Blog

A smart home is a system in which a number of technology components are interconnected to make it easier to perform certain actions. These smart home automation systems simplify control over lights, entertainment, climate and more. Nowhere in the world has this concept taken a stronger hold than in the United States, where there are an estimated 4.6 million smart homes. That number is expected to grow to more than 24 million by 2020. Wondering if your Wilmette, Illinois home should join the movement? Read on to find out why smart technology is worth the investment.

Control of Your Entire System is in Your Hands

The primary benefit of an interconnected home is that you can centralize control. You don't have to walk from room to room or search through a mountain of remotes. Through a smart home automation system from Crestron or Control4, you can access your lights, entertainment, climate, security and more on one device. From a touchpad, tablet or smartphone, it’s all available on a customizable menu designed to match your priorities.

Experience a Home That Anticipates Your Needs

Smart technology can also give you peace of mind by being proactive. It does this primarily through the use of sensors and schedules:

The convenience of streamed content has changed the way we interact with our favorite entertainment. You don’t have to sift through a DVD or CD collection to find something to enjoy with the family. Through services like Spotify and Netflix, you have thousands of options at the touch of a button. But even with convenience being its biggest calling card, streaming can come with its own set of drawbacks from limited outlets to slow loading. Want to learn how to get the most out of these services in your Lake Forest, Illinois home? Find how a home audio video system can do the trick.

Simplify Access to Your Entertainment

The reason we enjoy streamed services is that they give us instant gratification. Why not take it a step further by putting all these services under one roof? Through an audio/video distribution system that incorporates all your services, you can easily play your favorite song or movie anywhere in your home from your phone, tablet or touchpad.

The Crestron App, for example, allows you to incorporate third-party services such as Netflix and Pandora. Pull up the Netflix App within the system to pick which movie you want to watch and where you want to watch it. You don’t even have to be in the same room! Take control of your children’s entertainment. Remotely play cartoons in their room and turn them off when it’s time for bed.

Get Technology Optimized For Your Needs

By now you’ve probably seen advertisements for a variety of home electronics that you can control from a mobile app. There’s one for your thermostat, one for your locks and one for your entertainment. But what if you could bring it all together under one umbrella, practically turning your IPhone or Android into your personal butler. You can do just that with a smart home automation solution in your Highland Park, Illinois property. Below we take a look at some of the best features from the Crestron and Control 4 Apps.

SEE MORE: 3 Reasons to Upgrade to a Smart Home

Four Main Features of the Crestron App

In conjunction with your smart home automation system, Crestron offers a free mobile app that lets you control your lighting, security, entertainment, climate and more. Some other features are also available as in-app purchases.

• Integrate Third Party Apps: Want to settle in for an all-day Netflix marathon? You don't have to navigate through multiple apps just to pick out the show you want and get the lighting just right. Crestron lets you open third party apps within your graphic user interface so you can keep everything under one roof.
• Stay Informed: Receive alerts when a door is left unlocked, someone comes to your front door. or your alarm goes off. This way you can stay connected without having to constantly check-in on your surveillance.
• Upgrade to PinPoint: This add-on lets your system recognize exactly where you are based on your smartphone’s location. This way your user interface immediately adapts your menu to the room you’re in.

SEE ALSO: Tunable Lighting is the Hottest New Feature of Residential Lighting Control

It’s All About Design

Crestron Horizon keypads are a cut above any other smart controls on the market. Horizon keypads are offered in a wide range of luxurious materials and colors, including wood, marble, and leather looks. The custom etched buttons are LED-backlit with a choice of programmable colors. When you press a button, it can even light up more so you know it’s working. The buttons' tactile feel and operation are carefully engineered to give you a feeling of quality. In keeping with Crestron’s unique custom approach, the company offers a service to complement the keypads with your décor, matching colors and trims like wood, metal, marble, and engineered stone - no other home automation manufacturer does that.

Is each room in your home unique? Your control keypads can be too – no need to choose from only three basic colors and materials. With Crestron Horizon, you can personalize the controls in each room for a perfect complement to your décor. What's more, the Crestron Horizon EX models work wirelessly, allowing even more flexibility in installation locations.

SEE ALSO: Tired of Uninspired Controls for Your Lighting?

Revolutionized User Experience

Crestron believes that the heart of control is the user experience. Through their development of Crestron OS 3, the operating system behind Crestron Home, they put the user first and designed a revolutionized app that’s more responsive, beautiful, and user-friendly than ever before.

From your smartphone or a dedicated Crestron touchscreen, you’ll enjoy a seamless room-based experience, with all devices in that room available at your fingertips. See the status of every room at a glance, tap on a room to make changes, or access custom room and whole-home scenes at the top of the screen to quickly set everything the way you want it at any time.

More Personalization

Add a personal touch to your system by using photos of your home to represent every room—and edit their names and photos when needed. Do you have a lot of rooms in your house but mainly use four or five of them? Room Favorites allows you to select your most frequently used rooms to display at the top of your rooms list for quick and convenient access. The app also features Quick Action items at the top of every room to display what you use most so there’s no need to drill through a bunch of menus.

Crestron Home makes it easier than ever to create and modify smart home scenes, with no programming experience required. You can also seamlessly manage and control multiple properties from the same app. Want to check the status of your vacation home or guest house? Just swipe to your property in the app and adjust the thermostat, check that the security system is armed, and more.