How to pretend you're still at home when you're on holiday

Travellers who want to leave home but without giving clues to neighbours or possible thieves of their absence have increasingly sophisticated products to disguise that they are outside the home.

Philips Hue lights form a lighting system that allows you to control the lights on and off from your smartphone or Apple Watch. They can also control the intensity and colour of the lights to the owner's liking.

But the Philips brand is not the only one on the market. The Beewi system also offers features similar to those of Hue, at a cheaper price, like Aqara, products with prices from $20.

With these devices the user can turn on and off the lights of the house from anywhere in the world. All you need is an internet connection for the light data receiver to work remotely.

Automatic blinds and awnings

There are applications to keep the house activated at the convenience of the owner. One of them, the Loxone applications, allows you to upload and download blinds to your liking. This makes it possible to conceal the absence but can also regulate the temperature of the house.

In addition to the blinds, it is also possible to command curtains and awnings that are controlled within the same device.

Together with these remotely controlled elements, a popular and increasingly sold product, intelligent locks facilitate access to the home for anyone who has to enter while the owners are outside.

An example is Tesa Entr, which is installed next to the conventional lock and allows the door to be opened and closed through a mobile application. The system automatically recognizes the owner or authorized persons. Installation is very simple and takes only a few minutes.

Pin, fingerprint or telephone

Tesa Entr, which costs about $350, allows you to open the door with a pin, fingerprint, mobile phone or a remote control that is also built in. On the outside, no one will notice that it is a motorized system. The invention eliminates the inconvenience of having forgotten the keys inside the house or having left them inside the lock.

Each time the user closes the door, a double key automatically passes.

But Tesa is not the only product on the market. Veteran August also offers virtual keys, a $199 mobile application entry system. It's a Kevo-like system with which homeowners can send virtual keys to their guests. It is also possible to authorize, at a distance, the entrance of any person to the domicile.

Unlike Tesa, these two systems are not yet adapted to door widths. It is the beginning of a market that has not yet matured or exploited.