A connected home for owners who live abroad: the minimum kit and what it costs
Anyone living in Manchester, Oslo or Utrecht with a house in the Vega Baja wants to know three things without boarding a plane: no water on the floor, no damp, and everything still in its place. Four cheap devices tell you. With one that fails, the connection, you know nothing.
First: a connection that does not switch off
Every device on this page talks to your phone over the internet. If the house has no line, or the router is unplugged on leaving, they are useless. Before spending a euro on sensors, sort that out: «Internet in a holiday home» explains the options, from fibre to a 4G antenna.
The minimum kit
| Device | What for | Example and price |
|---|---|---|
| Water sensor | alerts you if there is water on the floor | Shelly Flood Gen4, 34.90 € |
| Temperature and humidity sensor | alerts you to damp or frost | Shelly Plus H&T, 35.90 € |
| Smart plug | switch something on or off remotely (router, dehumidifier) | Shelly Plug S Gen3, 23.90 € |
| Wifi camera | see the house | TP-Link Tapo C500, 44 € |
| Total | 138.70 € |
We do not sell this kit: it is a shopping list with prices from official or large stores, checked in September 2026. We chose devices that work without a subscription.
If you want to go further
- A wifi relay inside a switch box, for the pool pump or the water heater. Example: Shelly 1PM Gen4, 21.90 €. An electrician fits it.
- A smart lock, to let in your cleaner or a repairer without leaving keys. Example: Nuki Smart Lock Pro 5th generation, 269 €.
- Remote control of the air conditioning, which has its own guide.
One tip that saves trouble
Choose a single brand or a single app for as much as you can. Five different apps means five passwords, five updates and five places where something stops working without you noticing.
None of this is an alarm: it alerts you, not a monitoring centre, and nobody comes on your behalf. We do not sell alarms connected to a monitoring centre.
Where the figures come from
Prices checked in September 2026. They change: take them as an order of magnitude and always ask for the final price in writing.
Questions about this
Does it work with my home country phone?
What happens when the power goes off?
Tell us about your home, we will reply
Tell us where the house is and what connection it has today. If it has none, that is exactly what we do.
Your message reaches HolaSignal, us, and nobody else. We do not work with partner installers and we do not pass your details to any company without asking you first. We reply ourselves, in writing.