A Cambridge-built burglar-deterring lightbulb launched on Kickstarter Tuesday, and has already raised more than $39,000.
BeON Stress Free Home Security has turned to crowdfunding to bring its home security system, the BeON Burglar Deterrent, to market. Rather than alert a homeowner when a burglary is already happening, the system is focused on deterrence, which they make happen courtesy of one of the most ubiquitous household items: the lightbulb.
The BeON Burglar Deterrent looks like, and can act as, a normal lightbulb. It screws into a regular lightbulb socket and produces 800 lumens of white LED light, which is equivalent to the light produced by a 60-watt lightbulb. What’s more, it works with wall switches.
The design is fairly different from other smart home systems. “We thought that smart home, in general, was just way way too complicated; it didn’t seemed designed for the general public,” shared BeON Co-founder and CEO Alexei Erchak. “We didn’t want this system to be just another video camera, or another motion detector, because we see those as very stressful objects.”
The lightbulb connects to a mobile app and records your lighting habits. That way, when you leave for the weekend, you can replay your previous lighting patterns to fool burglars into thinking you’re home. You can also instruct your BeON Burglar Deterrent to respond to the sound of your doorbell. If a burglar rings the bell to see if anyone’s home, lights will turn on in succession. For example, a bedroom light may turn on first, followed by the hallway, indicating movement inside the house.
Besides hearing the doorbell, BeON also recognizes when fire alarms are going off. Once alarms sound, all the bulbs turn on immediately to full power, lighting the way out if there’s danger.
“We thought that smart home, in general, was just way way too complicated; it didn’t seemed designed for the general public.”
And in contrast to most smart home security and lighting systems, the BeON Burglar Deterrent integrates into already existing household objects and routines. The system is not replacing the light switch or bulb, but merely making the light bulb more functional. So functional, there’s back-up power in the bulbs so lights stay on during a power outage. Not only is this convenient for when you’re home, but since burglaries go up during power outages, your home is rewarded with extra protection.
According to the BeON team, traditional security solutions cost an average of $611 per year, including installation, monthly fees and other expenses. BeON costs $239 for a “Bungalow” pack of three bulbs, however — unless those packs are purchased on Kickstarter.
Backers who contribute just $199 can get the Bungalow three-pack, while those coughing up $395 get a six-pack and those paying $595 get a nine-pack. Other backer incentives include signed copies of “Enchanted Objects” by David Rose, a behind-the-scenes tour of BeOn’s production, and the chance to attend a Bruins game with the BeON team.
Moving forward, the company plans on adding sound to the devices, to further deter burglars. “If someone rings your doorbell, imagine your dog barking or imagine a shotgun cocking,” Erchak said. The company also plans to add remote connectivity so people can control lights from outside their homes, if that doesn’t prove to present security problems.
The primary objective of the Kickstarter — for Erchak, at least — is gaining feedback on what people funding the project are looking for.
“The higher we fund this campaign, the more we can do for the roadmap,” Erchak said. “The primary reason we’re on Kickstarter, instead of opening our own store or something, is the feedback … both on Kickstarter and via emails. It’s very surprising how well our message was received.”
To hear that message for yourself, check out the video below and visit BeON’s campaign.
Image via BeON
