by Theatron | Jan 8, 2016 | Control4, Home Automation, Lighting Control
What does a Smart Home look like? You may not be able to tell from just a quick glance.
Often, these homes are indistinguishable from standard homes. Sometimes you can only tell from looking at the homeowners — they look happy and relaxed because they have more peace of mind and more free time on their hands.
What can making your home smart do for you?
Save You Money
Investing in smart home technology can save you money in several ways, but the most common is by controlling your HVAC. Sure, you may have a programmable thermostat now, but it’s not the same. A smart thermostat learns the comfort levels and habits of your entire family, adjusting to your needs more and more precisely as time goes on.
Plus, you can set the more advanced systems to different temperatures in different rooms, providing more individualized comfort and saving energy at the same time.
Remote control for your blinds or shades also saves money, primarily by either letting in or keeping out the sunlight, depending on the season. You can also save money by having your system turn lights and electronics off when no one is using them.
Once you program your preferences into your system, you don’t have to think about them again unless you want to make a change. Your lights will come on and go off, your thermostat will adjust, your doors will lock — all on their own.
Protect Your Family and Belongings
A good security system is a necessity in this day and age. The types available with smart home technology are better than a live security guard, because there’s no room for human error.
These systems can be set up to arm every window and door in your home, plus provide live, streaming video of any potential intruders, not to mention calling the police for you. The only thing these systems can’t do is cuff the burglars and transport them downtown — yet.
Provide Convenience
Do you really want to get out from under the covers to close the blinds when the moon moves right in front of the window while you’re trying to watch your favorite show? What if the dog is waiting for its dinner, but you’re just getting to the good part? Just stay comfortable and press a button.
Make Your Home Fun Again
’Tis the season for colored lights, and not just on the bushes out front, but in your foyer and living room and anywhere else you want a blast of color. Stream music into the bathroom and switch the song with a simple voice command. You know you love giving orders, and your family isn’t going to follow them, so rely on a smart home system to recognize who’s the boss.
If you want your home to be smart, come visit the experts here at Theatron Home Theater and Smart Home Automation. We can make your dreams of a smart home a reality.
by Theatron | Dec 23, 2015 | Control4, Home Automation, Home Security, Home Theater, Lighting Control, Our Blog, Security Cameras, Smart Thermostat, Touch Panels, Whole House Audio
With the holiday decorating, shopping, and cooking in full swing, there has never been a better time to automate your home. Home automation can help you manage the wonderful chaos, entertaining your family when they come to visit, setting that special ambiance that inspires the holiday spirit, and keeping your valuables and loved ones more secure than ever. Control4 can help you custom design your smart home to sync with your existing products and spread the holiday cheer.
Light Up Your Home
Home automation allows you to step up your game when it comes to holiday decorating and setting the vibe for the season. You can sync your lights to your holiday playlist, customize your holiday tunes to play at certain times of day, and completely control the light patterns and colors to fit your decorating visions. Home automation can help you make all of your holiday decorating dreams come true.
Share the Classics
An automated home theater system helps you share the classics like never before. With the push of a button on the Control4 Touch Screen, your living room sets itself up for prime viewing. The shades lower, the lights dim or turn off, and the movie begins. If cooking and other activities are going on throughout the home, no one has to be left out of the viewing-you can stream the classics to all of the rooms. If you prefer newer movies, you can also stream the latest hits or newest holiday releases.
Spend More Time with Loved Ones
With smart timers, alerts, and synced appliances, you can spend less time turning things on and off and more time enjoying the company of your loved ones. With the right oven, you can keep an eye on what’s cooking, control your oven and stove settings, and receive alerts about the food right from your phone. You can also control all of the lights in the house from your Control4 Touch Screen and set up timers to lock doors, change the temperature, raise or lower blinds, and many other functions.
Sleep in Peace
When it is time for bed, an automated home can set security systems, lower blinds, and lock doors with the push of a “Goodnight” button. With compatible cameras tied to the Control4 system, you can look at security views or check in on the baby, right from the Control4 App. You can also adjust fans and make sure all lights are off from the comfort of your bed.
If you are interested in finding out how a personalized Control4 smart home can make the holidays more enjoyable—along with every other day of the year—give us a call at 703-883-0970 or contact us.
by Theatron | Jun 5, 2015 | Home Automation, Lighting Control, Savant
Savant has decided to discontinue all Savant-branded, specialty wired lighting products, efective September 30, 2015. Savant will continue to offer a complete set of wireless lighting products, including the modern, elegant, and recently reinvented Metropolitan line. You can also use the Savant App with lighting control products from other brands, and use the App to incorporate lighting into scenes and schedules to match your everyday life. Savant will continue to honor all warranties for installed Savant and LiteTouch product, as well as provide our full two-year warranty on all equipment purchased on or before September 30, 2015. Savant will also provide ongoing technical support to their Authorized Integrators to help them continue to service your home. During this transition time, we encourage you to coordinate with your Savant Integrator to discuss maintenance options and the possibility of adding a Lighting Reserve Kit to extend the life of your Savant system. For the long term, Savant is actively pursuing unique alliances with leading lighting control manufacturers—inluding Lutron, who is already one of our Elite Partners—to ensure that all Savant and LiteTouch homes with wired lighting control have viable upgrade paths and maintenance options. Savant continues to be a leader, and among the fastest growing companies in home automation. By working with Integrators across the country, we’re confident that we’ll be able to provide you the best lighting control options available—and that you’ll enjoy them in your Savant Home for years to come.
by Theatron | May 29, 2015 | Lighting Control
Lutron shading systems provide precision control of daylight – all at the touch of a button.
Save Energy
Utilize your shading system to save additional energy beyond routine use of shades. “Winter warm” opens the shades, taking advantage of sunlight warming a southern façade. “Summer cool” does the opposite by lowering shades and blocking solar heat gain, thereby reducing your cooling costs. In addition, Lutron shading fabrics are made from sustainable materials for complete environmental and energy savings.
Explore these recommended product solutions:
Sivoia QS Wireless
Sivoia® QS
Sustainable fabrics
Elegance & Ambiance
Lutron controls are designed to look and work beautifully. Stylish control and fabric options coupled with innovative technology elegantly transition a space to create the right amount of light for any activity. Shades align precisely within 1/16 in of each other for a balanced, beautiful look to a row of windows.
Explore these recommended product solutions:
Sivoia QS Wireless
Sustainable fabrics
Convenience
Managing daylight is not restricted to a single wall station in your home. Shading systems can be controlled using a myriad of keypads, IR remote controls, wireless tabletop controls, or set to an astronomic time clock for automatic adjustment of shades.
Explore these recommended product solutions:
Pico® wireless control
seeTouch® keypads
Safety & Security
Utilize a whole-home shading system for simultaneous control of all shades. By setting a pre-determined scene for “Away”, simply select this button when leaving to close all shades and restrict the view inside your home.
Explore these recommended product solutions:
Sivoia QS Wireless
seeTouch® keypads
Reduce Glare & Protect Furnishings
Lutron shading systems diffuse light and prevent glare from washing out a computer or television screen. Shading systems also protect furniture, fine art, rugs, and even wood surfaces, from the sun’s damaging UV rays. Stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter by using shading systems to deflect or harness solar heat.
Explore these recommended product solutions:
Sivoia® QED
Sustainable fabrics
by Theatron | May 26, 2015 | Lighting Control
Motorized Shades and Smart Lights for Home Security
As you pack up your car for a great summer vacation, are you also worrying about how well-protected you home is? Going away for a trip is stressful enough without having to think about what’s happening at your house. A smart home system that includes automated lighting and shade control can make your home more secure and let you focus on your fun instead.
Here are just a few of the security benefits of smart lighting and window shade control:
- Lived in look: Nothing tells would-be burglars that you’re away from home better than several days in a row of a dark house. If you leave for a week and simply turn off all the lights, that’s an invitation for a break in. Timers alone aren’t enough to simulate a lived-in look. Simple timers only turn on and off the same lights at the same time every day. A smart home system, even an affordable DIY system, can be set up to vary the operation of lights or even make them random, to make it appear someone is moving around adjusting the lights. Outdoor lights, with programmed schedules and motion sensors, can also be great crime deterrents.
- Keep prying eyes out: Just as a realistic simulation of house lights can make a house look lived in, so can the use of motorized shades. If your window shades and blinds are closed 24 hours a day for several days, the house will look vulnerable. Also, you run the risk of coming home to find all your house plants have died from lack of sunlight. Don’t be forced to choose between security and living plants. Use your home automation system to automatically adjust some of your window coverings throughout the day or evening to make sure your plants get the sun they need, while making sure the shades and blinds are closed up at night to keep prying eyes out.
- Smart security integration: The benefits you reap from automating your home lighting and motorized window treatments can be made even better when you integrate your lighting and window control with a security system. Both professionally monitored and DIY systems can be integrated with popular lighting control products. For example, when a security window sensor detects a forced entry, smart programming can turn on the house lights, direct a security camera to start recording and send an alert to your mobile phone.
Coming home from a great vacation may be a disappointment, but with smart lighting, window coverings and security systems, it doesn’t have to result in an unpleasant surprise.
Additional Information:
Lutron Motorized Shades
Lutron Sivoia QS Shades
Lutron Sivoia QS Wireless Shades
Motorized Shades by Lutron
Lutron honeycomb and roller remote-controlled shades use an ultra-efficient (and quiet) drive technology and a 3-5 year battery life, so replacing batteries will be a rarity. And because the shades operate via a remote, you can adjust them from anywhere in the room, giving convenience and control. They can also be integrated with Lutron’s Smart Bridge or Smart Bridge Pro. Lutron Serena shades are an accessible do-it-yourself solution for your home. Roller and honeycomb style shades are available in over 150 fabric choices, opacities and colors to fit your tastes and match your application needs
by Theatron | May 23, 2015 | Lighting Control
Energy Saving Facts
Did You Know?
- energy saving facts, We need energy – and lots of it – to light our homes, schools, offices, hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. Lighting consists of nearly 25% of the United States electricity budget, which is approximately $37 billion annually.energy saving facts
- Lutron estimates that by installing just two dimmers in place of two standard light switches in every home in the US, the potential annual savings could be $1.5 billion in electricity and close to 25 billion pounds of CO2—the equivalent to taking more than 1 million cars off the road.
- Each year, Lutron estimates its dimmers save a total of 9.2 billion kWh. That is the equivalent output of one large coal or nuclear-powered power plant, or about $1 billion in energy costs. “Dimming your lights even 20% saves nearly 20% in energy,” says Dr. Ian Rowbottom, principal application engineer at Lutron. “Dimming them more, saves even more.”
- Radio Powr Savr™ is a battery-powered, ceiling mount sensor that saves energy by dimming or turning off electric lighting when sufficient daylight is available. The sensor detects light in the space and then wirelessly transmits the appropriate commands to the compatible dimming and switching devices via Lutron Clear Connect™ Radio Frequency (RF) technology; those controls then adjust the lights to take advantage of daylight.
- Lutron’s new C•L™ Dimmers for dimmable CFL and LED bulbs have HED™ Technology which allows dimming of CFL and LED bulbs.
