Out Front

For many years, I've never felt obligated to open my front door when the doorbell rings. Unless I'm expecting someone, I've often been faced with solicitors who leave me feeling disturbed for answering the bell for nothing.

I don't buy from anyone who I didn't ask to come to my home. Period.

When we first moved into our home, DW and I placed signs near the doorbell that clearly indicated that solicitors were not welcome but we often found that the sign was ignored. Yet, because we had a blind that covered the large window on our door, neither the visitor nor we could see who was at the door, so we inevitably opened it up, only to politely but firmly tell the person or persons to go away.

A few years ago, when our blind became yellowed, we replaced it with a one-way reflective film. Whenever anyone came to our door, they would see a mirror-like reflection of themselves, while we could clearly see who was there. The only time that someone outside could see us was when it was nighttime and we had our entrance and living-room lights on. I would strive to keep these lights off unless we absolutely needed them, and so we could safely view strangers without the need to open the door.

When a solicitor would be at the door, we would simply ignore them, knowing that they were unaware of being shunned.

A couple of weeks ago, I used some of my Aeroplan miles to acquire a Google Nest Hello doorbell. It takes our privacy from unwanted visitors to a whole new level. It also is a bit of a PITA*.

It took about an hour to install, including the time required to watch the installation video (I watched it twice to make sure I had it down pat). I also ended up having to chisel out a recess in our door frame to make room for the connector extenders. And I learned that my doorbell is not wired to its own circuit: I had to kill the power to the entire house while I hooked up the device to our electrical system.

Nest smartphone app.

The doorbell now has a motion sensor that notifies me, through my smartphone, when motion is detected, when a person shows up on my front porch, or when someone rings the doorbell. DW has also connected to the device, so she can also see who's at the door. The built-in video camera also records the activity for future viewing.

We've already taken advantage of our new doorbell when two solicitors, arriving together and donning bright-red vests, pressed the button. DW was at home, watching TV; I was in Pakenham, capturing images of the Five Span Bridge. Both of us received a notification and were able to see the two young men. One of them pressed the doorbell and then sat down on the bench on our porch, while the other moved down the steps. When they realized that no one was coming to the door, they moved on to our neighbours.

One night, when DD19 was out late, at a friend's house, she didn't return until after DW and I had gone to bed. As we were turning in, I texted my daughter to ensure that someone would walk her home, see her safely indoors. The next morning, as soon as I woke up and realized that I hadn't heard DD19 come in, I reached for my phone and checked the video.

The imagery showed DD19 ascend the porch, unlock the door, and wave to her friends before safely entering. Yup, this was a valuable tool, I told myself.

While I was writing this post, my phone let me know someone had rung our doorbell. The video footage showed a UPS delivery person place a package on the small table, next to a Muskoka chair, ring the bell, and walk away. Moments later, DW is seen coming outside and retrieving the package.

Although this Google Nest Hello doorbell has helped us identify unwanted visitors, assured us that our daughter was safely home, and let us know that packages have arrived, it's had its fair share of false alarms.

Several times during the day, it tells me that motion is detected. This is a different notification from identifying an actual person or letting me know that the doorbell has been pressed. This simply indicates that motion has been sensed.

This is a bit of a pain. So far, motion has included

• our outdoor lights coming on
• headlights from cars driving around our circle in the middle of the night
• a winged insect landing on the bricked wall, next to the doorbell
• a neighbour's cat, rolling around on our porch—okay, that was cute, but still...
• the late-day sun, shimmering as it moves between the leaves on our neighbours' tree
• shadows that fall on our porch, caused by clouds revealing the sun
• us, coming and going from the house or sitting on the porch
• other motion that must be there but I can't determine from the video

Sensor picks up the area in green.

We have created a motion zone, making sure that our next-door neighbours' porch, which is in our line of view, is excluded. I tried to exclude the neighbours' front lawn and the roadway, but we noticed that the narrow strip of walkway that leads to our steps was too small to notice motion until someone was right at our doorway, so I had to expand that zone. To our relief, we don't receive motion notifications when the next-door kids play on their swing, under their tree.

We want to make sure we're giving our neighbours as much privacy as possible, and so far, so good. The only time we see them is if they happen to be out when someone purposefully comes to our door.

Overall, I like our new doorbell. It lets me determine whether I have to get up to answer the door or whether I can ignore the unwanted visitor. It lets me know if a package has arrived. And, it shows me that my loved ones have safely returned home.

It's one of the best devices that I've never paid for.

* pain in the arse