Signature Home Automation Services

What is Home Automation or a smart home?

Today's electronics are more and more sophisticated and are packed with computers which are all designed to communicate with something or other. You can go to your local hardware store and buy a thermostat which has an app that can be controlled anywhere on the planet. You can buy smart locks, drapes, appliances, light bulbs, sound systems, alarm systems, and much more. They all want to connect to something and be controlled remotely. Once you have these devices, you now have Home Automation in your home

A Smart Home, is essentially when connect your Home Automation equipment to a "Platform" such as Control4. Control4 utilizes its own equipment that controls and orchestrates all the devices in your connected home. The main system processor is a centralized computer/system which aggregates all the items into one control interface and allows unified control over all the components we connect to the system. This process is called "Integration", therefore, we are a "Systems Integration" company.

Do I Need A SMART HOME?

While most people don't see the difference between Home Automation and Smart Homes, the biggest benefit (aside from centralized integration of all devices) is that you now have the ability to have one device interact with the entire system. Here is an example that cannot be done by simply having a bunch of devices alone; 

Your system can be programmed so that if, it is night time, and you walk up to your porch, you enter your code into your smart lock, the Control4 system recognizes your code, which now sees that YOU are home, and it is night time, and the system turns on certain lights for you, opens certain shades, sets the family room TV to your favorite sports game, adjusts the volume, and sets the thermostat to your favorite level. This all takes place before you even have a chance to shut your front door. As you walk through your house, we have your alarm system motion sensor detect that you just walked past it, and you just used your lock code and the front door opened and closed, therefore, we set a timer countdown to automatically lock the lock behind you if the door is closed, and gently turn off the lights by the front door.

This is just one of millions of options that can be designed into your Smart Home. There are theoretically no limitations. Our only limits are always our time, budget and imagination!

Here are some basic benefits to having a Smart Home;

Control your lighting any time, any place, on any device. Set automatic schedules, run timers, have 1 button turn off entire sections, rooms or areas of the property. In the long run, you save money by reducing the amount of time your lights are on and knowing if they are actually on without having to be in the room.

Control your alarm system from anywhere. Additionally, as with many projects, your Smart Home can be programmed to send you text messages or emails when events take place. For example, if you leave your garage door open, we can tell the system to check the alarm sensor and if it stays open too long, send you a text. You can then check your cameras or alarm with your phone, and close the garage door remotely..

Voice commands? You betcha'... Today there are a few very affordable options that would allow you to speak commands in the house. The most popular one at the moment is Amazon's "Alexa" or "Echo". You can say things like "Raise Blinds" and the house will do it for you automatically.

Heating & Cooling with an integrated HVAC system, you have the ability to have the cooling or heating run at specific times, intervals and set schedules that help manage your energy use. There are vacation modes and other options that allow you to manage and maintain the temperatures and energy consumption at all times.

Time-Of-Use Meters: If you have a TOU meter installed, you can benefit substantially by programming your automation system to reduce power output during peak hours on some high wattage lights, pool equipment, HVAC equipment and other items can be programmed to autonomously use less power or be disabled completely. The sky is the limit with a Smart Home.

Intercom is another great benefit. You can install a door station at your door or gate and get high definition video intercom calls from outside on your in wall touchscreens. You can also do high definition video intercom from room to room! It's free and included with all Control4 touchscreens and door stations.

Water Conservation is something important to all of us Californians. If we integrate a compatible irrigation controller, we can help manage and maintain your watering schedules properly. In many cases, people do not have additional sensors for weather or rain installed. Smart Home irrigation controls use the internet to get live weather data and will set or modify your schedule as needed to save water.

Extreme Programming Flexibility: There are a billion different things that can be custom programmed in your Smart Home should you choose to do so. For instance, when a doorbell rings, you can have a TV automatically turn itself on, and display a CCTV camera located on your porch/gate to show you a better view of who is at the door or gate, and then turn off or resume the last activity. With smart locks, you can setup, assign and manage user codes to open doors. For example, the pool man comes on Fridays between 1-4pm, so the smart lock has a code just for him and it is set to only allow his code to work in that time frame, so he can never open the lock on Sunday night, in addition, the locks can send you text messages or push notifications when they are opened and notify you of WHO opened it and if they forgot to lock it, it will lock by itself. Have a gas BBQ or Fireplace? Ever worry about forgetting to turn it off?? With some simple hardware and programming, you can have any gas or water valve shut down as a matter of safety, which can also notify you if someone turned them on or it was running too long. There are many things that can be done. Your imagination and needs are the key to what can be accomplished!