It
used to be that the dream of owning a centrally controlled home — a home where
consumers could control audio, video, lighting, security, heating, and more
from a single wall mounted touch pad—was a reality reserved for only the
highest end multi-million dollar homes.
Hard wiring, custom software programming, ongoing maintenance, and
system costs all guaranteed that no one but the wealthiest of Americans could
even consider the idea.
Now
that dream is well within the reach of just about anyone. A new generation of affordable IP-based
home control systems that can be controlled and managed by PCs, touch pads,
remote controls and Apple and Android mobile devices are changing the dynamic
of home building and home buying — in some cases dramatically.
Rocky
DiGiacomo, founder of 20-year-old Minneapolis, Minnesota based DiGiacomo
Homes and Renovation, Inc., in
many ways represents the leading edge of this new American revolution — he is
now pre-wiring every new house he builds for home automation and control.
“I’ve
always known that affordable home control would be a dream come true,” said
DiGiacomo. “Recent advances in
home control technology, coupled with the mass adoption of wireless technology
products in popular culture, have taken the dream and turned it into
reality. It’s no surprise that
someone who uses their iPhone® to program a DVR would love to use their iPhone
to control their entire home. With
affordable new systems offering a multitude of control functions and media
services, there really is a system for everyone. Whether you want to invest $5,000 or $50,000, you can start
living in the future, today.”
DiGiacomo’s solution of choice is the ELAN g! Home
Control System manufactured and marketed by Carlsbad, California based ELAN
Home Systems. Debuted in 2011, ELAN g! is perhaps the
most modular, and hence most affordable home control system currently
available. From music distribution
and lighting control to advanced energy management and security integration,
ELAN g! offers a full range of solutions to fit any lifestyle and any
budget. Requiring zero custom
programming and coming standard with iPhone, iPad and PC control, home automation
is now as easy as checking your email!
This
sentiment has become common among builders, as evidenced by Jim Blansfield of Blansfield
Builders in Danbury, Connecticut,
who has used the ELAN g! system to close several home sales in the past year,
and has built a total of 13 homes with ELAN systems so far.
“I’m a believer in ‘the
new normal’ way of thinking,” Blansfield said, “and with the affordable and
expandable control solutions made possible by companies like ELAN, home control
is the new normal! In the past two years, I’ve closed several new homes by
demoing the ELAN g! system for prospective clients. The buyers are consistently
impressed that I include technology in my designs and recommendations, because
many other builders minimize the importance of home technologies. For builders,
their resistance to change is going to hurt them in the long run.”
Blansfield is quick to
point out that while off-the-shelf or cheap systems from companies like Verizon
and Lowe’s may sound appealing, they have severe limitations and the average
homeowner is not equipped to engineer and design an easy-to-use system that
will actually make life easier. He
advises all his clients to use a professional integrator who has experience
with custom home control.
“Hiring a skilled,
knowledgeable, reliable contractor is the glue that holds the whole project
together,” he advised. “As home technology gets more and more complex in its
abilities, while getting even easier to operate for the end-user, certified
professionals will increasingly provide the service and support that enables
everything to run smoothly and allow the users to forget there is a
sophisticated system at work. Most homeowners are as qualified to build their
own home control system as they are to build their own car. They can read all the manuals, and
maybe put something together that sort of works, but it won’t be the same as
something designed and built by a professional.”
The
phenomenon has reached all kinds of homebuilders, such as Karoleena
Homes in Calgary, British
Columbia, which builds pre-fabricated and modular homes throughout Canada. The
company places integrated home technologies so high on their list of necessary
design components that they included the ELAN g! system in a show home that
traveled to several home shows throughout Canada in 2012.
Coinciding
with the availability of more affordable technology is the fact that the children
of the first internet generation are now entering the national housing market
and, as in every aspect of their always-on lives, they expect their homes to be
able to respond quickly and fluently to their changing needs.
“I
believe that our industry is on the verge of a market upswing of historic
proportions,” said Joe Lautner of ELAN Home Systems. “The first generation of Americans raised from birth on the
internet, smartphones, iPods and iPhones are becoming homebuyers. They are going to demand that the home
they buy supports their media and technology passions. This generation of buyers is not going
to stand for running their mobile lives from an iPhone only to return home to
the dark ages of individual appliance control!
Lautner
believes that consumers will benefit from a new generation of what he calls
‘affordably innovative’ system solutions that offer consumers specific levels
of multi-room and multi-function systems that are clearly differentiated by
retail price points. “I believe
you will soon see every new home, and indeed many existing homes, offer system
solutions that are price appropriate for the price of the home. The higher you go in the home price,
the greater its degree of home function integration and control.”
About ELAN Home
Systems:
Founded in 1990, ELAN®
Home Systems is an industry leading manufacturer of innovative, award-winning
whole-house entertainment and control systems that are distributed through a
comprehensive channel of select dealers and distributors throughout the United
States, Canada and more than 58 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.
ELAN is part of the Core®
Brands division of Nortek, Inc. Core Brands combines the product and marketing
strengths of ten iconic audio, power management and control brands into a single
business unit that includes ATON®, BlueBOLT®, ELAN®, Furman®, Niles®, Panamax®,
Proficient®, SpeakerCraft®, Sunfire® and Xantech® brands.
ELAN is a subsidiary of
Nortek, Inc., a global, diversified company whose many market-leading brands
deliver broad capabilities and a wide array of innovative, technology-driven
products and solutions for lifestyle improvement at home and at work. Please
visit www.nortekinc.com
for more information.
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