choose from, while Nest has just the one currently.
- Google acquired Nest in January, 2014 and therefore the Nest doorbell is fully integrated into what was once called Google Home but is now the Nest Hub. The Nest doorbell also works with Alexa.
- Ring was acquired by Amazon in February, 2018 and therefore is fully integrated with Alexa but also works with Google’s Nest Home.
Similar to choosing which platform to use for setting up a digital family calendar, you’ll want to consider what technology you may already use in your home as a primary input to choosing a video doorbell product.
The following is a comparison of the Nest Hello Video Doorbell, the Ring Video Doorbell 3 (and 4) and the Ring Floodlight Cam.
| Feature | Nest Hello Video Doorbell | Ring Video Doorbell 3 or 4 | Ring Floodlight Cam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powered By | Hardwired | Removable, rechargeable battery pack OR Hardwired | Hardwired |
| Works With Existing Doorbell | Yes – Required | When Hardwired | No |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wifi | Dual-band Wifi | 2.4GHz Wifi |
| Smart Integration | Alexa & Google Devices | Alexa & Google Devices | Alexa & Google Devices |
| Resolution | HD1600x1200 | 1080p HD Video | |
| Motion Detection | Yes | Yes | 3D Motion Detection |
| 2-way Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Field of view | 160 degrees | 180 degrees | 140 degrees |
| Cloud Storage | Nest Aware Package (Plans start at $6/month or $72/year) | Ring Protect Package (30 days free, then plans start at $3/month or $30/year) | Ring Protect Package (30 days free, then plans start at $3/month or $30/year) |
| Siren | No | No | Yes |
| Night Vision | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Face Recognition | Yes | No | No |
| Other | 2 LED Floodlights | ||
| App | Nest App (free) | Ring App (free) | Ring App (free) |
| Full Retail Price (as of May 2021) | $229.99 | $179.99 | $179.99 |
| Smart Display Family | Nest Hub (2nd Gen) | Echo Show | Echo Show |
| Smart Display Full Retail Price (from mfr websites) | $89.99-$229.99 | $69.99-$249.99 | $69.99-$249.99 |
| Better Pricing With Bundles | Doorbell + Hub Bundle Available | Doorbell + Hub Bundles Available | Floodlight Cam + Hub Bundles Available |
I took a quick look at Consumer Reports, and the Nest Hello Doorbell rates slightly higher than the Ring Video Doorbell 3 but both are CR Recommended.
The Ring Video Doorbell 4 recently hit the market. The primary difference between the Ring Video Doorbell 3 and 4 is that the 4 has color video previews, enhanced wifi connectivity and improved motion detection.
There are other smart doorbells on the market, notably SimpliSafe and Vivint, but these require their full security system in order to connect to the Wifi and allow for remote viewing. For that reason, I did not include them in the comparison above. But if you are in the market for a full home security solution, these may be worth some research.
MORE SMART HOME DEVICES TO CONSIDER
A smart video doorbell is often an early step toward adoption of smart home technology. If you are just getting started in this arena, I strongly advise you to choose one platform, Echo or Nest Hub and build upon that one. We have been adding to our repertoire quite a lot lately and now have the following smart devices all connected to our Echo (Alexa) platform. I’ll be doing a detailed post on this soon, but for now, here is a list of what we use everyday and what I recommend:
- Sonos sound – my absolute favorite thing in the world!
- Kasa smart outlets and switches – I use these to set lights to turn on at sunset, off at midnight. I use so many at the holidays, I’ll never have to crawl under trees or behind tables or other furniture again.
- Honeywell thermostats – Nice to sit on the couch and change the temperature, yes, but even better to be able to control it remotely and warm up or cool down your house a couple of hours before you arrive home from vacation.
- Eufy robo-vac – make sure you get one with smart dynamic navigation
How are you using smart home technology?
I’d love to hear from you. This is a community for learning and exploring – let us know what smart home tech you use and what you recommend! And I’d love to hear how you handle unexpected visitors as well! You can comment below or drop us a line on our Facebook page.
This was such a great read! You’re a great writer