Hurricane-Proofing Your Smart Home: A Florida Homeowner's Guide
Living in Southwest Florida means hurricane season is always on the calendar. While you board up windows and stock supplies, your smart home technology needs its own preparation plan. A power surge from a lightning strike can destroy thousands of dollars in electronics in an instant.
Start with whole-home surge protection installed at your electrical panel — this is your first line of defense and costs a fraction of replacing fried electronics. Then add point-of-use surge protectors at every major electronic cluster: entertainment center, office, and network equipment.
Battery backup (UPS) for your network equipment is essential. A quality UPS for your UniFi router, switch, and access points keeps your Wi-Fi running for 1-2 hours during outages, allowing your Ring cameras to continue recording and your smart locks to stay operational.
Before evacuating, use your smart home app to set your system to Away mode — arm all security cameras, lock all smart locks, set thermostats to 80 degrees (to prevent mold), and turn off smart switches for non-essential devices. With cellular backup on your Ring system, you'll get alerts even if your internet goes down.