Audio Advice has been involved in the home control business longer than any company in our area. We are also the largest dealer in NC and SC for all of our primary home control products. Home automation is a term describing control for a wide variety of home technology systems. Whatever the system we think it should be easy, all-purpose control, making life simpler, safer, more fun, and saving energy all at the same time!
Control Everything
A typical home contains many technology systems. These may include whole house music, intercom, distributed video, networking, security, lighting control, shading control, heating and cooling systems, cameras, pool and spa control, gate control, energy management and more. Imagine it this way, any system where you push a button and something happens has the ability to be tied into a central control point. A home automation system ties all of these systems together, letting you interface with them from one point of contact. Tying all of your systems into one interface is great, but when it really becomes cool is when you add intelligence to the systems.
A True Smart Home
Imagine a door is open and you tell the shades to lower above that door. The shade system does not know the door is open but it knows to lower the shades. The alarm system does know the door is open, but does not know there are shades heading towards a crash landing on the top of the door. With Audio Advice, we connect the two systems so they can act intelligently. A fire code from the alarm system can prompt activation of your lighting system, flashing exterior lights so emergency personnel can easily find your home. These are just a few examples of how today’s home automation systems from Audio Advice can actually add a bit of artificial intelligence to your home.
Intelligent programming is the most fun when you are ready to relax or entertain where one button push can start a whole sequence of events. If you are entertaining, these events could include setting lighting scenes for specific areas of your home, starting music in the appropriate rooms, and knowing that because you are entertaining, the exterior landscape lights should stay on late!
Tying it all together
A complete home automation system includes (and communicates with) all of the subsystems mentioned above. In a well-designed automation system, any single subsystem can operate independently. This means if for some reason your automation system had a problem, you could still independently control your lights, HVAC, etc. Nothing beats the iPad as an interface for your home automation system. It’s really changed the landscape and helped reduce the cost of today’s home automation systems. Other control points can be wall mounted keypads or your iPhone.
The process of designing an automation system that meets your needs involves discovering how you will use your home and what is important to you. Audio Advice was one of the first companies to explore the possibilities of home automation. To help find the system that is right for you and your family, we have over 34 years of experience working with home automation: from the primitive early systems to today’s most sophisticated designs.
Audio Advice has three primary control system suppliers:
Crestron has been in the business longer than just about anyone with 44 years under their belt in control systems. Our world class Signature System is based on the Crestron platform. Savant and Control 4 are relative newcomers to the automation world. Savant bases their system on the Apple operating platform, which offers several advantages. Control 4 gives us lots of wireless options for adding automation to existing homes. We can help you decide which system is right for you and your family. Learn more in our home automation section.
