|
|
Home » Tech Support » FAQ
|
Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
|
|
|
|
WHY FUTURE SMART CONNECTED HOME?
|
|
What is Residential Automation and Networking?
Today's modern home is more comfortable, convenient, secure and energy efficient
than ever. It is wired for networking, with all of the latest lighting,
temperature control, security and whole-house entertainment conveniences.
It is an automated and connected home.
Automation improves your lifestyle
Residential automation is all about adding comfort, convenience, security,
energy savings, and entertainment to your lifestyle. It is the remote and
automatic control of your home's systems such as lighting, appliances, heating
and air conditioning, entertainment components, security system, communications,
irrigation system, pool and spa, and all of the other systems in your home.
These systems become easier to use, and any level of automation can be installed.
It can be as simple as automatic control of outside security lights that
come on at dusk and shut off at dawn. Or your home's exterior and interior
lights, and your stereo, can all come on for you when you signal your garage
door to open, so you don't ever have to enter a dark house again. Or it
can be as sophisticated as having all of the systems in your entire home
automatically controlled according to time of day, day of week, or personal
presence in a room… and with voice control, too. Remote and automatic lighting
control, heating and air conditioning control, and drapery control are very
popular tools for realizing significant energy savings as well as convenience.
And of course security is also a part of automating your home.
Networking gets your home "connected"
Today's electronic equipment and services are vastly different from those
offered 10 years ago. With the introduction of home offices, computers,
home theaters, digital satellite dishes, the Internet and similar types
of equipment and services, the conventional wiring in a home has become
overloaded and outdated. The solution is to "connect" your home in a network
with modern structured wiring.
A connected, or networked, home is a home that is connected from room to
room and to the world outside. It gives you the control to integrate multiple
home systems such as communications, computers, audio and video entertainment,
security, lighting controls, utilities and environmental controls. By networking
your home with structured wiring, you can maximize your quality of life,
experience the best that technology has to offer, and fully enjoy your home.
Most homes have only conventional wiring. But modern technology demands
a structured wiring system to provide the electronic foundation necessary
to ensure that your family can be connected to today's services, and be
prepared for the new technologies of tomorrow. There is a big difference
in wiring. To illustrate, think of the wiring in your home as a pipeline
for information. Conventional wiring has the data capacity of a squirt gun.
By comparison, structured wiring, using Cat5 cables, has the capacity of
a fire hose. Structured wiring transmits more information, faster. Conventional
wiring consists of 1 or 2 twisted pairs of wires and is adequate for basic
voice, fax or data communications. Structured wiring is more advanced, and
can handle sophisticated video and data signals from computers, digital
satellite, high-speed Internet, digital phones and digital TV's. And provide
you the security of being able to enjoy technologies of the future.
Why do you want an automated home?
Residential automation is all about adding comfort, convenience, security,
and energy savings to your home. Why walk into a dark home when your exterior
and interior lights can automatically come on when you press your remote
garage door opener? Why come into a hot or cold home when you can enjoy
the comfort of your home anticipating your arrival and adjusting the temperature
to suit you… just before you arrive? An automated home is about the convenience
of saving your time and effort by having your home automatically do routine
functions such as watering your grass (but only if it has not rained recently),
or turning off all lights, setting the thermostat to economy mode and arming
the security system when you retire for the night. It's about enjoying home
theater time by having the lights dim, curtains close, TV and DVD player
turn on, phone mute and popcorn popper start... all with the touch of just
one button. Home automation is about the security you have knowing that
you can look in on your home remotely from anywhere in the world, or that
your home will phone you if anything is amiss, or that a fire will alert
your home to wake you, shut down the gas and ventilation system, turn on
a lighting path for your escape, and automatically phone the fire department.
And it's about the energy savings you will enjoy by assigning your home
the responsibility of regulating the operation of lights, water heater,
HVAC system, entertainment components, appliances and irrigation system
so these devices are on only when needed. The benefits of an automated home
are only limited by your imagination.
Why do you want a connected home?
Today's new electronics and services need to be managed. Connected homes
integrate entertainment, communications, automation and security systems
together to provide you with more convenient and efficient control of your
home environment. By networking your home, you can fully maximize the capabilities
of current home products and systems, and help them run more efficiently
together. Enjoy high-speed Internet access from any room in the house or
teleconference from your kitchen while making breakfast for your family.
Program the lights to create a "lived-in" look and check the security system
via telephone while you're away on vacation. Even answer the door through
the phone or monitor the nursery through your PC or TV.
Not only do you need structured wiring for your connected home to control
and share information from today's electronics and services, but also to
provide you with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your home
network will accommodate future technologies and equipment. It's called
FutureProofing. And you need it now to integrate computers and computer
networks, printers, cable and satellite TV, telephones, faxes, modems, ISDN,
DSL, the Internet, cable modems, video conferencing, sound and security
systems, and whatever the future might bring. All these electronics and
services can be easily managed from one central location in a structured
wiring distribution panel.
You want a connected home to add security, peace of mind, energy savings
and convenience to day-do-day activities. Consider just some of the many
applications of structured wiring:
Video-on-demand
Interactive video games
Intelligent lighting systems
Security alert
Remote dial-in
Simultaneous Web surfing
Internet access
Integrated phone systems
Home office Interactive audio
Digital TV
Heating/cooling control
Remote metering
Child monitoring
Electronic shopping
Networked PC's
Electronic banking
And much more ...
Home networking also increases the value of your home because it is equipped
to operate today's digital electronics and will keep pace with ever-changing
technology. For these and many other reasons, residential networking is
a "must" for your home.
What can a connected and automated home do
for you?
Your home can be as smart, fun and safe as you want it to be. Networking
and automation is about making your life easier and simpler, and creating
more time for you to enjoy life. There are literally hundreds of comfort,
convenience, safety, entertainment, and energy saving possibilities, limited
only by your imagination. Here is a one scenario to illustrate some of the
many options you have.
Just imagine…
Your routine is suddenly much more convenient with an automated home. As
you leave your home in the morning, you push one button by the front door
and all lights and appliances are turned off, the stereo or TV shuts down,
the draperies close, hair curlers turn off, the thermostat and water heater
are set to economy mode, and your security system knows to enable in two
minutes. Your home has just automatically dialed your secretary to let her
know you are on your way. While driving to your office, you remember you
wanted to water the yard one extra time this week, so you dial your home
to turn on the sprinkler system for fifteen minutes. After lunch, you'll
go on-line at your desk to view your back yard to be sure your dog is keeping
out of mischief. Shortly after 3:00pm, you receive an automatic phone call
from your home notifying you that your child is safely home from school.
Then, on your drive home you decide a Jacuzzi soak would be in order, so
a quick cell phone call to your home has the tub hot and steamy for you
upon your arrival.
Later that evening, after settling down in your favorite easy chair, you
push a single button, and watch as the lights are dimmed, curtains drawn,
projection screen unfurled, video projector and DVD player enables, phone
mutes and the popcorn popper fires up. It's movie time! And you know that
your connected home is also capable of sending the same DVD movie signal
to any of the other TV's or computers in your home. While you are watching,
you hear a noise in the front yard, so you click channel 84 on your viewing
screen to bring up a security video image of a stray dog running by your
front door. After the movie, you settle down for your nights repose, and
again one button push puts your home to work for you by turning off all
interior lights, turning on security lights, shutting down all entertainment
components and appliances, setting the thermostat and water heater to economy
mode, and enabling the security system. And you rest comfortably knowing
that in the event of a fire or other emergency, you and your children are
safe. Your home knows what to do… automatically.
Of course there are many, many other benefits to a networked and automated
home. It is limited only by your imagination.
Home Controls is standing by to help you make your home an automated and
connected home for the comfort, convenience, safety, energy savings and
entertainment of your family.
|
|
|
|
WHAT IS HOME AUTOMATION?
|
|
|
Basic Definition
For some it may be something as
simple as remote or automatic control of a few lights. For others, security may
be the central application. Still others may choose to install advanced
controllers or use voice recognition. As a very basic definition, we tend to
refer to home automation as anything that gives you remote or automatic control
of things around the home.
Adding home automation to an existing home is
surprisingly affordable and simple. Our average product costs less than $40 and
requires no new wires!
We at Smarthome think that home automation should
be what you want it to be. Whatever your "MVP" automation project might be,
we're confident that using it will make life around the home more convenient,
safe and fun! |
|
What can I Control?
Lighting
Probably the most
popular control category and a great way to get involved with home automation.
Starter kits begin at $10 or so and are plug-and-play easy to install. Dim
fixtures you could never dim before, control them from anywhere in the house (or
world via the Internet).
Security Systems &
Access Control
Have your home call you and/or
loved ones if there is an alert status. You can save money on security
monitoring services or even monitor for non-traditional security events like
water in the laundry room or basement. Additionally, Smarthome products include
devices which will allow you to unlock the front door to let friends in or close
the garage door from your office via the web.
Home Theater & Entertainment
Just imagine replacing that pile of remotes with just one
controller. Now, imagine not having to know all 10 steps to starting up your
home theater - just press the HBO icon and your home automation products/system
will do the rest. Built-in speakers are especially popular with homeowners as
they provide beautiful sound throughout the house while adding no clutter
whatsoever.
Phone Systems
Phone systems which are usually used for small business
applications are surprisingly convenient in the home. With caller ID and a home
automation controller you can even screen your calls for only those you wish to
cause your phone to ring. Voice control software turns every phone in your home
into a remote controller.
Thermostats
Remote control
thermostats allow you to adjust the temperature from bed at night or even from a
cell phone while on your way home (or to your 2nd home!). They can even trigger
a notice to you if the temperature gets too low (freezing pipes) or too high
(pets, plants, etc.).
Irrigation
Have your sprinklers turn on only when it's dry. Some of our
customers even turn the sprinklers on when there's motion in the yard at
unwanted times - imagine someone trying to explain the wet clothes to the
police!
Networking
Home automation can be accomplished using various types of
connectivity. What's great is that many of today's home automation products need
no new wires - so they are perfect to retrofit into an existing home. If you are
building new, or doing a major remodel, please consider adding networking,
audio, video and control wiring while it is easy and relatively inexpensive,
later on you'll be happy you did.
and Anything
Else You Can Imagine
... (Well almost
anyway).
|
|
How can I Control them?
Remote
control
Remote control gives you the convenience
of controlling lighting, appliances, security systems and consumer electronics
from wherever you happen to be at the time like your couch, car or even in your
bed. There are several different "methods" of controlling devices remotely.
Below we highlight the pluses and minuses of
each.
|
| Remote
Technology |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Popular
Applications |
Cost
|
| Infrared |
Affordable |
Line-of-sight |
TV / consumer electronics |
$10 & up |
| X-10 |
Affordable + whole house |
May need noise filters & phase
couplers |
Lighting, appliances and security |
$10 & up |
| Radio-Frequency (RF) |
Works through walls |
Long distance issues, more expensive than
X-10 |
Garage doors, computer networking |
$40 & up |
| Hardwired |
Speed and reliability |
Cost & difficult to retrofit |
Video, networking & high-end
applications |
$1,000's & up |
|
|
X10 compatible
products are the most popular home automation products because of their low cost
and ease of installation, especially into existing homes.
Automatic Control
Automatic control adds even more convenience by making things
happen automatically, without any effort being necessary. Examples include
having your lights turn on at dusk and off at your desired time, having your
whole home theater turn on and tune to the desired station after one press of a
button on your remote.
|
|
What are the Benefits of Home
Automation?
Home automation makes life
more convenient, safe and fun!
Convenience
We've all gotten
used to controlling our TV from the couch, just wait until you are able to dim
the lights as well. Imagine adjusting the temperature from your bed or
controlling the volume of your wholehouse audio system from any room. Or, can
you imagine the wall/ceiling heater in your bathroom coming on automatically 5
minutes before your alarm clock goes off (only when it's chilly) so that it is
warm when you enter. Many Smarthome products also save energy -- we'll all agree
that's a nice convenience.
Safety
We're all used to opening the garage door from the car, but
you'll be surprised how much safer you'll feel coming home to a lit home and
even turning on more lights from your keyfob remote upon your arrival. With a
couple of basic products you can have your whole house light up like Fort Knox
when there is motion detected at any corner of your house. Imagine your house
sending you an email if there is motion where there shouldn't be any motion. Or,
you can have your security system call you if there is an alarm, which might
include your typical security alarm or even a low or high temperature or water
in the laundry room or basement.
Fun
High tech products for the
home are fun to use and share with others. Whether viewing visitors at your
front door on your TV or tuning your stereo by using voice recognition, you'll
find it surprisingly enjoyable. And, when it comes to impressing the friends,
you'll be happy to show off your newfound applications.
|
|
|
|
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUTOMATION?
|
|
This is Very Simple, there is 3 Types but People usually Mix them up:
- BMS = Manned System Like "Intelligence"
- Centrally Controlled = you need to Touch or Send Command (That command can Be a Set of Macros) like "Crestron"
- Smart (Logic and Event Driven System)like " HAI" wich can Do all the above.
|
|
|
WHAT IS X10?
|
|
| X10 Basics
X10 is a communications
"language" that allows compatible products to talk to each other using the
existing electrical wiring in the home. Most X10 compatible products are very
affordable and the fact that they talk over existing wires in your home means
that no costly rewiring is necessary. Installation is simple, a transmitter
plugs (or wires) in at one location in the home and sends its control signal
(on, off, dim, bright, etc.) to a receiver which plugs (or wires) into another
location in the home. |
| X10 -- Advantages It is estimated that
X10 compatible products can be found in over 10 million American homes. This is
because it has so many advantages over other types of remote control products
and systems:
- Inexpensive
- No new wiring is required -- perfect for retrofit
- Simple to install
- 100's of compatible products
- Control up to 256 lights and appliances
- Time proven -- it has been around for over 20 years
Smarthome is
the world's largest distributor of X10 compatible products. Our experts can
recommend the right products for your needs and walk you through installation
should you need help. Our technical support team is available at 949.221.9200
(option #4) from 6 am to 5 pm (PT) Monday through Friday and 8 am to 4 pm on
Saturdays. | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
OUR PRODUCTS
