HomeKit Weekly: How I use Apple Home to keep tabs on my home during summer travels

As I prepare to embark on a short trip north, I rely on certain essential components of my smart home setup to maintain smooth operations during my absence. To fully utilize these features, a dedicated Apple Home hub, such as an Apple TV 4K or HomePod, is necessary for remote device access. HomeKit Weekly is a series highlighting smart home accessories, automation techniques, and all aspects of Apple's smart home platform.

Living in a hot climate, I must either anticipate rain or maintain my plants while I travel. One of the simplest smart home solutions for summer travel is automating outdoor watering. Various products can connect directly to your hose, enabling manual activation or automations based on time and local weather conditions. Discovering a dead patch of grass or dead plants upon returning can be a frustrating experience.

Returning to a hot and stuffy house after a long journey, only to wait hours for the HVAC system to adjust, is equally unpleasant. Utilizing an Apple Home-compatible thermostat allows you to cool the house to your preferred temperature in the evening, saving money and reducing unnecessary strain on the system.

A classic security strategy involves leaving a few lights on to give the appearance of someone being present. However, a continuously lit light can reveal that the house is empty. Automating specific lights with Apple Home allows for remote adjustments or randomized schedules, giving the impression that people are moving about the house.

While I prefer not to constantly monitor my property while traveling, I do want to be aware of any unusual activity. HomeKit Secure Video has proved invaluable in catching minor incidents while I was away last year. Connected cameras are securely stored in iCloud+, and with Apple TV units serving as hubs, live feeds and recordings can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.

Summer travel presents an ideal opportunity to pay extra attention to your home due to extreme heat. By setting up the appropriate Apple Home configuration, you can effectively water your lawn, ensure your house remains cool, manage lights on varying schedules, and remotely monitor cameras. These configurations have significantly reduced my travel-related stress. For additional Apple news, visit 9to5Mac on YouTube.