In a Routine
Justin and Aimee expected that like most homeowners, their household routines would revolve largely around their comings and goings. Using software provided by Control4, Justin programmed his home’s Control4 light dimmers, security sensors, thermostats, music system and TVs to react a certain way based on the time of day and the position of the door. Now when the door opens in the evening, a wireless sensor from CardAccess signals the lights in the foyer, great room and kitchen to activate. After two minutes, the foyer lights turn off and the other lights dim or turn off.

At sunrise, the Control4 system pipes music from a preselected album on the Control4 Media Controller to in-wall speakers in the master bedroom. The bedroom lights gradually brighten as the songs play. “It’s such a great way to wake up that we don’t even use our alarm clock anymore,” Justin enthuses.

Of course, some spontaneity had to be worked into the system. “We’re not the kind of people who exercise at the same time every day,” Justin admits. For impromptu activities Aimee and Justin can set the lights, thermostats and music from Control4 keypads and touchscreens. When Justin presses a button on the keypad in his office, for example, the temperature in the room adjusts to 67 degrees, the lights brighten all the way, and the 42-inch Samsung LCD TV tunes to CNBC at a low volume. When he’s ready to work out, he can touch a button on the kitchen touchscreen to set the lights, music and temperature in the downstairs exercise room.

Justin installed only a few keypads and touchscreens in the house to help cut costs. “The Control4 handheld remotes are a lot less expensive than the built-in controllers and are actually more convenient to use,” he explains. The remotes feature built-in screens to display information about the home’s electronic systems, but for a bigger view, Justin and Aimee can bring up and navigate through the information on any of the home’s five TVs.

Even after outfitting their house with all the comforts and conveniences of a unified home control system, Justin and Aimee still had enough money left for a dedicated home theater. The modest setup, which includes a 100-inch Da-Lite video screen, Mitsubishi projector, 7.1 Onkyo amplifier, Sony 400-disc DVD changer, built-in JBL speakers and Control4 dimmers and controllers, occupies the bonus room over the garage.

A Trio of Networks
By using Control4 products, Justin was able to create a wireless network on which commands from sensors, remotes, touchscreens and keypads could travel to lights, thermostats and A/V equipment wirelessly. The same network could stream music from the hard drive of a Control4 Media Controller to speakers throughout the house. The computers, meanwhile, communicate over a separate WiFi network. A third network, which runs on Ethernet, resides in Justin’s home office. “Having three separate networks ensures that audio and video signals traveling throughout the house won’t interfere with the Control4 home control commands,” Justin explains.

With three networks available, there’s plenty of room to add fun new equipment. Already, Justin and Aimee have put an Apple TV box on the WiFi network and a Slingbox tuner on the office’s local area network. The Apple TV links the home’s computers to the 60-inch Sony SXRD TV in the family room so Justin and Aimee can show digital photos on the big screen. The Slingbox feeds TV from the cable box and analog security cameras to the screen of any computer in the house.

By refusing to take no for an answer, the Higginses found exactly what they wanted for their new home: convenience, comfort, energy savings and fun—at a cost they could afford. Justin’s spin-off business has started offering Control4 products to residents in his area, giving the tech-savvy couple another reason to feel great about home automation.

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Lisa Montgomery - Contributing Writer

Lisa Montgomery has been writing about home technology for 15 years, with a focus on the impact of electronics on a modern lifestyle.