We all want Everyday Easy. It sounds like something that makes sense in today’s technology jungle, why wouldn’t we demand it? But what is Everyday Easy, what does it mean?
Everyday Easy means that you are in control of your electronic lifestyle at all times. Control4 is a system that delivers Everyday Easy to many homeowners
throughout the United States and is also available in many countries around the world and you may have experienced the system while staying in a hotel where the system has been installed. Control4 offers a complete integrated system that allows you to manage the entertainment systems in your home. You can access your music and videos from any room in house, listen to different music in different rooms at the same time. You can watch a movie with a simple remote that can start the movie, dim the lights, adjust the temperature, and even start the popcorn popper with a few selections on your TV. In addition to entertainment, Control4 can interface with your security system, cameras, and lighting to give you piece of mind when you are at home or anywhere with internet access.
What makes the system Everyday Easy? The Interface is the key to Control4’s success. I learned more than a decade ago, when just getting involved in this industry that the interface (how you intereact with a system) is what brings all of the individual systems together into a seamless, single system. The homeowner is the true interface to the individual systems and the better the equipment interface is in allowing the homeonwer to control the systems, the better the overall experience will be for the homeowner. Control4 has many interface options in its arsenal. You can select from handheld remotes, TV on-screen menus, In-wall touchscreens, keypads, and WiFi Touch tablets. A proper design will give you flexibility and control of the system allowing you to use an interface within a few steps from anywhere in the house.
As stated earlier, Lighting Control is a very important sub-system in home automation. With just a few simple switches and dimmers, Control4 can reduce energy consumption. Lighting accounts for 20% of all electricity consumed in the U.S. and it is reported that 50% of that is wasted. With a well designed layout, a homeowner can enjoy scene and mood lighting while saving money and helping out the environment. In addition to lighting, Control4 is already working closely with the energy companies in further developing the interface to smart meters and smart appliances that will allow homeowners to control settings that will further reduce energy consumption in smart appliances.
Now, that you know a little more about why you wanted Everyday Easy in the first place and what it really means, you maybe asking yourself: “Sounds great, but I live in an existing home, Do I have to live without Everyday Easy?”
No, Control4 is a great system, and it is made even better in the fact that it uses a combination of wired and wireless devices to complete the design
giving existing homes and homeowners the ability to have complete systems installed. Another great feature of Control4 is that you can start out small and
build onto the system overtime, when the budget allows. This gives a migration path for every budget and every need…. Now that is Everyday Easy!
Mark Hardy
Vice President
Digital Interiors - West
If you have been paying attention to the news lately, there have been numerous reports in the metro Atlanta area of smash-and-grab break-ins and home invasions. With the economy in the state that it is currently in, intruders and burglars are getting desperate and becoming bolder in their attempts to break into homes and small businesses to take what is not rightfully theirs.
We have seen an increase in the number of inquiries and sales of residential cameras systems that protect, offer a piece of mind, and even provide evidence in the event that a criminal trespass has occurred. The technology that is available at a reasonable price, is truly remarkable and has been improved in the last 5 years.
With today’s technology, a homeowner can position cameras strategically and then have the option to view those cameras on TVs throughout the house, securely over the internet from anywhere in the world, or both. The camera technology has improved with cameras that have day/night capablility and are color are less expensive and much smaller than their predecessors. Also pan, tilt, and zoom cameras give additional flexibility in monitoring a home.
Cameras come in two format options. Traditional, and still strongly recommended, is the analog camera format. The other format is IP based cameras. These will run as devices on a home’s existing network. Although IP based cameras are available, analog camera quality is better and one negative of the network cameras is that if the network is not robust or the network goes
down, the reliablity of the cameras is effected. This is a consideration to think about when planning a surveillance system.
Another consideration when planning a surveillance system, is how to get wires in proper position when putting a system in an existing home or business. Both formats have hardwired and wireless cameras available, so a proper design should take into consideration the cost of retrofitting with sheetrock repair compared to the added expense of wireless cameras. A typical home can have good coverage by configuring 4-6 cameras in specific locations. A System Designer should perform a site visit to assist on the best placement of cameras to maximize coverage. Typical places that cameras are positioned are the front door, driveway view, rear entry doors at deck and basement levels, as well as back yard and/or pool area views.
Now that the cameras are in the proper position, how does the homeowner see what the camera sees? As I mentioned earlier, there are options to view the cameras in several ways. First, with the proper wiring and connection points, camera signals can be modulated (create a TV channel) and broadcast onto multiple TVs in different rooms in the house. Secondly, the cameras can be viewed through a secured website allowing one to view the cameras from anywhere in the world where there is internet access. Another method of viewing cameras is through a DVR. A DVR is a digital video recorder that allows you record onto its hard drive, the activity that has occurred based on events or schedules. A homeowner can review the recorded material based on time stamp or events. Many DVRs have the ability to then copy the information to a DVD or other storage medium that can be delivered to authorities as evidence. This allows a homeowner a pro-active tool in assisting authorities in solving a crime that has occurred.
With a well designed surveillance system, a homeowner can get the piece of mind that we all expect when we are in our residence and protect our assets that we have worked hard for and protect or families from the likes of the
criminal world, at least until the economy improves to the point when they are
not as desperate.
Mark Hardy
Digital Interiors (West)
