Home Automation Info

Implementing a whole-house automation (WHA) solution enables the complete achievement of your desired lifestyle for your home environment. Previously we stated a desired lifestyle usually embodies the factors of: simplicity, convenience, comfort, entertainment, efficiency, connectivity, and safety for the whole family. WHA allows a more robust realization of these lifestyle factors over what is available from installing unconnected automation sub-systems in your home. As such, WHA is the ultimate home automation solution within the limits of the technology and products available today.

Earlier we examined the achievable lifestyle factors for each home subsystem. Let's now look at how a whole-house automation solution further enhances these lifestyle factors.

For example, the simplicity and convenience provided by the universal remote for your entertainment center(s) is extended to the other sub-systems in the home by the WHA handheld remote. This "super remote" allows you to walk thru your home and activate lighting scenes, adjust your thermostat, launch a music playlist, and disarm your security system by navigating the remote's menus and pressing the appropriate keys for each desired action. If you dislike handheld remotes, WHA systems have portable touch panel displays, and in-wall LCD displays and customized button arrays where a single button labeled "party", when pressed, can launch a music playlist and distribute the audio to pre-selected rooms at the desired volume level, activate the "party" lighting scene, notch the thermostat down a few degrees, and play a slideshow or music visualization on a wall-mounted TV. With all these environmental items set, you can now spend more time preparing the hors d'oeuvres! The key point of the above is WHA provides a simplified and consistent interface for all family members when using any home sub-system.

The other major impact of WHA is actions initiated by an event in one subsystem can also trigger actions in other subsystems. For example: when the garage door opens at night triggering a security system contact sensor a lighted path is created from the garage to the kitchen and/or bedroom, the temperature set point is increased if the current temperature is below a desired level, and the TV is tuned your favorite channel for the evening news. Or a simpler example: any detected door or window security sensors open longer than 5 minutes automatically shut down the HVAC system until they are closed. With a WHA system any lighting scene defined can be extended to include climate alteration, security settings, and entertainment program launch transforming it into a "home" scene. The point here is WHA enhances energy conservation and convenience because it reaches across the home sub-systems for a complete response to any detectable event.

With whole-house automation systems you have the greatest opportunity to meet all your lifestyle factors by coordinating the operation of each home sub-system into one cohesive system.