Recently Filed in Home Control

We’ve seen homes secretly redecorated on programs like HGTV’s While You Were Out, but this was the first time we’ve run across a covert electronics overhaul. Ryan Herd, owner of 1 Sound Choice, Pompton Plains, N.J., came up with the grand scheme a few months ago. “We had all the equipment ready to go; we were just waiting for the right time to strike.” That time came when Herd’s parents left for a week-long vacation. Unbeknownst to his parents, he completely tricked out their abode… View this story
Multiroom Audio • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Cool Homes

You can have your home automation system perform and combine about any task you want, provided it is comprehensive enough and you have the right team of creative custom electronics pros to program it. You also need some creativity yourself, as well as some practicality and restraint—as in, what don’t you need the system to do? So ask yourself, what types of streamlined and quick-trigger tasks would you like to have done at the touch of a button or automatically each day to make your… View this story
Home Control Systems • Home Control • Enhancements • Info and Answers

Q. I want to do a home automation system but want to be able to modify it myself. Who are some of the better manufacturers that allow you to modify the system as opposed to always having a dealer come out? A. There are plenty of DIY products for home automation, and there are ways to make your own changes to several of the higher-end custom products. You can find a full list of solutions in our Ultimate Guide to Home Automation. The guide indicates… View this story
Home Control Systems • Home Control • Ask a Pro

Home control has always been about having your house work the way you want it to. Want the lights to turn off automatically at midnight? The system should do that. Want the thermostat to bump up the heat before you come home from work? That should happen as well. Want every user of the system to have his or her own customized interface, tailored to that person’s wants and needs? Yes, even that’s possible today. And it shouldn’t cost you a fortune. Tailor Made Having… View this story
Home Control Systems • Touchpanels and Keypads • Home Control • Info and Answers

2009 is coming to a close, so I thought it would be appropriate to look back at the homes I’ve featured during the year. Surprisingly, I remembered at least one interesting tidbit about each and every one, and we’re talking dozens of homes—including many winners and finalists from our annual Home of the Year Awards program. It’s hard to forget the mom who used her video distribution system to see from a touchpanel in the kitchen what the kids were watching on TV or Googling… View this story
Home Control Systems • Lighting Control Systems • Home Theater • Home Control • Cool Homes • Slideshows

You’ve got about a half-month left to enter yourself into the “What Do You Want to Control?” contest, from home automation manufacturer Control4 and Electronic House. That means if you’re looking to lump together your electronics controls along with systems such as lighting and climate, for example, hop in and tell us in 150 words or less why you should win a $5,000 prize package from Control4. We highlight some of the entries every week to help give you ideas, so here are 10 more… View this story
Home Control Systems • Manufacturers • Home Control • Info and Answers

It’s pretty safe to say we’re all glad that 2009 is almost over and we can look ahead with some optimism. Despite the economic woes, 2009 wasn’t a total failure. There were many great products released that ran the gamut from Blu-ray players to projectors, receivers, subwoofers and more. These products revealed several trends that are expected to grow in 2010, including adoption of Blu-ray, 2.40:1 home systems, migration to two-channel audio and more. We’ve rounded up the Best Products of 2009 and broken them… View this story
AV Components • Cables, Wires and Tools • Displays • Furniture • Gaming • Lighting Control • Power Management • Home Theater • Audio • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Product News • Slideshows

If you ever thought about getting into home automation technology, but decided to hold off for whatever reason, now’s your chance. Even if you’ve got some wild ideas about what you want to automate in your home, no worries. Control4 has teamed with Electronic House to present the “What Do You Want to Control?” sweepstakes with a home control prize package for the winning entry. You have to do some of the work/planning though. You have to tell us about your home control project in… View this story
Home Control • Home Control Systems • Home Control • Product News

Home control is all about simplicity. You press a button and a million things happen. If you can’t find that button, though, it’s pointless to even have a system in your house. That’s why it’s so important to make sure the interface (i.e. remote control, touchpanel or keypad) you use to command the lights, thermostats, A/V gear and other devices is well designed by your custom electronics professional. It’s a difficult endeavor, both for manufacturers who build the interfaces and for the pros who design… View this story
Home Control • Touchpanels and Keypads • Remote Controls • Home Control • Info and Answers

Having the lights dim is a great way to kick off a movie. Most home theater owners can do this by pressing a button on a wall-mounted keypad or handheld remote. Simple enough, sure. But in this 340-square-foot space there’s no need for the owners to touch anything—except for the doorknob—to get the lights to do their thing. The custom electronics professionals (CE pros) at Advanced Technologies in Baton Rouge, La., fitted the door to the room with a security sensor. When the door opens,… View this story
Home of the Year Awards 2009 • Home Theater • Home Control • Cool Homes

Q What home automating system would be user-expandable to include wireless video and control? I mean to send video from the barn to the bedroom and then on to the internet. One example would be to spy on the horse, pan the camera, from either bedroom or distant office. And to also monitor the house fire alarm, refrigerator, etc., from the distant office. And all DIY. - John A. Hi John, This feature is fairly common for home automation systems, even for DIY products. For… View this story
Home Control • Home Control Systems • Home Control • Ask a Pro

Q. Is there a system with a touchscreen wireless remote that will let me control EVERYTHING in my home? Lights, music, heat, security, video….. Thanks! - Todd/Seattle A. Actually there are many but I have to ask ... do you want to control them all with one system or have multiple systems? I will infer that you really want it all under one hood. A do-it-yourself guy has very limited options. Most of which consist of multiple systems loosely tied together via X10 devices and… View this story
Home Control • Touchpanels and Keypads • Remote Controls • Home Control • Ask a Pro