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
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