Protecting a private residential property with intelligent sensor-led video verification

Estimates suggest one burglary is committed every 1.5 minutes in the EU, with domestic burglaries and vehicle theft being some of the most common forms of crime. It is a growing concern particularly in rural areas and country houses as they have a remote location and in many cases minimum security.

This was the case of a large residential property where the owners needed an outdoor security solution to protect the access to their house as well as the outbuildings, and ultimately give them peace of mind at night and when they were away.

Located in a quiet village in the countryside, the detached property has an open driveway leading onto a main road and a large back garden which is open to the nearby fields and that is not fenced on all sides, making it vulnerable to potential intruders. A garden workshop, detached from the house and storing valuable equipment also needed protection.

The customer’s previous security system was limited to PIR-activated floodlights, cameras and a video doorbell to check who was at the front door. The floodlights and cameras kept triggering due to small animals, shadows and even weather changes, disturbing animals in the nearby properties and becoming a nuisance for the neighbours. Concerned that the constant light and noise nuisances were affecting relationships with their neighbours, the owners considered switching the system off.

At that point they wanted to find a reliable outdoor intrusion detection system that would only trigger when a person was intruding and would provide a good quality night video so the automatic flood lights could be switched off. Importantly, the owners wanted the system to be installed quickly and to be activated, monitored and accessed from their mobile phone so they could keep an eye on their property even when they are out or on holiday.

OPTEX’s App-based visual verification solution, the VXI-CMOD kit solution, was recommended and installed in both the driveway – protecting access to the house from the main road – and in the back garden – protecting the wide, open garden and the workshop.

If the sensor is triggered, it activates the CMOD camera module and sends an immediate notification via the dedicated OPTEX Vision App to the paired mobile phones of the owners. From the safety of their phones the owners can access the live video stream and a pre/post alarm event recording to verify if it’s a real threat. The camera provides 180° panoramic view with built-in infrared LEDs for enhanced vision at night and a microphone to listen in, meaning the owners can fully understand the situation and take the right decision.

The owners explain: “The convenience and reliability of the OPTEX solution is particularly impressive. Being able to monitor the system at home or access the live view of the camera from our phone whenever and wherever we are gives us real peace of mind. Thanks to the innovative video and live audio elements of the solution, we can see exactly what is going on, giving us greater awareness of our home security.”

Through the OPTEX Vision App customers can also access the stored recording (two-second pre-alarm and 28-second postalarm) of the event for verification or for sharing with the police to report a crime.