Smart Home Security For Your Shed

A man’s home is his castle, but what about his shed? Smart home security for your shed is something that a lot of people don’t seem to think about.

Someone is potentially going to get into your shed and steal your motorcycle, leafblower, lawnmower, and maybe much more.

Well, that is, if you don’t secure those items properly. In this article, I’m going to discuss smart home security for your shed and how you can make sure that you don’t have those analog security issues.

The items you keep in your shed might be cheap but more often than not you’ll have some expensive items in there too. Sure you keep tools in there, but what kind of tools are you using to secure them?

Let’s discuss what you can use to secure your shed in an automated and smart way. You won’t have to worry about those tools and expensive items being stolen anymore.

Types Of Sheds

Sheds come in all shapes and sizes and each with their own purpose. My shed, for example, is more for tools and items that I use seasonally. A leaf blower, my grill, my lawnmower, that kind of thing. But there is a small list of different types of sheds and outhouses that people have. Each with its own security concerns.

• Gardening Sheds
• Storage Sheds
• Motorcycle Sheds
• Wood Shed
• Workshop / Tool Shed
• A Study or Home Office

We’re going to turn that dumb shed into a smart one and lock it down!

Location! Location! Location!

As with anything the first thing you will want to think about, preferably before you even have a shed, is where you will put it. This matters for a few reasons, but the best location for your shed, in this case, will be as close to your router as possible. Primarily due to the wireless communication between any smart home gear that you have set up on or in the shed.

You don’t want to have to deal with a potentially weak signal. Another way you could possibly avoid this would be to add additional wi-fi repeaters throughout your house. This would possibly strengthen the signal enough to ensure that you wouldn’t have a bad signal at the shed.

If you already have your shed in place one way that you can check beforehand is to take your smartphone for a walk out to the shed. Stand there for a minute and see how strong your wi-fi signal is.

Smart Security Cameras For Your Shed

This is an area that I have a lot of experience in. I have tried several different smart home security cameras for my shed. You will definitely want cameras that can withstand the weather and you definitely want cameras that are high enough quality that you will be able to clearly see what is going on out there. You also probably don’t want to have to deal with wires as most people do not have external power run out to their shed. This really leaves us with two options.

Arlo Security Cameras or Blink XT Cameras

There are many reasons that I have chosen these two cameras as options.

• They are wireless so you can place them anywhere.
• Excellent night vision.
• Motion activated cameras.
• You can use them indoors or outdoors. They are weatherproof.
• They are compatible with just about everything.

Personally, I am a huge fan of the Blink XT2 cameras and I use them everywhere. I have one on my shed and one aimed at my shed. Primarily the reason I chose them was that they give you eternal rolling cloud storage for your video clips. Where the Arlo cameras limit you to their free 7-day rolling cloud storage. You’ll also save a few bucks by going with the Blink XT cameras for basically the same quality. You can also see more of the Blink XT cameras over on my article about the best cameras for cold weather.

But there’s so much more to smart security for your shed than security cameras and in some cases, security cameras may not even be needed.

 

Smart Locks

I have had some people express concerns about how secure smart locks really are. So I’ll tell you my experience with this. I have a good friend who is a locksmith by trade. He’s been in business for over 40 years now. His take on smart locks is that no matter what lock you ever buy, just make sure it is a good name brand. Preferably Schlage or a higher end brand name if you can find one.

Smart Deadbolt Locks

As I mentioned earlier not all sheds are equal. Some have more expensive items than others. That means that not everything I mention in this article will be for you necessarily.

Not only that but in a lot of cases, a smart deadbolt lock just won’t be applicable because there isn’t enough door to put one in. However, with that said, if you are going to choose a deadbolt then you will want to look for a good brand name.

The best smart deadbolt on the market right now is arguably the Schlage Sense line. I wouldn’t dare recommend anything else at this point. Mostly because they have been around in this market longer than any other company.

If you’d like to read more about smart locks in general or find out which company has the best smart lock for your situation, then you may want to read more about the best smart locks before leaving my website.

Bluetooth Shed Locks

When people think about security for their shed they usually don’t anticipate spending a lot of money. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t want to either. However, you need to protect your valuables and let’s face it, sheds are an easy target for a burglar even when you are home.

So here’s the solution that I would recommend for most sheds. These aren’t as fancy, but they’ll get the job done and best of all they are as affordable as it gets!

There are a lot of companies out there that make Bluetooth shed locks. Here again, we need to go back to well-known brands. Don’t cheap out even a little here. This is where spending a small amount of money can save you hundreds if not thousands in personal property loss!

Personally, I use the Master Lock Bluetooth Padlock and I love it! No, it may not be as brilliant as other smart devices that you or I own, but as I said, it gets the job done.

Smart Lighting

One of the most common sense ways to deter theft is by making sure that you have lighting that picks up on motion. In particular, I have been using the Mr. Beams lights for my backyard and shed. They aren’t that expensive and they work really well without needing to be plugged in.

Each light uses 3 D-cell batteries which can provide up to one year of run time under regular usage. They work in tandem, so that if one light turns on, so does the other. I have found them very effective and VERY bright.

If you do happen to have power that has been run to your shed, you could easily wire up something a little nicer lantern style fixture. Then install a dusk to dawn style of smart lightbulb. Which will automatically switch on at dusk and off at dawn.

Smart Motion Sensors

I worked for the cable company a few years ago, selling home security. After having worked in the field walking through people’s homes and discussing their home security with them. I would say the number one thing they don’t think about is motion sensors. The reason that they are important, especially in the case of a shed, is that they provide a backup plan.

Basically, if someone were to somehow make it through your motion sensing lights, your smart lock, and even though you have them on camera they might be already gone by the time you see the footage. Of course, that really depends on how you have your camera alerts set up.

Motion sensors will alert you the second they are tripped. If you really wanted to duplicate your efforts, you could purchase another smart camera and place it inside the shed with a motion sensor. Then when the camera is tripped, so is the motion sensor and voila, you got em!

I recommend Samsung SmartThings Hub and Motion Sensors for this purpose. SmartThings can be used inside your house as well, so it’s a great all in one solution for home security in general. Not just for your shed. You could also get a door break alarm from Samsung SmartThings as well. It works really well if you just place it on the inside of the door and then as soon as the door opens, BANG, you got em!

Smart Water Sensors

If moisture in your shed is a concern, then you may want to look at picking up some water leak sensors. These are made by Samsung SmartThings as well, so they would link right in with the system that I have mentioned throughout this article. You can get immediate alerts as soon as moisture is picked up by the sensor. These sensors also can monitor temperature, which might come in handy too.

Conclusion

There are some very handy smart home devices that work just as well for your shed as for inside your home. Smart home security is the best way to secure a shed in my opinion as it allows you to feel more connected to something that is disconnected from your physical house.

One of the things they taught us in the Army was to keep our stuff locked up. I’ve never forgotten that and I think it is embedded in me. Unfortunately, many people do not keep their things properly secured and pay the price in the long run.

If you are concerned with shed security, then you should also be concerned with the security of your smart home network and should check that article out as well.