Technology Selection:
Danny evaluated a number of different solutions from vendors all over the map – ranging from inexpensive “wireless” control systems using a PC to expensive “custom installer systems” using proprietary wiring and protocols (the types of systems that typically cost $100k for a complete installation). He was looking for one thing predominantly – something that worked. Being on the leading edge of technology deployments, Danny and Pat both fill their houses with lots of stuff that is in the prototype or early development stage. Translated for their families, it doesn’t always work. Danny’s wife said she’d only put up with this if it worked – quite a baseline to work from!
Other factors were that it had to look good in an old traditional New England farmhouse. It had to disappear and coexist well. The technology was not meant to be obvious…only the results of the technology.
In the end, Danny found that the inexpensive DIY systems weren’t sufficiently powerful or flexible to handle his needs. They also tended to look cheap or were bulky when you considered their full implementation requirements. These DIY systems worked great for a point solution – for example, handling the lighting and automation needs for his home theater, but they weren’t capable of easily controlling all of the devices in his rambling old home. Additionally, while such systems were OK at turning things on and off (like lights), they weren’t designed to facilitate applications that were important to Danny and his family – things like whole home audio distribution, whole home video distribution, controlling video surveillance systems (like an outdoor camera that tracks and records who enters his rural driveway), and so on. Danny had a list of applications up front he wanted to support (including telling the kids’ guests watching movies on the third floor when their parents arrive to pick them up, without Danny having to do anything). So he needed a flexible, programmable system.
On the other hand, like most people, he wanted something affordable. While he was realistic that home automation was not a $99 investment, he did not have money to burn. While the very expensive custom installer systems, like Crestron, were capable of handling all of his needs, they were very expensive (six figures expensive in a home like Danny’s). And because they were designed for this “high end” market, they weren’t designed to easily integrate with all of Danny’s existing “stuff”. Since Control4 was conceptualized and designed with a more “everyman” approach, it was more flexible in being able to handle a lot of his existing equipment, wiring, and other gear. When Danny first moved in, he installed Ethernet CAT-5e to each room in the home so he had a little bit of a head start, he quickly found out it was not much help when trying to string in-ceiling speakers or add controllable light switches. So he eschewed the higher-end systems because they required him to “buy into” their new system as a whole – and replacing all sorts of devices with components from that vendor. That gets expensive way too quickly.
So when he looked at his list of needs, Danny didn’t have to think hard about what he wanted for a solution. He and Pat had written several editions of Smart Homes for Dummies and had a good grasp on the state of the market. So when he had to put his money where his mouth was, he picked Control4 – a Utah-based manufacturer of home automation, control and entertainment systems that has been shaking up the industry for the past five years with systems that offer all of the power of the custom-installer systems, but which leverage standardized commodity components (using, for example, Ethernet and standardized wireless connectivity) to keep prices within reach for mere mortals (e.g., controllers start at just $499). Additionally, Control4 offered a wide range of partner products (things like sensors and cameras) that are pre-integrated into the system – meaning it was easy to add inexpensive components and quickly integrate them into Control4’s Operating System. Control4 supports ZigBee, which means any products of that ecosystem can play a role here too.
For Danny and his family, the Control4 solution was affordable, able to integrate with what he already had in place, didn’t require tearing open walls to install – all while providing the missing pieces his digital home lacked. Most importantly for Danny, Control4’s system was something his fed-up-with-prototype-technology-that-does-not-work wife could find solace in.
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