ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210069
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: At home with technology
Q: Because of my job, I spend much of my time on the road. I recently returned from a three-day trip, only to discover a dark house and a freezer full of spoiled food. The power had been off for nearly 24 hours! Is some type of monitoring system available that could have alerted me?
A: A couple of years ago, the electric power cable that feeds my house failed. Since mine was the only house affected (my transformer is at the end of the line), the power company would never have known about the outage had I not been home to report it.
Although extended power outages are not that common, the consequences can be disastrous, especially for someone who travels a lot. Had it been winter, your pipes could have frozen and burst. Nationally, property losses from water and other environmental hazards far exceed fire and burglary losses, and are often excluded from insurance coverage.
For about $100, you can get a simple emergency auto-dial system - basically an answering machine in reverse. Whenever the dialer receives a trigger (from a power loss sensor, for example), it goes off-hook and dials the number you've set up. When someone answers, the dialer plays a prerecorded message. Some models let you record custom messages in your own voice.
Voice dialers typically store three or four telephone numbers; if no one answers at the first number, the dialer quickly moves on to the next. Some models will continue to cycle through the numbers until someone answers. The recipient is then prompted to press a key on their telephone keypad. This confirms that a person has answered (as opposed to another machine).
You can also use a voice dialer with other types of sensors; for example, a flood (water) detector or a temperature stat. Here are some of the ways a voice dialer can help protect your home:
A flood detector can trigger an alert in case an appliance, sink or bath overflows. If you have a sump in the basement, you can mount the sensor below the overflow point for early warning of a pump failure. One company sells a connection module that accepts up to six flood sensors. Stand-alone flood detectors with a local sounder sell for under $10.
You can also choose from a variety of temperature alerts. Some models trigger at a fixed setpoint while others are user adjustable. One inexpensive alarm has a built-in dialer that triggers if the indoor temperature falls below 50 degrees. Temperature alarms are ideal for a vacation home, greenhouse or wine cellar... or simply for warning you of an unexpected cold snap.
If you have an unmonitored security system, you may want to consider can adding a voice dialer. It's the most economical way to ensure that someone is notified in case a fire breaks out or an intruder breaks in. Even if your security system is professionally monitored, a voice dialer will alert you the instant an alarm occurs.
Most voice dialers only have a single input. If you want to monitor more than one condition, you'll need a multi-channel dialer or an integrated home monitoring system. One model has built-in power loss and temperature sensors and supports up to four auxiliary sensors. Unlike a simple dialer, it identifies the errant condition.
Naturally, if you want to be on the receiving end of an emergency call, you must know in advance where you'll be at all times. Unless you carry a cell phone with a spare battery pack, this may not be very practicable. Fortunately, there's an alternative. Some dialers can be programmed to dial a pager.
To receive a list of companies that manufacture home monitoring systems, voice dialers and sensors, please send $2 and a self-addressed envelope to David Butler F-613, Department TWN, 14713 Pleasant Hill Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28278-7927. The list includes toll-free phone numbers and a summary of each company's products. You'll also receive information on special paging software that allows a PC-based home automation system to send messages to your pager.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: This home monitor consists of an automatic voiceby CNBdialer and several environmental sensors.