Connected Home Category:
CEPro just posted an article about Control4 and its attempt to become the operating system for the automated home. It’s definitely an interesting concept and I think putting Control4’s operating system inside of everyday consumer electronics equipment could enable widespread adoption of home automation technology. Home automation is still a new concept to most people at this point and Control4 is the control company most focused on putting home automation into every home in the world. Most other control companies are ignoring the masses and that’s exactly why I believe that Control4 is going to make it stick.
The potential created from electronics with “Control4 Inside” is huge. Imagine having an A/V receiver that automatically knows how to connect to your DVD player that automatically knows how to connect to your TV. You just plug them into the network and that’s that. Oh, and they’re all tied into your home control system too without you lifting a finger. This is done to a certain extent already on computers using technologies like USB and Firewire but it has yet to come to the consumer electronics equipment that people use away from their computer.
It’s only a matter of time before every device that we use in our home is connected via some type of network enabled control system and that is a good thing. You should want your equipment to just work and forget about the details of how and why. Just plug it in and use it.
Read the original article at http://www.cepro.com/article/control4_aims_to_be_os_of_the_automated_home/
Electronic House Magazine has chosen “The Loft”, our most unique project to date, as the winner of the Gold Award for Best “Wow” Factor for the 2008 Electronic House Home of the Year Awards. The Electronic House Home of the Year Awards are some of the most prestigious awards in our industry and we are honored to have been selected as a winner. We were on hand at the Spring Electronic House Expo in Orlando, Florida to accept the award at the Electronic House Home of the Year Luncheon. The oohs and aahs of our peers during the slideshow said it all!
Write-ups of this year’s Home of the Year Awards can be seen in the May 2008 issue of Electronic House and contain a full spread including photos, equipment and a special feature about the project. This marks the first time that we have been featured in a national publication and we couldn’t be more excited to see the fruits of our labor in print. The Loft was also featured in Houstrends Cleveland Magazine in August 2007 in its Building Trends section.
The Loft is unique all around and it’s not just because of our technology. The design of every detail was painstakingly planned. From the kitchen counters to the artwork, the metalwork to the lighting. It truly is a one of a kind space.
We offer our sincerest gratitude to the owner and to the contractor, Amazing Design, for giving us the opportunity to work with them on such a special project. We’re humbled that a single project has gotten so much recognition and are extremely excited for our entire team. It certainly was a team effort and we wouldn’t be where we are without such a great group of people. The project was definitely our most challenging to date and has been a great experience for us all.
Check out page 108 in the May 2008 issue of Electronic House, aptly titled Cleveland Rocks. Take a look and tell us what you think!
You know smart home technology is definitely growing up once it gets facetime The Oprah Winfrey Show. Control4 was featured in a segment dedicated to smart home technology that aired April 25th, 2008. Oprah’s Home Editor and Designer Nate Berkus demonstrated a few features including IP Camera control/monitoring, an All Off button and Mulit-room music. His demonstration definitely highlighted Control4’s ease of use. Each of the features he showed only took a few clicks on a 10.5” Wireless Touch Screen and were pretty much instantaneous. There were oohs and ahs when he demonstrated the IP camera feature which let him remotely control an IP camera that was aimed at the audience.
I know, I know, it’s a staged demonstration on tape-delay so they can make it do whatever they want. That could be true but I’d be willing to be that it’s not. The features they showed are available pretty much right out of the box and can be setup very quickly. Copying the music to the controller for the audio demonstration would have taken longer than setting up the rest of the demo.
Overall it was a good demonstration and is excellent for Control4. Also mentioned was the fact that you could start small for a little over $700 and add to the system over time which I think is the most important thing he said during the demonstration. Smart home technology is not just for the wealthy or the technophiles anymore, it’s for everyone. Pretty soon you won’t know how you lived without it.
Smart thermostats have been around for years. They’re programmable, can heat and cool your home to your exact specifications and they’re affordable. You definitely have to read the instruction manual to operate them properly but they aren’t rocket science. There are a few fundamental problems with smart thermostats though. They operate independently of any other system in your home and they only do what you tell them to do, when you tell them to do it. They really aren’t that smart at all, they just know how to follow directions. How can this be the answer to helping you save money on energy?
The answer is that the thermostat needs to be more in tune with what’s going on inside and outside your home on a real-time basis. If it was integrated with various other systems in your home it would be able to do things like adjust the temperature accordingly based on room occupancy. Raise or lower the temperature based on outdoor temperature to conserve energy. Open or close the shades to increase or decrease temperature. This list goes on. The point is that your home could do all of this for you without your interaction. No two days are the same when it comes to temperature, clouds, wind, etc. Not to mention the fact that warm to me is cold to my wife. How does it help you to program a thermostat to set your home to a specified temperature range based on the time of day?
The thermostat shouldn’t be independent. Brian McConnell suggests making thermostats a piece of Wi-Fi equipment that could hook into your home network with no additional configuration. Plug and play. This is a start. A truly smart thermostat that could read data from external weather web sites that could control your home more efficiently. Smart, easy and cost-effective.
Another method is to integrate a home control system that lets your home think on its own when it comes to energy. You could give your home a brain that would behave based on guidelines set for your part of the country by NOAA or another reliable source of weather information. A system that is smart enough to understand all of the factors that contribute to energy consumption in your home. It knows when you’re home, when you’re sleeping, when it’s hot outside, if it’s cloudy or if it’s raining. You’re not there to babysit your energy all day and somebody needs to do it. Let your home do it for you.
These types of systems are becoming a reality and the technology to make it happen is available from a company called Agilewaves whose Resource Monitor product integrates all your home’s internal systems. Electric, gas, water, you name it. Resource Monitor properly integrated with a home control system like Control4 gives your home complete autonomy based on your specifications. Now if someone could just solve the NOAA part we’d be all set.
People will argue that the expense of such systems isn’t worth it because you can program things on your own with cheap devices like smart thermostats. We couldn’t disagree more. It’s just not effective. People could do it if they wanted to because the functionality is there but they just don’t do it because they forget or because it’s inconvienent. A smart home can’t forget.
Mention alternative energy as it relates to a home and you’ll hear a few predominant words: solar and wind. The excitement surrounding these technologies has exploded over the past few years thanks to oil prices, the economy and Al Gore. Regardless of cost, it seems that consumers are willing to invest in renewable energy technology at a rapid rate. That is, a certain kind of consumer.
It’s been said that consumers will pay more for renewably sourced products because of the positive impacts on the planet. That’s all well and good but certain consumers obviously have more means than others to pursue these new technologies. It’s excellent that those consumers with high spending power can invest in new technologies like solar and wind power but they remain a small percentage of the population. Imagine if everyone had access to technologies that could incrementally improve the environment and save them money at the same time. That’s the holy grail of all renewable energy technologies and is something that everyone can grab a hold of if it is affordable. Enter Home Automation.
Home automation is an easy way to get started if your ultimate goal is disconnecting from the grid. Home automation controllers can be had for under $800 and can get you started on your way to energy independence. They won’t pay for themselves immediately and that’s my point. For this concept to work people have to realize that it’s going to take time to eliminate the need of purchased power. The majority of America isn’t comprised of wealthy individuals that can disconnect from the grid tomorrow and never bat an eye at the cost. The solution is long term and must be worked at over time.
Control4 may be the company most well positioned to make this concept a reality with their affordable line of products. Start with a controller and a few light switches. Upgrade to more light switches, a thermostat and automated shade control. Allow your home to be programmed to know when you’re awake, when you’re sleeping and even when you’re away. Let the automation sysytem do the heavy lifting for you based on your lifestyle. You might only see a few pennies difference on your electric bill when you start but you’ll soon realize how easy home automation makes your life all while saving you money and it will grow from there.
Home automation must be easy and affordable for it to be widely adopted by everyone. Control4 is exaclty that. There will come a day when home automation is as ubiqutous as indoor plumbing and telephone service and that day will see a more prosperous family environment due to products like those offered by Control4.
You’ve got to hand it to the Consumer Electronics Association. Not only do they put on one hell of a tradeshow but they also provide everyone and their Grandma with educational resources that cover just about every aspect of the consumer electronics industry. They have just relaunched a new and improved DigitalTips.org web site dedicated to consumer electronics education. The site is aimed at anyone in need of “Technology 101” lessons covering topics including audio, digital imaging, digital television and wireless, to name a few. It’s a great resource for tons of useful information, straight from the horses’ mouth.
The CEA also offers myGreenElectronics.org, a site dedicated to the understanding of the responsible use, reuse and recycling of consumer electronics. You can use the site to do things like find a nearby recycling facility or research energy efficient consumer electronics products for use in your home. The site even has a Save Energy with Electronics calculator that allows you to calculate the impact that electronics equipment has on your monthly electric bill. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink!
And last but not least is TechHome.com, a site dedicated to the benefits of having technology installed in your home. You can use the site to find a qualified systems integrator (look us up, we’re in there!), learn about things like Multi-Room Audio & Video and Complete Home Control or just about any other topic related to technology in your home. It’s a great starting point for anyone interested in integrating technology into their home and we’re happy to be a part of it.
Use these resources to your advantage. They’ll definitely help you ask great questions and truly get exactly what you want from your systems integrator.
Two of our favorite companies are now set to become one as Dell announced its planned acquisition of Alienware yesterday. Dell has dominated the PC space for a while now and brings more of a home entertainment feel to the company with Alienware and its line of unreal products. The guys over at HD Beat pose the question “Dell buying Alienware: What does this mean to us?“ That’s a great question with potentially industry changing answers.
We can’t wait to see what these guys are able to pump out using that amazingly efficient Dell business model. Take a Dell plasma television, hook it up to an Alienware Microsoft Windows XP Media Center, add a Control4 home automation solution and you’ve got one awesome setup! One would think that Dell will take advantage of Alienware’s focus on the consumer electronics side of things to gain an even bigger foothold in that market but we’ll have to wait and see. The innovation in each company by itself was out of this world and now they’ll each have access to the best parts of the other…brilliant!
This brings up another idea. How long is it before we start seeing Control4 applications that can interact with Media Center? Both Control4 and Media Center have APIs that developers can use to enhance the product lines, making it easy to integrate both as a single solution instead of separate but connected solutions. We do know that there is a company out there called Exceptional Innovation that’s already doing this type of integration with Media Center so it looks like Control4 might need to catch up. Maybe Control4 should buy Exceptional Innovation and merge the best parts of its lineup with the life|ware platform. Oh the possibilities…
Don’t look now but I just mentioned a dirty concept in our business, IT. Mention those two simple letters to many of the professionals in our industry and you’ll get all kinds of angry stares, not to mention harsh comments about integrators with IT roots. I’m not exactly sure why this happens and am even less sure why it does with such amazing frequency. I can’t tell you how many times our company has been ripped on by others because we’ve built our business based on concepts from our past experience in IT. Maybe they had a bad experience working with companies that sold them PCs (or Macs). Maybe they’re scared that the industry is changing. I really don’t know for sure but they have their opinions and they’re entitled to them.
Our opinion is different. First off, bashing competitors isn’t a wise decision which is why you’ll never hear us doing it. We like to spend our time making our business better instead of worrying about who’s putting us down and getting back at them by doing the same. Secondly, we wear our experience in the IT industry as a badge of honor and believe whole heartedly that it’s what sets us apart from the crowd. After all, it’s this experience that gives us the ability to implement amazing products from companies like Control4, a company that’s taken IT concepts and completely changed the face of home automation.
Control4 offers a product line of completely IP (Internet Protocol) based home automation controls that truly connect every aspect of your daily lives. Each of Control4’s intelligent devices lives on and can be operated from your own personal home network, wired or wirelessly, with the touch of a button. What we like the most about the Control4 product line is that it’s affordable, easy to use and offers unparalleled scalability for any solution. You can start with the Home Theater Controller or Media Controller and immediately realize the benefits of a connected lifestyle. Manage your entire digital music collection with ease streaming your digital music over your home stereo, right from the controller.
Control4 controllers can exist by themselves in a home theater solution on those merits alone but they allow you to accomplish so much more. Owning a Control4 system gives you the ability to add devices at any time, at your own pace. Add a light dimmer switch here, an outlet there, and pretty soon you’ve got a fully functioning automation system without any new wiring. Swap the old “dumb” switches with the new Control4 intelligent switches, add the device to your network and you’re done. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Control4 solutions work in any home, anywhere. Old homes, new homes and all homes in between are perfectly suited for Control4 solutions which is another reason we’ve absolutely fallen in love with their products and have installed them in our own homes. Hop on over to www.control4.com and take a look around. We promise you’ll enjoy your visit!
This is the most frequent question we hear on a daily basis. The business we are in is confusing, not to us, but to most everyone else. Vocabulary that we can use to describe our business includes:
- Low-Voltage
- Custom Electronics Professional
- Home Automation
- Home Security Installer
- Home Systems Integrator
- Home Technology Integrator
- Network Engineers
- Smart Homes
- Systems Integrator
And the list goes on. People know our industry by so many different names that it often makes it difficult finding common ground when answering the question. It makes our day when we can give our pitch and actually find someone who understands what we do. In the same sense, it scares us to death that we have friends and associates that we do business with on a daily basis that have heard our pitch hundreds of times, heck, they’ve even seen the technology in action, but still haven’t got a clue what we do. We have to figure out a way to change that.
Part of our solution to the problem is this blog. Blogging allows us to connect with people in ways which we couldn’t possibly have connected in the past. It gives us the ability to give you the story straight from the horse’s mouth helping to educate you in the process. After all, if we’re experts and we can’t figure out a better way to educate our customers about what we do, we’re in trouble.
Our challenge to you is for you to tell us what you don’t understand about our business, the products we sell and the services we offer. Anything and everything is fair game so don’t be afraid to come at us with whatever it is that you’d like to learn. We don’t want you to have to spend all day researching what we do just to figure it out. Instead, we want to figure out a way to condense all the education you need into easy to use guides that you can refer back to over and over again, whenever you need them. Anyone can post a FAQ page, but can anyone take it a step further and actually make FAQ’s more useful? We intend to do so.
I know that we still haven’t answered the original question that titles this post but we’re hoping you stick around as we engage in conversations that will help shape the answer. We like to think that it is a living answer.
It has, up to this point, been easy for most integrators to ignore the middle because it didn’t fit their business models. The margins weren’t there and too potential customers felt that they were being taken advantage of by profit hungry salesman that over promise and under deliver and who didn’t really care about their needs. That or you’d run into a company that lowered their prices so low that nobody in the market could compete. These types of companies use the strategy making their margin up in volume while providing an inferior solution in every way shape and form. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been told of situations like these, none of which are good for business.
It has been a main focus of ours since day one to provide access to our products and services to anyone that wants them, left, right and middle. We want to let you know that home automation is affordable for everyone. Are you interested in basic lighting control? Interested in saving money on your energy bills? Is your family safe and secure? These are questions that we want you to feel that you can always answer yes to without remorse. The best part is that you can start with the basic core for your home systems and gradually increase capabilities over time. Stating this is not just hype or marketing hyperbole, it’s the truth. Any integrator that isn’t willing to work with you on your timetable and budget only has their own personal agenda in mind.
Your agenda drives our agenda and that will never change. It is in this spirit that we are creating some new and exciting tools that you can use to design your own home systems with a few mouse clicks. These tools will not only help you build your system, but will also help teach you about it at the same time. These tools will be accessible to anyone and everyone that would like to use them and will be free of charge. Everyone likes free don’t they?
Horner Networks, ensuring that all of our home solutions pass the “Grandma” test, since 2003.
