This month I reached out to a friend and info/technology geek I trust to help with my monthly blog.
Technology is everywhere. It’s hard to imagine any aspect of our lives that doesn’t involve it. From phones to our cars, from work to our home, technology enhances our lives, bringing us closer to information, entertainment, and each other. Often though, our different devices exist in isolation, connecting us to the world, but rarely working together to create a more elegant whole. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Home Theater
Imagine a home that greets you by unlocking the front door, disabling the security system, turning on the lights, and welcoming you with your favorite music. Imagine a home that automatically lowers shades before the sun can fade your furniture and decor. Imagine a favorite song playing in each room of the house, or the latest hit film streaming and displayed across a wall-sized screen. Imagine promoting all this from your smart phone or iPad.
This is only the beginning of the promise offered by an intelligent home. Beyond showcasing the latest technology, the ultimate goal is to make interaction with your homes advanced automation features a pleasure. Exceptionally easy, yet wonderfully sophisticated, it is technology designed to help you manage your life. It’s about living in the home of the future now.
Home Automation
Once thought of as a luxury, technology is now thought of as an essential part of the infrastructure of a home. New client’s today have grown up with the convenience of technology and have moved the category from luxury to expected when the scope of a new project is discussed.
Today’s clients expect technology and design to work seamlessly together to blend into their decor; empowering homes with the convenience of technology without disrupting the aesthetics. Client’s want the benefits of technology without the feeling of obtrusion which has lead to the development of innovative and creative ways to lessen the visual impact of electronics by making them minimally visible or sometimes placed altogether out of sight.
The methods for hiding technology fall into five distinct categories. One of the most common ways to hide something is to conceal it. Electronics may be covered up with artwork, enclosed in cabinetry or retracted into the ceiling with motorized lifts. Another popular method is to camouflage the equipment – where the devices are disguised as something else. Speakers may be integrated into fake rocks or faux painted to match the wall or ceiling finish. A two-way framed mirror can cover a TV to transform it into a covert, entertainment system. Consolidation is another method that allows you to reduce wall clutter by combining controls onto a single keypad, or touchscreen, or mobile device. Remote location is a way – removing unsightly equipment from the living space and relocating it in the basement or equipment closet. And finally, some equipment could possible be eliminated altogether.
Finding a recommended / certified system integrator to help with the advanced planning, design philosophy, and product selection is crucial to expected results. Specific challenges related to distributed audio, distributed video, media rooms, home theater, video surveillance, security, access control, networks, climate control, lighting – among others – need to be addressed.
A qualified firm can be found by using a system integration company that belongs to CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association). CEDIA is an international association of companies that specializes in designing and installing electronic systems for the home. The association was founded in 1989 and has more than 3,500 member companies. CEDIA members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this specialized field. Certified CEDIA technicians are not electricians as many people assume. They have undergone extensive training related to low-voltage systems and have maintained continuing education standards and requirements.
A qualified experienced system integrator will help make complex technology simple and provide advanced, professional, creative resources dedicated to ensuring a projects success. From beautifully integrated design to the finest home technologies, they will guide the client through each step of the design and installation process to make certain clients have exactly the products they need, the features they want, and the personal attention that will make the home of the future a joy to own today.
Thank you,
Joe Barrett from Barrett’s Technology Solutions.
