Survey: 11% of private-house owners in Riga and the Riga region have faced threats to their property

Fires, burglaries, problems with heating boilers, and water and gas leaks are incidents that 11% of private-house owners in Riga and the Riga region have experienced in their homes or among their acquaintances over the past five years. When away from home, homeowners want to be sure that everything is under control, which is why they are increasingly using remotely controlled smart home devices.

The leading internet and television service provider Lattelecom, in cooperation with the research company BERG Research, has found that private properties in Riga and the Riga region are most often exposed to the risk of burglary (16%) and household accidents (9%). Therefore, it is important for homeowners to monitor the main home security parameters in real time (42%).

“The advantages of remotely controlling smart devices definitely outweigh the vigilance of a neighbour or a guard dog. Surveillance cameras operating on Wi-Fi and Z-Wave networks, as well as various sensors for detecting windows and doors, movement, water leaks and smoke indoors, can be monitored remotely using an app on a phone, tablet or computer,” says Andris Bodnieks, Head of Lattelecom’s Retail Department.

Already, 15% of the surveyed private-house owners use smart devices and sensors to protect their homes. Meanwhile, 36% of the homeowners surveyed are considering purchasing smoke detectors, video surveillance cameras (19%), and installing an alarm system (12%).

Smart home devices are also useful in more everyday situations, for example, for keeping track of family members, looking after children and pets, and remotely controlling electrical appliances. Motion, surveillance, and window and door sensors provide the safest and most effective protection against burglars. Smoke sensors, meanwhile, can be connected to almost all the most popular security systems.

*Data from an online survey conducted by BERG Research among residents of Riga and the Riga region who live in private houses (number of respondents = 400).