One of the common concerns for homeowners and property managers alike when managing a holiday home is to avoid disturbing neighbors through excessive noise. Overtime, a number of technological solutions have been developed to put an end to this unwelcome nuisance. Please find below my review of Minut Smart Home Alarm.
Up until now, I have been using the Spanish multi-sensor Roomonitor device to alert me of potential noisy guests. Overall, our experience has been quite positive since the system also offers a feature that allows air-conditioning units to turn off automatically in case no one is home to save energy. Since Roomonitor no longer features that particular product, I am in the process of shopping around for an alternative solution.
Let me start by saying that Minut Smart Home Alarm does not currently offer a function to turn off air-conditioning units automatically; my hope is that they will develop it in the near future. Both Minut Smart and Roomonitor work quite well, but I have to say that Minut Smart is more technologically-advanced, on top of offering a smarter design and an easy installation. Most importantly, unlike Roomonitor, there is a plan available to users to avoid having to pay a monthly subscription.
The Minut Smart unit in itself costs €149 and comes with three different plans: Starter, Standard and Pro. If you only run one holiday home, the Starter plan is a really good investment as it is free. The Standard plan is recommended if you manage several holiday homes; its cost is 7.99€ per home and per month. The Pro plan is reserved for larger agencies that manage numerous properties; in this case, the price is 14.99€ per home and per month.
My personal opinion is that the monthly fee for both the Standard and Pro plans is too steep for what the product actually offers right now. I could see the cost benefit if, for instance, it had the air-conditioning automatic shut-off feature included. As it stands, I feel like it is still somewhat incomplete and could be doing so much more.
I purchased the puck-shaped device to make a review of Minut Smart Home Alarm directly on their own website https://www.minut.com/ and received it within a week. The installation in itself is incredibly easy and takes no time. Once you have downloaded their app, you only need to connect the wireless device to the Internet and you’re up and running. You can later personalize the system parameters as you wish.
The Minut Smart device’s main function is to measure the noise levels in your holiday home. You can set the noise threshold you are comfortable with; in case noise levels exceed the amount of decibels you set, it will automatically trigger a push alarm via your phone’s app. As a rule of thumb, it is recommended that you set the noise threshold to a maximum of 90 decibels.
When you receive a push alert, you can simply contact your guests and ask them to keep the noise levels down or end the party! I personally would not mention the fact that there is a noise control device in the property to avoid them tempering with it. Rather, I would simply blame the neighbors for complaining!
There is also an option to integrate Minut Smart with Zapier. This will allow you to send emails and SMS communication automatically to your guests. The SMS feature is probably the most effective as it is sent automatically as soon as the noise exceeds the number of decibels you have set. Please note that this particular feature is only available with the Standard and Pro plans.
Minute Smart also works to monitor environmental conditions thanks to its inbuilt thermometer that provides you in real time the inside temperature of your holiday home. While this may not seem like a necessary feature, it is always a plus when it comes to energy-saving as you can set the system to alert you in case of abnormal readings.
Moisture alarm
Minute Smart also measures the level of moisture in your holiday home, which again is an added value. As with the temperature, you can also set up an alarm to alert you in case the device records unusual numbers. While it may seem a bit futile, it can certainly help you avoid getting unpleasant mold inside your home, for instance.
Another small detail that the system offers is a motion sensor which allows you to monitor human activity inside your property; this particular feature gives me hope that the developers will soon connect the motion sensor to the air-conditioning unit. This will allow for the airconditioning to shut off automatically when there is no one home.
Last but not least, the system also serves as an alarm. It is activated by the motion sensor and produces a noise in the event of uninvited guests entering your home. You can connect the alarm directly via your app to activate it when your property remains unoccupied.
I have to say that I am very impressed with this smart gadget from Minut and would definitely recommend it. It is incredibly easy to install and works significantly better than I had expected. I feel that the price is reasonable although I think that their monthly subscription is too expensive.
If I had to mention one negative point about thisgadget is that I feel that it could be doing much. We will hopefully see more developments in the next upgrades. Especially the air-conditioning shut-off function, which is not only beneficial to the environment but also to your wallet. I hope my review of Minut Smart Home Alarm helped you
