Dear LPG, 

 
I suppose it can be said that there are so many people that live alone these days that we have the potential to have quite a lot in common.  I now have quite a few friends and neighbours that I team up with and we get away a couple of times a year with the help of those short and weekend breaks that are always available.   They help us to have something to look forward to although they pose another little problem that we all seem to have in common.  The problem of security while we are away often looms quite high.

Luckily, my children solved this one for me by getting e one of those front doorbells which, with the help of a mobile phone, allow you to see who is outside the door wherever in the world you are.  They set it up for me one Christmas and I have not looked back since; in fact, I have learned how to get to the app quickly when I need to know.

But anyone who has one probably has experienced the one inevitable flaw.  Have you ever found one of those ‘Sorry we missed you’ cards on the front door mat even though you waited in all day for a delivery?  Some of these bells are wired to the electric supply while others are battery operated and, these ones are reasonably reliable until the battery runs out of charge and I have to admit that I do get text and email messages that warn me, but I always seem to find them at least a week after the bell had been totally ineffective.

Every now and then the battery runs out and without your noticing, with the result that people can be ringing the doorbell while you are completely ignorant of the fact and once you discover it, you still have to wait while the battery charges up again.

The secret is to get a second battery which you always keep charged.  Changing the battery is not that hard but at least if you can’t change it yourself, you will know that you need to get a friend or family member to do that for you.  My final suggestion is that everyone with a video doorbell, rings it before they put the key in the door every day or so on your way in or out of the house because if you get into that habit you will find out when the batteries have run out a bit more quickly. 

PB, Forest Hill.

PB shares videos showing how to change two popular video doorbell batteries..

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