Control4 Home Automation Review: Access Anything from Anywhere [Video]

Now that you simply’re acquainted with the final home automation scene (read that first in case you haven’t) we will talk specifics. Like the Control4 system.

Control4 is a more entry-level option to home automation , and they compete mostly with Crestron’s Prodigy line, that’s also targeted towards lower-budget installs. ” Lower budget” is a relative term, obviously, since the starter system I reviewed goes for roughly $5000, including cost of installation.

This is how it works.

The brains is a Home Controller HC-300C (or HC-200B, that is simpler, doesn’t come with a remote, and handles fewer components). This can be what talks to all of your light switches, thermostats, security systems and AV-controllers. It’s also privy to events from sensors, so when, say, when a door has been opened, it’s going to activate your lights for that room. Everything talks over Zigbee, that’s probably the most wireless protocols that various manufacturers use to have their stuff talk with other company’s gear.

The whole setup took about two days with two people to install, including customization and bug-fixing. It’s often impossible to do by yourself-the lights and such can-but you will have stuff like dealer’s licenses, and familiarity with their software, in addition as the facility to debug various components and confer with Control4 inside the process. Briefly, it’s fairly hard to get it running perfectly by yourself.

Beyond the easy setup I even have, it’s possible to get Control4 branded AV products like receivers, amplifiers, tuners and speakers and touchscreens you could mount on walls and surfaces in your house to govern things, and gear adapters, so you’ll be able to switch on and stale anything that’s plugged into a wall.

Here’s what I admire probably the most. I really like turning off all my lights all around the house, from bed, because I forgot to get them earlier as I was coming upstairs. I like knowing, from my phone, that my garage door is open-and then closing it. I like pressing a button as I leave the house and having my AC system shut off, my lights all cut and my alarm system arm itself. I admire coming home and, with only one button, turning on the correct lights and setting the TV to ” watch TiVo mode” . I admire turning on the heat while I’m on the bathroom. Oh, and I like being at my desk and using my web browser to clutter with the lights, TV, AC, or anything, without needing to rise up. I admire being lazy. And I like being familiar with what my house is doing, even once I’m not in it.

I love the customization. Control4, because it’s still installed by professionals, can be configured in your house and your setup, meaning it doesn’t actually matter which components you’ve in your TV/stereo setup-they are able to make it work. And in less time than it is going to take you, since they’ve done this before. Plus, this will work which include your whole other components. If that involves writing specific drivers for their software to speak for your random region-free DVD player through its IR port, then so be it. You’ll just need to pay a bit extra for their time. And for sure, once more, it’s nice that I didn’t should do any of this myself.

Everything in your house can, theoretically, consult with everything else. So in a hypothetical, ” all out” installation, that you would be able to tie every electronic component together. If someone triggers a motion camera outside, it is going to flash your indoor lights on and rancid, then play back a recording, like, ” visitor detected” over your speakers that you’ve got in each room. You would program in various scenarios, like setting your AV system to Blu-ray mode, turning off the entire lights, turning for your intruder alarm and setting your air con to 69 degrees, all with one button. Really, any configuration of on/off imaginable for any activity can also be programmed in.

To be honest, there’s very little that I’m dissatisfied with inside the Control 4 setup. My setup was very basic and covered the major categories: Lighting, AV, HVAC and security. In an effort to get more complicated, you can still automate regularly anything, from remote gateways and security cameras to window shades and intercoms and speakers and home audio. Almost anything a rich man can install into his house can also be tied into Control4′s system.

The only major downside is the worth. My fairly basic install will cost $4000ish, with an extra $2,000 installation fee for two people to return out. i’ll have easily cut the cost of the components right down to $3,000 without the garage door sensor/trigger and eliminating a number of the light switches that control 6 things right away. Then right down to the low $2,000s while you forego some fancier integration with the safety system. Here’s prohibitively expensive for much of folk, which implies home automation isn’t quite there that it’s viable for everybody. It’s definitely still a luxury.

Slightly pricey, but worth it. As I said within the home automation overview , sophisticated home automation is coming down in price, nevertheless it’s still not at the point where you’ll be able to pick up a host of components and get everything working in an afternoon, by yourself.

That said, there’s very little in Control 4′s setup that I find wanting. Sure, the button-response times may be a bit faster, and the worth of the components and the installation may well be slightly lower, or the facility to tweak your setup after the install is over shall be just a little more robust. But the actual functionality? Can’t complain. I will activate and rancid my lights, AC, open my garage door, control my AV setup and spot what’s taking place in my security system from my phone, my computer, my remote or over the web. Hell, the system is even smart enough to understand when something happens and do another action, all by itself. And that’s the point of home automation. And that’s worth it.

Think of home automation like owning a car. Sure, you will get to where you’re going with a motorbike. You could carry your groceries in a backpack and walk to dinner. But after you’ve spent the cash on a car, there’s no going back. How are you going to surrender the benefit?

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This post is tagged: home automation, home controller, security systems, wall components, wireless protocols, wireless thermostat