We had a home security system installed with outdoor surveillance cameras. I like it that we can see what is going on live from anywhere we have an Internet connection whether it is Wi-Fi or cellular. I use an app on my phone to bring up a live view of the cameras anytime day or night. After seeing how well they worked, we had a couple of cameras installed inside in order to keep an eye on our pets, and we use it to confirm the kids are okay when they get home from school before we get home from work.
The home automation equipment is a big deal at my house. I don’t know how many times we have left as a family to go somewhere and wondered whether we turned off the lights or locked the doors. Now we can make sure everything is okay using an app on our smartphones. for example, we tell the kids to lock the door when they get home from school before we get home, but they seem to always forget. I lock the door from work after the system tells me they are home.