Security and Control
While the notion of home automation brings to mind images of elaborate home theatres that open up into A/V wonderlands with the touch of a button as well as multiple other high-tech visions, often the most overlooked yet perhaps most meaningful benefit of a smart home is the peace of mind you can get when your entire house is wired for security purposes. The owners of this 12,000 square foot suburban home wanted the ability to manage all three levels of their home, particularly those occupied by the children – and at the same time add a little high-tech pizzazz to their already impressive dwelling.
Security was this family’s main priority when deciding to upgrade to a smart home. Therefore, while the call for intercom systems has certainly dwindled, an OnQ Selective intercom system was imperative to enable communication throughout the house, including the basement where the children’s toy room was as well as their bedrooms. Additionally, we installed surveillance cameras to monitor activity across the house including the outdoor pool area. In the event one of the kids opens the door or someone enters the home unannounced, the system emits a sound notifying the parents. We custom programmed this security system to interact with the other subsystems (lighting control, music,) for efficiency purposes. The home’s burglary system and CCTV cameras are easily accessed via the Internet thru a family computer or iPhone.
We also worked with the homeowners to add those extra touches to their system in order for them to truly achieve the full benefits of a smart home. The whole family loves the features of AppleTV where they can watch movie previews and then rent or buy the film, podcasts, access to the Internet radio stations and their own music and family photos stored on a local computer. Therefore, we enabled this technology on the (9) Samsung LED televisions located throughout the house. Additionally, we built in the capability for the male homeowner to connect his laptop and rehearse important PowerPoint presentations using any of the home’s TVs. All the televisions have access to shared sources.
Finally, we installed a lighting control system complete with programmed custom settings such as “Turn off all basement lights”, “Good Night Kids” and an astronomical clock to operate outside lights.
The control system is based on the Control4 solution because of its ease of use and ability to upgrade as needed. The whole system is controlled from either any system remote, a 7” in-wall touchpanel located in the Kitchen, an iPad or an iPhone.
As an organizational feature so as to not detract from the home’s décor with unsightly cords, wires, and equipment all of the audio and video sources are installed in the equipment rack located in the basement and are shared all over the house. The video sources include: (3) AT&T U-Verse HD receivers, Samsung Blu-ray player, AppleTV, (8) Surveillance cameras. The audio sources include: (3) AT&T U-Verse HD receivers, Samsung Blu-ray player, AppleTV, iPod dock.
While the homeowners are eagerly adjusting their daily habits to take advantage of the lifestyle enhancements made possible with this technology, they are already planning future upgrades to their home system.
Security was this family’s main priority when deciding to upgrade to a smart home. Therefore, while the call for intercom systems has certainly dwindled, an OnQ Selective intercom system was imperative to enable communication throughout the house, including the basement where the children’s toy room was as well as their bedrooms. Additionally, we installed surveillance cameras to monitor activity across the house including the outdoor pool area. In the event one of the kids opens the door or someone enters the home unannounced, the system emits a sound notifying the parents. We custom programmed this security system to interact with the other subsystems (lighting control, music,) for efficiency purposes. The home’s burglary system and CCTV cameras are easily accessed via the Internet thru a family computer or iPhone.
We also worked with the homeowners to add those extra touches to their system in order for them to truly achieve the full benefits of a smart home. The whole family loves the features of AppleTV where they can watch movie previews and then rent or buy the film, podcasts, access to the Internet radio stations and their own music and family photos stored on a local computer. Therefore, we enabled this technology on the (9) Samsung LED televisions located throughout the house. Additionally, we built in the capability for the male homeowner to connect his laptop and rehearse important PowerPoint presentations using any of the home’s TVs. All the televisions have access to shared sources.
Finally, we installed a lighting control system complete with programmed custom settings such as “Turn off all basement lights”, “Good Night Kids” and an astronomical clock to operate outside lights.
The control system is based on the Control4 solution because of its ease of use and ability to upgrade as needed. The whole system is controlled from either any system remote, a 7” in-wall touchpanel located in the Kitchen, an iPad or an iPhone.
As an organizational feature so as to not detract from the home’s décor with unsightly cords, wires, and equipment all of the audio and video sources are installed in the equipment rack located in the basement and are shared all over the house. The video sources include: (3) AT&T U-Verse HD receivers, Samsung Blu-ray player, AppleTV, (8) Surveillance cameras. The audio sources include: (3) AT&T U-Verse HD receivers, Samsung Blu-ray player, AppleTV, iPod dock.
While the homeowners are eagerly adjusting their daily habits to take advantage of the lifestyle enhancements made possible with this technology, they are already planning future upgrades to their home system.
Project Year: 2014
Project Cost: $25,001 - $50,000
Country: United States
Zip Code: 60464
