For most Canadians, the cottage is a place of peace and tranquility. It’s a safe space where you can set aside the schedules and anxieties of the city and focus on the little things—like who’s making breakfast or whether you remembered to leave the spare key under the woodpile.
But that sense of calm can change quickly when you arrive after dark on a Friday and find a broken window or kicked-in door.
With cottage break-ins on the rise, more cottagers are preserving their sense of tranquility by installing cottage-monitoring systems. And since cottage properties have unique features that set them apart from homes back in the city, a cottage security system needs to include a few unique features too. Here’s what to look for when installing yours.
Go wireless
Unlike cookie-cutter houses in suburban grids, every cottage property is different. Private lanes are hidden, paths to the lake wind around ancient pines, and add-on buildings like bunkies and boathouses are situated wherever the Canadian Shield allows. When you’re trying to keep an eye on every area that matters, the last thing you want to do is festoon your property with wires. A wireless-ready system lets you place cameras wherever you want, without worrying about stringing the system together.
Winter is coming
Off-season for cottagers means “game on” for cottage break-ins. And even if you don’t leave behind anything more valuable than mismatched silverware and a fridge full of half-empty condiments when you close up for the winter, you still run the risk of finding a kicked-in door (and a cottage full of critters) when you show up in the spring. A weather-resistant cottage-monitoring system will still function through a Canadian winter, so you can sleep soundly until the snow melts.
Night vision is a must
City dwellers enjoying their first cottage experience are often shocked by just how dark it can get once they’re hours away from street lights and strip malls. Even with the moon reflecting on the rippling lake and the sky saturated with stars, rural areas reach a deeper level of darkness. But that’s hardly a challenge for nocturnal cottage animals, so if you want to see who’s been stealing from your shed or leaving messes on your deck, make sure your cottage security camera is equipped with night vision.
View from anywhere
If we could spend 365 days a year at the cottage, we’d be there right now. But since mortgages, jobs, and other demands of the city make cottage life a (mostly) weekend phenomenon, we’re stuck staring at last summer’s pictures from the lake until we’re back at the lake. Then again, with a security camera system that lets you view your cottage property in real time on your smartphone, you can steal a glance at your happy place any time you want. It’s the next best thing to sipping coffee on the dock while the sun rises.
Get alerts when you need them
You might think about your cottage constantly, but that doesn’t mean you want to watch it like a hawk. Lorex camera systems include motion detection as a standard feature to keep you from wasting storage space and scanning hours of footage when something goes wrong. So even if you’re just catching a sneaky raccoon in the act, you’ll be alerted (by either email or push notification) only when there’s something worth seeing.
Capture every detail
With an HD security camera system, monitoring your cottage means so much more than securing against break-ins. Think about it: many of the happiest moments you’ve ever spent with friends and family, from impromptu proposals to your kids’ first time waterskiing, took place at the cottage. And with cameras capturing the action, you’ll never have to worry about whether your smartphone is in your bathing suit pocket the next time you want to record a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
