Homeowner Builds, Lives In and Sells Homes With The ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System

Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based custom integrator Home Concepts, Inc. has found the perfect client—he’s a loyal customer, he loves the latest technology and he has built, lived in, and then sold three houses in the last five years, installing an ELAN® Home Systems A/V distribution system in each, and outfitting the latest one with the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System. The latest system is so impressive that it won the CEDIA 2011 Electronic Lifestyles Silver Award for Integrated Home in the $70,500 – $105,500 level.

Homeowner Dr. Femi Adekeye, a Calgary-based Occupational Health Physician, said, “I enjoy designing and building homes, and including the latest technology adds a new level of interaction and sophistication with each house I build. We’ve been using ELAN systems for about five years now, and the systems keep getting better and better. I use my iPhone to adjust the system and check on things constantly, because I always have it with me, and the ELAN g! app is very simple to use. The whole-home control of audio/video, lighting, security and surveillance will be a big selling point when I put this home on the market, just as the audio/video systems were in my last two homes.”

The 6,000 square-foot home features an extensive audio/video system to keep the whole family entertained — the 7.1 home theater uses a Runco projector and 106” screen, seven ELAN in-wall speakers and a Sunfire HRS-12 subwoofer, and the rest of the house has six flat screen HDTVs including a 52-inch in the family room and master bedroom, a 40-inch behind the bar and three 46-inchers side-by-side in the gym. There are 12 independent audio zones and a total of 24 speakers, in addition to the home theater. These systems get their media from three satellite feeds, an am/fm receiver, a Sony 400-disc Blu-ray changer, Shoutcast Radio (built in to ELAN g!) and Apple TV for videos. The system also integrates with the home’s security, four outdoor surveillance cameras and DVR, and the CentraLite lighting system.

According to P.J. Aucoin, Sales Manager of Home Concepts, Inc., the company has been in business for seven years and has been an avid supporter of ELAN products since day one. “We were excited when the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control system was released, and that’s pretty much all we use now. I love the off-site programming capability so I don’t have to make a house call to change a single button, and it’s amazing when I show my clients that the user interface is the same on an iPad, an in-wall touch screen and a TV on-screen display. This is the second CEDIA award we’ve won in the Integrated Home category for an ELAN g! installation, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

Work has already begun on Dr. Adekeye’s next home, so now it’s just a matter of time before this home with the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System is on the market.

The family can control the ELAN g! system through a TS7 seven-inch in-wall touch screen in the kitchen, seven TS2 touch panels throughout the house, several iPads, the kids’ iPod Touches and Dr. Adekeye’s iPhone and office computer. The equipment rack, tucked away in the wall of the home theater behind tinted glass, houses an ELAN HC12 Home Controller, ELAN V85 Component Video Controller, two ELAN S86A Multi-Room A/V Controllers, an ELAN C2 Communications Controller and an ELAN DT11 Tuner.

“My clients love how easy it is to go from lighting to HVAC to security all on one touch screen,” said Aucoin. “In new homes for sale, the ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System is what people gravitate to and remember about the home more than anything else. Pushing one button to turn on the lights or music in any room is so much more impressive than just a big TV hung on a wall, and it really separates these homes from others on the market.”

Available starting at under $2,000 for a single-room, four sub-system control solution, the ELAN g! Series Control System can be expanded quickly and cost-effectively to enable whole-home control of every room appliance. ELAN g! provides users with the most uniform and intuitive icon-based control from their favorite devices, including TVs, touch screens, touchpads, PCs, iPhones, and iPads. The standardized interface works across platforms, so that the trendy g!Mobile app users love on the iPhone appears and works similarly on ELAN touch screens, valets and handheld remotes as well as users' televisions and mobile devices. And the system's IP backbone makes it just as easy to control the system from across the room - or across the globe.

The ELAN g! System has been awarded a 2011 Residential Systems Magazine RESI Award, a 2011 Custom Retailer Magazine EXCITE! Award, a 2011 CE Pro Magazine BEST Award, a Platinum Level 2011 CEA Mark of Excellence Award by the Consumer Electronics Association and a 2011 Gold Level Electronic House Magazine Product of the Year Award.

Home Concepts, Inc. was formed by a group of highly trained and experienced CEDIA members to provide clients with certified professional home automation design and installation. The integrated Home Concepts team includes professional system designers, CEDIA certified installers and engineers who strive to make every project an award-winning system. The extended team includes contractors, electricians, security professionals and homebuilders. Their collaborative team approach allows them to build rewarding relationships with their clients and ensures high quality products and service from a diverse, dedicated team. For more information, please visit www.homeconceptsdesign.com.